As a central pillar alongside digitalization, NORDWEST currently operates a logistics location in Gießen for its affiliated specialist trade partners. With the completion of the new construction in Alsfeld, planned for January 2026 as one of the largest and most modern central warehouses in the PVH (Industrial Supply Trade) industry, NORDWEST is not only expanding capacities for the growing Europe-wide cooperative group network, but is also creating additional capacities on 68,000 square meters to offer individual services as a logistics specialist for partners from dealer and manufacturer circles from central Germany.

Specialist wholesalers as well as manufacturers who need additional logistics capacities, want to implement growth projects, increase their logistics performance, or also want to centrally handle direct delivery to their customers, can realize this in the new, high-performance NORDWEST logistics center. High product availability and same-day delivery are already among the success factors from which trading partners and clients benefit to strengthen their competitive position. The new construction in Alsfeld, Hesse will elevate this to a new level while simultaneously achieving an extremely high standard in terms of sustainability.

Designed as Multi-User Warehouse

The new NORDWEST logistics center will be multi-tenant capable, so that additional partners can also be connected for specific projects – cost-effectively and including delivery to end customers with individual delivery notes throughout Germany and Europe.

The new central warehouse offers space for customized logistics services. (Source: NORDWEST)

The new central warehouse offers space for customized logistics services. (Source: NORDWEST)

NORDWEST will oversee the connection and implementation from beginning to end, both technically and organizationally. The processes are highly individually configurable, the logistics services are offered for a broad potential product range, from highly efficient automated small parts handling to the handling of bulky goods and hazardous materials. NORDWEST’s service spectrum also includes other possible services (VAS – Value Added Services), which range from equipping workshop trolleys, to set formations, to individual order packaging.

Technical Highlights in the New Central Warehouse

NORDWEST will deploy the ultra-modern, automated and sustainable packaging system CVP Everest from Sparck Technologies in the new logistics center and implement the project with the company XPROMA. The system automatically creates a perfectly sized shipping box every three seconds. With the ability to realize up to 1,200 custom-made packages per hour, the system sets new standards in efficiency and productivity and saves costs.

The automation solution that NORDWEST is implementing with the company KNAPP includes an Automatic Small Parts Warehouse (AKL), autonomous mobile robots (AMR) as well as customized workstations in goods receipt, order picking and the packaging area, which provide efficiency and flexibility.

The New Central Warehouse with State-of-the-Art Material Flow Technology in Numbers

• 135,000 m² site area
• 68,000 m² hall area
• 12 meters hall height
• 20 meters hall height in the area of the Automatic Small Parts Warehouse
• 170,000 storage positions in the fully automated Automatic Small Parts Warehouse
• 50,000 Euro pallet storage positions including hazardous material storage and handling
• Shelving system and block areas for VAS / small items / bulky goods
• Up to 11,000 cartons and 1,000 pallets per day in goods dispatch
• DGNB certification with Gold standard for sustainable construction

Major Advantages in Logistics Cooperation with NORDWEST

NORDWEST creates value-added logistics and space for new joint projects. The target group includes wholesalers, specialist trade and supplier partners who want to partially or completely outsource their warehousing and associated services in order to experience relief in their daily business operations, variabilize their fixed costs and at the same time professionally design logistics performance for end customers. The new NORDWEST logistics center will be among the most modern central warehouses nationwide. Partners who use the logistics services can better achieve their growth goals with the help of the cooperative company, increase their customer satisfaction and optimize their processes in a scalable, cost-efficient and digitized manner. Increased storage capacities, faster, more reliable deliveries and lower costs should give companies an additional advantage in the market. More comprehensive storage capacity means even higher product availability and product diversity, which reduces bottlenecks and makes distribution more flexible – for today’s and tomorrow’s markets.

Current Construction Status of the Logistics New Construction in Alsfeld

Construction of the new NORDWEST logistics center began in August 2024 and is progressing according to plan. The IT connection of the new construction is also in full swing. The handover of the first hall areas (Early Access) to the cooperative company is planned for September 2025. At this time, the setup of automation technology from KNAPP Industry Solutions GmbH begins (including automatic shuttle warehouse, container conveyor technology, integrated pick and pack stations). For manual processing, NORDWEST expects a go-live, i.e., the first storage of items, in March 2026. From this point on, inventories from all previous locations will be successively moved to Alsfeld. Shortly thereafter, shipping will also begin from there, including hazardous materials. In parallel, the installation of automation technology will take place until the end of the third quarter of 2026.

The construction site in Alsfeld (Source: NORDWEST)

The construction site in Alsfeld (Source: NORDWEST)

Full operation is planned after completion and commissioning of the complex automatic small parts warehouse in the first quarter of 2027. Then partners will fully benefit from the many advantages of the new central warehouse.

The New Central Warehouse is a Key Building Block

The new central warehouse is an essential building block on the cooperative company’s path to a successful future – the same should apply to partners who use the individual logistics services there: with state-of-the-art automation technology, sustainable technologies and an infrastructure that meets the highest demands for efficiency and flexibility. To this end, the cooperative company has already placed value on additional capacities as well as corresponding IT processes and interfaces during the planning phase in order to be able to store and ship suppliers’ and specialist wholesalers’ own inventories. Through simple and fast connection via the already existing interfaces to existing partners, smaller joint projects also come into focus, as the threshold for implementation is low and the individual expansion of business is uncomplicated.