Kuehne + Nagel announces the award of a 5-year contract with Decathlon, company dedicated to the commercialisation of sports articles and clothes, to operate a new distribution centre of 23,000 sqm located within the facilities of the Port of Cartagena Group, through its sea terminal Contecar.

Jon Hernaez, Supply Chain Director of Decathlon for LATAM, indicates that "the Cartagena distribution centre will have as a mission to connect our sports customers with our proposal of unique products in terms of value and price. The first commercial tests carried out in Colombia, Mexico and Chile confirm the attractiveness of the area and the good reception of our offer. Kuehne + Nagel seemed to us to be the ideal partner to accompany us in this adventure for its positioning and its experience within the port of Cartagena and more globally in the region."

Ingo Goldhammer, President of Kuehne + Nagel South and Central America comments: "We are pleased to serve Decathlon and its customers by providing our international supply chain expertise. Kuehne + Nagel has managed to become a benchmark in the Colombian and regional market offering innovative logistics solutions with high-quality standards for key players in different industries. The teamwork between Decathlon, Port of Cartagena Group and Kuehne + Nagel, as well as the innovation in the logistics and customs processes, have been a fundamental part for this project."

Aníbal Ochoa, representative of the Commercial Management of the Port of Cartagena Group adds: "By working together with Kuehne + Nagel, we are demonstrating that Cartagena becomes an ideal logistics platform, which promotes socio-economic development and trade in the Caribbean region."

The distribution centre in Cartagena will handle more than 15,000 product references and will have more than 25,000 dynamic positions, besides having a three-level mezzanine with capacity for more than 40,000 storage locations designed to deliver an efficient operation according to the regional markets demands. Operations are scheduled to start in the third quarter of the year.

To strengthen the local supply, Kuehne + Nagel has further been selected to manage a 10,000 sqm warehouse in Bogotá. The facility is destined for the storage and distribution of Decathlon´s products to the Colombian market.

Kuehne + Nagel