All of our stores in Europe need to be supplied with new stock on a weekly basis. That's only possible if we all roll up our sleeves together. Our products arrive at our Distribution Center in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands, from Europe or East Asia. They are stored for a short while, then distributed to our stores across Europe. Our Transportation department and our own drivers ensure that our stores receive new supplies once or twice every week.

The work at our Distribution Center varies. All of the products arriving from East Asia and Europe are unloaded. We take them out of the sea containers and trucks. Then we either move them for storage, or we immediately take them to the location where they are divided between the stores. To do that, we use reach trucks and pallet trucks. Before taking the products to the stores, we first stack them up in a container. We operate in two shifts. The first shift (the day shift) works in the morning and afternoon: from 7am to 3:30pm. The second shift (the evening shift) works in the afternoon and evening: from 3:30pm to 10:15pm. Employees work the day shift one week, and the evening shift the next.

Our Transportation department ensures that our stores receive new supplies. To do a good job of this, our transport planners include all of our stores in a comprehensive route planning. Our trucks are driven to the stores by our own drivers. We plan different types of routes, including short rides and international journeys that take multiple days. Our drivers unload their trucks and deliver the products in the store. The times at which we’re allowed to unload goods are different for each store (statutory delivery time windows). As a result, this sometimes takes place during the day, and sometimes at night.