SEKO Logistics chases e-commerce

In order to keep pace with growth in UK retailers’ online sales, logistics provider SEKO Logistics is investing in a 152,000-square-foot (14,121-square-meter) logistics center to support its omni-channel services for global fulfillment, delivery management, returns and e-commerce development.

The new location in Milton Keynes, a town about 80 kilometers (50 miles) northwest of London, follows the opening of a similar-sized logistics center in Northampton last year and the launch in October 2013 of a dedicated omni-channel facility in Cranbury, N.J., for British retail brands starting out in the U.S. market.

In the coming weeks, SEKO Logistics will also open a new center at Heathrow Airport.

“Online sales generated by UK retailers from international markets are forecast to grow sevenfold to £28 billion by 2020 and already stand at £4 billion a year,” Keith O’Brien, SEKO Logistics’ group managing director, said. “Analysis shows that international sales growth is dramatically outpacing the domestic market and will increase from its current level of 14 percent of total online sales to 40 percent over the next six years. We’ve worked with retailers and e-tailers for over a decade and have focused our investment in facilities, technology, people and services to enable them to respond to new consumer buying trends and fast track their way into the US$1 trillion global ecommerce market.”

Since the launch of its omni-channel division, SEKO Logistics has seen a 40 percent year over year increase in its retail logistics business with clients such as Marks and Spencer, APAC Sale, Lulu Guinness and NPW.

The new Milton Keynes facility will employ up to 150 staff, and will also support the company’s latest retail offering, SEKO Store Development Services, which helps expanding retail businesses open stores.

“Investing in this latest facility reinforces our position as a leading provider of logistics services in the UK, and it will be a flagship operation in SEKO’s global network,” O’Brien said. “It will enable us to keep pace with the opportunities we are being offered by retailers and e-tailers and further demonstrate the unique choice of supply chain services we deliver to leading British and global brands as well as entrepreneurial SMEs with ecommerce-based businesses.”