Q&A: Abbas Tolouee & David Bailey, Arvato
Arvato is a global 3PL and e-commerce supply chain partner that helps brands turn strategy into fast, precise and reliable logistics operations.
Serving sectors including Consumer Products, Tech, Healthcare, Automotive and Publishing, Arvato runs tailored fulfilment and distribution networks across 100+ locations worldwide. More than 20,000 employees combine technology, data-driven processes and operational expertise to deliver resilient performance and adapt to changing demand.
We sat down for a discussion with Abbas Tolouee (Director Strategy & Consulting, Arvato) and David Bailey (Director of Consumer Products UK at Arvato) to find out what they’ve been up to.
Can you tell us a bit about your background?
Abbas: “I am the Director of Strategy at Arvato, responsible for the short- and long-term direction of our consumer products portfolio. With a background in cross-border business and supply chain optimisation, I advise UK & global brands on supply chain optimisation, omnichannel (e-commerce), and go-to-market strategies, helping them convert demand into growth…”
David: “I’m Consumer Products Director at Arvato in the UK and sit on the UK Executive Team. I have over 30 years of leadership experience across logistics, distribution, and supply chain, previously serving as Chief Strategy & Technology Officer at Kammac. Before that, I held General Manager positions at various logistics companies. My current focus is operational excellence, designing scalable solutions and embedding continuous improvement across complex, multi-site environments, helping our clients grow, and growing with them.”
What does your company do? / What is your USP?
David: “Arvato is a global 3PL and e-commerce supply chain partner. We help brands turn their supply chains into a competitive advantage. We combine deep sector expertise with strong cross-border and customs capability from our global network. With strong warehouse options, we can stand up the right operation and scale space and capability as volumes change, underpinned by disciplined project execution and targeted use of automation and AI where it delivers measurable impact.”
What’s special about the platform and your approach?
David: “We see ourselves as a partner, not a transactional logistics provider. With every new client we start with their customer promise, such as delivery options, checkout expectations, returns behaviour, and then design the operating model backwards from that. That means localisation where it matters, regulatory readiness, and data-led planning so teams can move from firefighting to running predictably. It also means continuous innovation and technology development to keep pace with changing volumes, service promises and compliance requirements. On top of this, we lean into the parts of the supply chain others often avoid or de-scope, such as garment alteration services.”
Abbas: “That’s where our scale really helps. We combine a strong global network with deep local-market expertise, so brands get consistency where they need it while still tailoring execution to local consumer expectations and regulatory requirements. On top of that, our omnichannel capability helps us connect the dots across channels, so inventory, fulfilment and returns work as one system rather than competing priorities.”
What advantage does it add?
Abbas: “Over the past 6-12 months, we’ve seen client priorities become far more fluid, especially in consumer products, where the sector is only getting faster-moving and harder for brands to stand out. Our operating model allows clients to scale across markets, adapt quickly as volumes and customer expectations shift, and stay resilient through disruption, supported by a service approach that’s personal and responsive. The lines between traditional customer segments are also increasingly blurred, making market intelligence more critical than ever.”
How does a product/service implementation actually look and how do you measure success?
David: “Implementation starts with understanding client’s goals, challenges, and then agreeing on outcomes, such as target service levels, launch timelines, landed-cost visibility, the returns promise, and what ‘good’ looks like at peak.
From there, we turn that into a clear operating plan, identifying where inventory should sit (including bonded or dual-inventory options if needed), which carriers and service tiers to use, and the day-to-day processes that make the operation customs-ready and customer-ready, including labelling, documentation, clearance routes and exception handling.
We track performance against a straightforward scorecard, covering customer KPIs such as on-time, in-full (OTIF), delivery-choice uptake and returns cycle time; financial KPIs such as cost-to-serve and working capital; and resilience KPIs such as peak stability and time to recover from disruption.”
How are retailers using your systems to gain competitive advantage and what does best practice look like? Can you share a case study with us?
David: “Retailers use our systems to convert brand demand into operational advantage. In a landscape where demand can spike overnight off a social media trend or a time-sensitive drop, retailers leverage our systems to protect conversion with a frictionless checkout (including transparent landed costs and the local payment options UK shoppers expect) and sustain loyalty with real delivery choice (home, lockers and pick-up) and fast, local returns.
Best practice is end-to-end orchestration; maintaining inventory accuracy, warehouse flow, carrier performance and exceptions in sync, with clear scorecards and proactive planning so service levels hold when volumes swing overnight.”
In 2025, we launched a new AutoStore at our Hams Hall warehouse to service a new international client, a leading technical athletic apparel brand, seeking a flexible, reliable fulfilment model for the fast-moving UK market. The upgrade increased capacity by more than 30% and enables faster, more adaptable fulfilment for a growing international client base. The system operates with 165 R5 robots managing 87,600 bins (up from 65,000) and supports nearly 1.2 million stored units; during peak periods, picking performance reaches 26,000+ orders per day, a 53% increase versus manual picking. For the client, this translates into more inventory, higher throughput at peak, and greater consistency in hitting delivery cut-offs as volumes shift. This illustrates how we use the right automation solutions to serve our clients’ needs and enable sustainable growth.”
Are there other companies you partner with?
Abbas: “Yes, ecosystems are a big part of our business. We work with well-known technology and automation partners to make sure we create the perfect setup for our clients and we partner with carriers and out-of-home networks to deliver the local options UK consumers expect. We also implement practical applications like AI-led forecasting and digital-twin approaches to improve planning accuracy, throughput and workforce efficiency, alongside automation such as the AutoStore previously mentioned, shuttles and robotics where it best serves clients and improves process flows. And this isn’t limited to fashion and retail. We bring the same partnership-led approach to highly regulated and fast-moving sectors like technology and healthcare.”
What challenges and opportunities do you see in UK retail between now and 2030?
Abbas: The opportunity is clear. The UK is one of Europe’s most mature e-commerce markets, with nearly one in three retail sales being made online, with very high online shopping penetration and strong long-term growth forecasts. The challenge is that maturity equals expectation. Consumers have low tolerance for friction, and post‑Brexit trade adds real regulatory complexity for non-UK brands. At the same time, expectations and demand are likely to remain volatile over the next few years, driven by shifting consumer behaviour, economic pressure, and evolving cross-border dynamics. The winners will be the ones that treat fulfilment, checkout transparency, and localisation as strategic capabilities, not afterthoughts.”
What is on the horizon for you as a company?
Abbas: “We’re investing strongly in the UK to support the next phase of our clients’ growth, expanding our warehouse footprint and scaling automation to increase capacity, flexibility and resilience. Consumer products have been a major growth engine in recent years and will remain a priority, but we’re also focused on building momentum in other sectors and partnering with more UK-based brands that have international footprints, helping them scale cross-border without losing service quality.”
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To find out how Arvato can help your retail operation, visit them online here or connect with them here
