Puma’s automated distribution hub
The current freight market is heavily weighted toward speed, and Puma’s automated distribution hub proved that it is possible to build a faster brand by streamlining the warehouse and distribution processes.
When orders spike, your warehouse either bends or breaks, and Puma chose to bend. In this article, we explore how that transformation changed the company’s European distribution.
Key Nuggets
- Puma built a 63,000 m² automated hub in Germany that ships up to 74 million items a year for both wholesale and e-commerce, ensuring faster deliveries.
- The singular European hub improved stock pooling, shortened routes to major markets, and raised delivery reliability across channels, which ultimately enhanced performance.
- Lessons: centralize visibility, unify channels, phase in robotics, and design for flexibility to protect growth.
- African operators can apply the same playbook—regional hubs, staged automation, and tighter inventory truth —that builds resilience.
Background Story Behind Puma’s Automated Distribution Hub
Puma wanted faster fulfillment and reliable output as online demand surged, which called for automation.
Before 2020, Puma’s distribution process across Europe relied on conventional warehouses, which were adequate for serving retail partners but less optimized for the booming direct-to-consumer business.
When COVID-19 held the world hostage in 2020, customers quickly pivoted, and businesses had to follow along. But for Puma, the current distribution process couldn’t handle the demand of the e-commerce or direct-to-consumer model.
When the company tried, it only led to delays.
The pre-2020 model could not keep pace with rising DTC speed, and the pandemic hardened the case for automation, especially because of the labor constraints and distancing rules.
Orders moved, but not at the speed the average customer expects. Stock for stores and online orders often sat in different places, leading to slower response times and less flexibility.
The company needed:
- Faster order cycle times.
- Less manual work inside warehouses.
- One place to handle online and retail orders.
- A system that could respond to sudden changes in demand.
Puma’s answer was a highly automated European hub that leveraged robotics and high-speed conveyors to accelerate order fulfilment and deliveries.
Read More: The Rise of Huawei’s Supply Chain Network Post U.S. Sanctions.
Puma’s Automated Distribution Hub
In 2021, Puma launched a 63,000 m² automated distribution center in Geiselwind, Bavaria, near Nuremberg, Germany. According to the company, the hub uses a blend of robotics, conveyor speed, and a single inventory pool to serve wholesale and DTC customers from a single engine.
It is an automated mix where robots handle repetitive tasks, scanners and sorters direct cartons, and high-speed conveyors compress dwell time, all of which are directly boosting pace.
Instead of running separate systems for store stock and online orders, the facility handles both. That is called omnichannel fulfillment efficiency.
It lets the company:
- Shorten restocking time for retailers
- Shift inventory between channels when demand spikes.
- Avoid running out of stock online while stores have plenty (or vice versa).
One stock ledger feeding stores and e-commerce eliminates split inventory and waste. The system also makes Puma’s logistics and distribution far more agile, enabling it to push store replenishment waves and a single-pair web order in the same hour.
Read More: How E. coli and Norovirus Exposed Chipotle’s Farm-to-Restaurant Supply.
Why Europe, and why Germany, For Puma’s Automated Distribution Hub
Location matters greatly when making supply chain decisions. For Puma, Europe made sense because it is where the company is headquartered and where many of its customers and retail partners are located.
By placing the hub in Germany:
- Transport networks (roads, freight, airports) are strong and reliable.
- It is easier to coordinate central planning from the company’s home region.
- Shipments to stores and customers across Europe travel shorter distances.
This is an example of a European distribution hub strategy at work: placing the largest warehouse near the largest market to reduce total shipping time.
Choosing one large hub over many small sites is a bet on pooling and speed, and Europe makes that bet pay off.
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The Impact of the Puma Automated Distribution Hub
Puma’s automated distribution center had a direct impact on speed, cost per order, and service. Consolidation and automation reduced internal touch time and improved order accuracy, thereby enhancing throughput and effectiveness.
Here are some of the measurable impacts of the automated facility:
- Cycle time: Order-to-ship compresses to roughly 2 hours, enabling same-day handoff.
- Volume headroom: Up to 74 million items per year means the node can handle seasonal peaks without choking, which stabilizes product launches.
- Accuracy: Robots and directed picking reduced mispicks, lowering returns.
- Pooling: Leveraging a single ledger across channels reduced overstock in one country and shortages in another, thereby smoothing availability.
When your warehouse can pivot in hours, you can redirect stock to hot zones and protect margin. For Puma’s supply chain, this meant faster and steadier operations. The company turned warehousing speed into a market lever that improved:
- Conversion and repeat buys, which compounds revenue.
- Replenishment time, which keeps hot SKUs on shelves.
- Central planning effectiveness which reduces firefighting.
As more consumers shop online, there is greater pressure on lead times, but Puma’s automated hub answers that pressure with pace.
Read More: How Nike’s Lean Manufacturing Transformed Its Supply Chain.
Lessons from the Puma’s Automated Distribution Hub
You don’t need a giant German hub to get faster. But you need the right sequence, which is focus. Here are key lessons to learn from Puma’s supply chain:
1. Speed Is a Competitive Advantage
Fast delivery is no longer a luxury because it shapes buying decisions. Puma treated speed as a business strategy, not just an operations task.
2. Automation Protects Against Disruption
Automation is not only about speed; it is also about resilience. Robots do not get sick, tired, or overwhelmed during demand spikes. However, that doesn’t mean supply chains should do away with people. Tesla learnt this the hard way. See the full story here.
3. Combine Channels to Remove Waste
Serving retail and online customers from a single hub creates flexibility. When one channel slows down, the other can take up the capacity.
4. Central Visibility Reduces Waste
Knowing where the stock is at all times reduces errors and delays.
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How African Supply Chains Can Apply The Same Playbook
Africa’s logistics networks are diverse. Some markets are spread out, roads across the continent differ in quality, and import timelines vary. But the principles from Puma’s case can apply in many environments if scaled appropriately.
1. Start with Inventory Visibility
Centralize data before centralizing buildings. If warehouses do not share stock information effectively, delays and misallocations increase.
2. Build Regional Hubs Where Demand Concentrates
A single large warehouse for an entire country may not work in every case. But hubs in key urban centers can meaningfully reduce delivery times. For example:
- A distribution hub in Nairobi serving Kenya and nearby areas.
- A hub in Lagos serving West Africa.
3. Automate in Steps
Automation is not “all or nothing.” It is possible to start small. For example, start with:
- Barcode scanning.
- Simple conveyor belts.
- Slotting logic for faster picking.
Then scale to:
- Automated storage systems.
- Robotics for repetitive movement.
4. Design for Flexibility, Not Just Low Cost
Some supply chains focus only on cutting storage costs. But speed and reliability keep customers returning.
Obinabo Tochukwu Tabansi is a supply chain digital writer (Content writer & Ghostwriter) helping professionals and business owners across Africa learn from real-world supply chain wins and setbacks and apply proven strategies to their own operations. He also crafts social content for logistics and supply chain companies, turning their solutions and insights into engaging posts that drive visibility and trust.
