In the middle of his new 10,000 m² warehouse in Neuville-en-Ferrain, Olivier Coryn, the CEO of Logvad, gives us a tour of the premises. The shelves are already stacked with products from one of his main customers, the northern French home decor chain Zodio. They will soon be joined by the stocks of other e-retailers, such as Devred and Kalicodéco, a subsidiary of Saint-Maclou, which is preparing to launch its e-commerce site. In one corner, boxes are stacked up, bearing the logo of the Parisian start-up Joone, which sells diapers on subscription. “At Logvad, we support both large groups and start-ups that are just getting started in e-commerce, such as Joone, which is currently very successful. The interesting thing about this business is finding logistics solutions tailored to everyone’s needs, whether they ship 3,000 packages a day or just a few a month,” summarizes Olivier Coryn. Far from simply providing a warehouse, Logvad, based in Leers, offers turnkey solutions to manage all of its customers’ e-commerce logistics. “I’m a logistics specialist, I’m not in real estate,” says Olivier Coryn. “In our warehouses, it is our employees, assisted by our own software solution, who manage the shelving of products, then the picking, preparation, and shipping of packages, the management of returns… There aren’t many of us doing this job. I’m the only one in the northern region, there’s another in Paris, one in Lyon…” explains Olivier Coryn. Today, between France and Belgium, Logvad processes some 4 million orders per year, in addition to a residual parcel routing activity with an annual volume of 1.5 million parcels. All of this is spread across around 100 customers, from start-ups that are just getting started and ship a few parcels a week, to Onatera, a website specializing in natural products, which handles 800,000 orders a year.
The package as a marketing tool
Olivier Coryn acquired his expertise in parcel delivery during his fifteen years at La Redoute, where he organized logistics between France and Belgium during the golden age of mail order. Poached by Abx, a subsidiary of SNCB, he then developed logistics tools for several large groups on both sides of the border, at a time when the internet was still in its infancy. In 2004, when Abx disappeared, he took over some of its assets, including a 1,500 m² warehouse in Roubaix with 17 employees, to create Logvad. “I immediately wanted to get into parcel delivery. I sensed the internet was coming and I thought that the region and Roubaix would be at the heart of it. 2004 saw the arrival of ADSL and secure online payments, which marked the real start of e-commerce,” points out Olivier Coryn.
He found his first customers and quickly defined Logvad’s positioning. “I have always believed that packaging is still marketing. The sale doesn’t end with payment, it ends when the order is received. And that’s where repeat business comes into play. If a customer receives a package late, in poor condition, or with the wrong product, they’ll order elsewhere next time, and that’s the end of it. My job is to make sure that my clients’ customers will order from them again, so everyone wins.” And it’s all in the details, insists Olivier Coryn. “One of my first customers sold trinkets from all over the world, travel souvenirs for those who couldn’t afford to travel. We received merchandise from South America, and the products were packed with local newspapers. I called my clients directly to tell them to keep it that way, that it was the little extra touch that would make all the difference. It was a huge success,” says the CEO with a smile. That little extra touch is the recipe that has enabled Logvad to support the first steps of major brands on the web, such as Nordnet and Nocibé.
Lockdown, an accelerator
In 2005, Logvad Belgium was created, with three warehouses in Mouscron, Étaimpuis, and Tournai. On the French side, there are two warehouses in Roubaix, and the newest one, which opened in Neuville-en-Ferrain in early July. Logvad will soon open at least two new sites, as the pace has accelerated since lockdown. “We’ve never had to chase after customers, but now there’s been an explosion, and we don’t know where to put them all,” says Olivier Coryn. “With lockdown, online sales have skyrocketed. Many of my customers, whose websites were more of a showcase than a real e-commerce site, have seen orders skyrocket and have adapted very quickly. With Covid, Zodio, for example, has gone from 5,000 to 17,000 items available on its online site.” Behind the scenes, Logvad is in charge of managing the business, expanding its facilities, investing in new warehouses, and recruiting accordingly. The company now employs 140 people, “and many temporary workers,” with annual revenue of €20 million.
Another side effect of the pandemic has been the rapid growth of online food shopping. “Since the beginning of e-commerce, we’ve seen major shifts. First, it was all about computer equipment, the ‘geek’ phase. Then it was kitchen equipment, and after that, textiles. Lately, subscription boxes have been all the rage in every sector, and we manage a number of them. Since lockdown, we’ve entered the ‘food’ phase, with everyone selling online. In fact, I’m in the process of equipping some of my warehouses with refrigerators so that I can sell fresh produce. That’s really what’s working right now.” Olivier Coryn has also joined forces with his German counterpart PVS to create a joint venture specializing in the international shipping of food, particularly fresh produce.
