DHL Supply Chain will invest 5 billion yen (US$ 50 million) in a major new logistics centre nearTokyo to increase its warehouse capacity in Japan by 20% and gear up for further growth in retail,
e-commerce and other sectors.Construction work on the new 44,000 sqm Sagamihara Logistics Center starts this month with atarget completion date of March 2014. The $50m investment in the facility will be phased over thenext 10 years, DHL Asia Pacific announced.
The facility will expand DHL Supply Chain’s total warehousing space in Japan by approximately20% and was described as “a stepping stone to further business expansion”. The Sagamihara LogisticsCenter, a multi-user hub facility, will be used primarily for the consumer retail industry.
DHL said it will apply its global best practices and industry expertise to deliver optimumlogistics services. Supply chains in the consumer retail industry, including fashion and apparel,are becoming more efficient and more globalised amidst growing needs for e-commerce, causingbusinesses to seek advanced expertise, quality, speed and efficiency in logistics services, DHLexplained.
The site is close to National Route No.16 and the Sagamihara Interchange of the Keno Expressway(Metropolitan Inter-City Expressway, to be completed in FY2013 – FY2014), offering superior accessto Japan’s largest commercial zone, the Tokyo metropolitan area, as well as to airports and portfacilities. With close proximity to the Ebina Interchange of the Tomei Expressway, the facility isalso well-located for convenient distribution to western Japan. It is strategically located tomaximise convenience for many customers in the consumer retail sector, including fashion andapparel, as well as the manufacturing sector, which requires efficient access to the metropolitanarea and markets in central and western Japan.
Jointly developed by Kenedix, Inc. and ITOCHU Corporation, the facility adopts the Build-To-Suit(BTS) approach to allow DHL Supply Chain to provide optimum solutions. DHL Supply Chain is to leasethe entire property for 10 years, starting in April 2014.
DHL Supply Chain North Asia CEO Victor Mok said: “With Asia’s influence becoming more and moreevident in the world economy, the consumer retail industry is placing a growing emphasis onconquering the Asian market. This investment reflects DHL’s market superiority and confidence inits future growth potential. DHL will continue to provide services of the world’s highest level invarious markets.”
Shuichi Kawamura, President of DHL Supply Chain Japan, added: “The consumer retail industryinvolves fast-paced changes in market demand, and therefore has no time to waste in productintroduction. For this reason, it is one of the industries that benefit from the strengths of theDHL Supply Chain, which boasts a global network of the world’s largest scale and process underadvanced quality control. As a leading company in 3PL, we will continue to deliver supply chainsolutions that go one step ahead of customer needs so as to assist our customers’ business andachieve further growth together.”
Kenedix, Inc. President Taisuke Miyajima commented: “Participation in this project has a specialsignificance for us in that it marks the start of a business relationship with a powerful globalpartner, DHL Supply Chain. We consider planning to work together in reinforcing business operationsin Japan and abroad to develop logistics facilities that meet market needs and carry out assetmanagement.”
