Decathlon claims green logistics breakthrough
23/11/2017
A dedicated freight train carrying 41 containers of Decathlon products, mostly clothing and footwear (630,000 items in all) arrived at a rail logistics hub in the French town of Dourges 20 days after setting off from Wuhan in China. The train passed through seven countries and travelled a total of almost 11,000 kilometres across seven countries. Dourges is close to Decathlon headquarters and the company already runs a distribution centre there.
Under its previous logistics strategy, Decathlon would have shipped these goods by container ship from the port of Shenzhen in southern China to Antwerp or Rotterdam, taking 41 days.
The company has also calculated that the carbon footprint of the dedicated freight train option is 201 kilos of CO2 equivalent per tonne of product. This compares to 337 kilos of CO2 equivalent by ocean freight, including road transportation to and from seaports.
With the trial successfully completed, Decathlon China’s head of logistics, Bruno Thellier, said: “This project is truly game-changing for our supply chain, saving us carbon emissions, time and transportation costs. It will take us into a new era.”
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