News / Maersk opens Rotterdam cross-dock facility to accelerate cargo flow

Maersk has expanded its container supply chain services to European shippers with the launch of a new cross-dock facility at its Maasvlakte II terminal in Rotterdam yesterday.

Starbucks is the launch customer, which will “accelerate the flow of cargo significantly from arrival on a vessel to the point of sale”, Maersk said.

After discharging containers from an arriving vessel, products can be unpacked, transloaded to conventional trucks and dispatched to their final destination within hours.

“What we want to do is to launch our merchandise directly from the cross-dock to the regional DCs that serve the stores – merchandise unloaded from the containers here in the port, and immediately reloaded into full-load trailers and driven straight to customers’ DCs,” Stefanie Rossi, transport manager at Starbucks told The Loadstar.

She said the company ran four separate merchandise promotions, one per quarter, each year.

“We have been running a pilot since March and so far have processed around 100 containers through the cross-dock, with zero damages, which is quite a change for our supply chain.

“This about supporting Starbucks’ growth – we currently have 4,500 stores in EMEA and are aiming to triple this number by 2030,” she said, adding that the contract was initially for “a one-year trial and then we will renegotiate…

“But I am really proud of this – its success isn’t just about technicalities, but about mutual understanding. The relationship between Starbucks and Maersk has been the cornerstone and I really think we can improve our supply chain together, the springboard for future opportunities,” she said.

The new facility has space of 23,000 sq metres, 120 docks and ‘interim’ storage space, which Maersk said “adds flexibility to customers’ supply chains, for instance in case of peaks when their storage facilities are at full capacity”.

More than 200 jobs are expected to be created in the warehouse when it reaches full capacity.

“The launch of this specialised cross-dock warehouse right next to where the containers are being discharged from our vessels showcases Maersk’s capability to control and manage our customers’ supply chains at every step, from factory to consumer,” said Ole Trumpfheller, MD Maersk North Europe continent area.

“We are speeding up a part of the supply chain where others are losing days in some cases,” he added.

The cross-dock on the Maersk-owned terminal Maasvlakte II has a direct road connection to the container terminal, while another road leads to the enlarged Star depot for an immediate return of empty containers, to reduce D&D costs for customers.

The cross-dock also offers a fully bonded customs environment, and Ms Rossi said Starbucks already used Maersk as its broker.