SHANGHAI — L’Oréal has begun construction for its first global Intelligent Fulfillment Center in Suzhou, China, a city 30 minutes away from Shanghai by high-speed train.
The 9.7 million-square-foot park is L’Oréal’s second factory in the city. Construction started on Tuesday and is expected to start operating from the fourth quarter in 2023.
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“Twenty-six years ago, L’Oréal China established its first factory in Suzhou, starting our’ beauty journey’ in China. I’m so thrilled today to witness another milestone in Suzhou,” said Fabrice Megarbane, president of L’Oréal North Asia Zone and chief executive officer of L’Oréal China.
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The world’s largest beauty company’s new Intelligent Fulfillment Center is located within the same district as its original Suzhou factory, the Suzhou Industrial Park, also called China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park. Established in 1994 it was a joint venture between China and Singapore as a part of China’s reform and opening up campaign in the Deng Xiaoping Era.
“Under the VUCA [short for volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity] environment after the impact of the epidemic during the past three years, the market was full of challenges,” Megarbane said. “These continuous investments in China once again shows our unwavering confidence and commitment to the Chinese market.”
Aimed at providing local consumers with more customized beauty products and services, the Intelligent Fulfillment Center will also integrate digital and intelligent technologies such as auto-picking systems and robots to boost the company’s annual direct-to-consumer parcel capacity by three times in 2025.
Sustainability is another important feature of the park. The high-tech plant is designed to meet LEED Gold certification standards and will produce “green parcels” through environmentally friendly design and materials.
A Clean Workshop, a second for the company after the one in Shanghai’s Yichang plant, was also unveiled at the foundation stone laying ceremony. Located within the original Suzhou factory, the workshop will introduce new technologies such as robotics, cobots and automated-guided carts.
“The Clean Workshop represents our relentless pursuit for ultimate safety and quality at every stage of our manufacturing process,” said Antoine Vanlaeys, chief operations officer of L’Oréal Group. “The workshop sets up a new benchmark of quality control process, not just for L’Oréal but also for the industry.”