Our logistics
Our purchased goods are delivered to our warehouses by truck (36% in containers). The total volume represents the equivalent of 1,931 20-foot containers. The initiative launched in 2022 to green the post-carriage of our Asian imports (containers) has enabled us to shift 164 containers to other modes of transport (156 are brought up from the port of Marseille by train and 8 by barge). We have 128,969 m2 of storage space, with a capacity of 125,830 pallets and 310 pieces of handling equipment from 3 carefully selected manufacturers. We stock 66,636 items. Our teams of 197 warehousemen have prepared and dispatched 533,804 orders comprising 3,018,246 lines. Our customers’ purchasing processes are computerized: 47% of orders entered in their systems are transmitted to us by E.D.I. (Electronic Data Interchange), by character recognition and/or directly on our websites, resulting in a substantial reduction in manual data entry by our teams. Average sales per order amount to 1,214 euros.
Our subsidiaries may have one or more warehousing centers from which they ship customer orders in France, Europe and Africa. They guarantee their customers delivery times :
- 24/72 h for France.
- 2 to 6 days for foreign destinations.
- Sodeco Valves, based in Belgium, can deliver within 4 hours in its catchment area.
This implies :
- Optimized inventory management to ensure “zero stock-outs”, an imperative requirement for our purchasing departments.
- Agreements with reliable carriers.
Supply Chain Management
The major technological developments applicable to the supply chain and the context of the last few years continue to place monitoring at the heart of our concerns. This is why, in 2023, we have renewed our membership of the Club Agora du Supply Chain Management and our participation in a number of conferences. This enables us to maintain a permanent and regular link with many companies of all sizes, to exchange and share our experiences, and thus enrich our own approach.
2023 was also a year rich in projects:
ThermAppro – This decision-support tool incorporating machine learning algorithms was custom-developed to enable our purchasing/supply teams to optimize their procurement. In 2023, as part of an evolutionary maintenance program, we were able to improve our calculation times, overhaul the application base and deploy a new high-performance predictive algorithm. The year 2023 also saw the roll-out of many new functions to our subsidiary Odrea (3 sites).
Sferaco platform optimization project launched
An in-house project team was set up in June 2023, supported by a consulting firm specializing in intralogistics.
We started by modeling our current platform (flows, processes, surface areas, employees, drudgery, productivity, equipment) and then dimensioned the future platform for the next 5-10 years, while identifying applicable technologies. This optimization will enable us to support Sferaco’s growth and provide our customers with ever-better service, while respecting environmental and social issues. In 2024, we will launch a call for tenders for integrators, and we will choose and plan the most appropriate scenario in conjunction with all stakeholders.
Our sales activity
54,303 visits to 32,332 customer accounts
255 customers visited the Group, including 5 at our industrial partners’ facilities
546,371 calls per year: advice, prices, availability, after-sales service
The role of our General Managers and sales teams is to be in constant contact with our customers, whether in the field or on the telephone. They have in-depth knowledge of the product ranges they promote, and if some of our wholesale customers receive representatives from several Group subsidiaries on the same day, they never complain about wasted time.
Every week, we carry out training activities in the field or on our premises, with our customers’ teams.
Our sedentary technical sales teams handle all types of telephone inquiries very quickly: prices, availability, after-sales service, technical information…
Some of our wholesale customers have developed a web-based business. At the same time, pure players and marketplaces have entered our markets. We welcome these new distribution channels as opportunities, and are investing to ensure that our technical resources and the expertise of our teams are up to the challenge. Modern Internet sites, enrichment and distribution of product data, brand referencing, adaptation of pricing policies, digital marketing, online videos, social networks, influencers…
Virtual Reality
Initiated in 2021, the virtual buildings and industries projects created by Opaline’s 3D studio are continuing to roll out. In 2023, at the Artibat trade show in Rennes for construction professionals, visitors were able to experience virtual reality on the stands of our six building wholesaler subsidiaries. Equipped with a headset, they were able to fully immerse themselves in solutions dedicated to individual housing. This original experience was also offered on the Thermador Groupe stand at the Investir Day trade show, the investors’ rendez-vous in Paris on November 28, 2023.
Interactive tours of the “virtual homes” are available on the Thermador Groupe website. Four industry-specific subsidiaries exhibit virtual showrooms of their products online.
To be continued, new immersive projects to explore.
Distribution channels
Our subsidiaries act as useful, efficient interfaces between a large number of manufacturers around the world and increasingly demanding wholesalers, DIY superstores, factories, pool professionals, e-merchants and marketplaces.