Actemium Lyon Logistics supports GLS France in automating its new national HUB

An investment plan supporting sustained growth

Since the health crisis, the strong growth of e-commerce has pushed parcel delivery players to reinvent themselves. GLS France’s existing infrastructure was no longer able to absorb the annual increase in its business volumes. This is why the project to create a new HUB, located 35 km south of Paris, took on major strategic importance. In this context, GLS France was looking for an automated parcel handling solution capable of providing additional hourly capacity and expanding the number of sorting destinations from the Paris region.

A strategic partnership for successful collaboration

GLS France selected Actemium Lyon Logistics to support it in its automation project. Drawing on its extensive experience with parcel delivery operators, Actemium is able to identify, understand, and address the challenges and issues specific to this sector. To ensure the success of the project, Actemium was involved from the design phase, working in a “co-creative layout” mode alongside GLS teams. This collaboration made it possible to define equipment layouts, adapt the project to the building’s constraints (114 truck docks, optimization of truck and pallet flows), and integrate control, command, and traceability systems. A relationship of trust was built through continuous dialogue between GLS, the business operator, and Actemium, the automation expert. This joint effort led to the development of solutions perfectly suited to on-the-ground realities and future challenges.

If we chose Actemium Lyon Logistics, it was first and foremost for their solid expertise in the logistics field, but above all for their approach focused on a precise understanding of our needs—an approach that stems directly from their role as an integrator. Actemium was committed to offering us the most appropriate technical solutions, not off-the-shelf ones

Jérôme Gélinat, Technical Director and Industrial Master Plan, GLS France

A platform at the forefront of technology

For its new HUB in France, the true heart of its network, GLS has equipped itself with state-of-the-art infrastructure designed to automate sorting operations while meeting its overall technical and environmental performance ambitions. This platform is capable of handling up to 350,000 parcels per day and features, in particular:

• 16 induction lines
• a high-speed crossbelt sorter for standard parcels with 82 chutes
• a sorter dedicated to small parcels
• Two stations for handling oversized items.

All systems are managed by Actemium’s WCS software, built on a foundation derived from its historical expertise and enhanced with custom features tailored to GLS’s processes. The project also includes the exploration of new digital uses, such as artificial intelligence and predictive maintenance, developed in partnership with GLS. The major challenge lay in the diversity of parcel formats, ranging from simple envelopes to mattresses or bulky furniture. The goal was therefore to design technical solutions capable of sorting a wide variety of products at very high speed—up to 15,000 parcels per hour.

As an automation expert, Actemium Lyon Logistics adapted the control systems to maximize HUB performance. We worked closely with GLS, who provided their field expertise to manage all specific cases. This project is a true benchmark for Actemium, perfectly illustrating our ability to deliver large-scale projects thanks to the strength of the VINCI Group.

Emmanuel Belmont, Managing Director, Actemium Lyon Logistics Solutions

A collective success shared within the VINCI Energies Group

Beyond the expertise of Actemium Lyon Logistics, this project involved six other companies from the Actemium network, demonstrating its robustness and its ability to bring together complementary expertise in service of a single client. This close collaboration made it possible to combine skills covering the entire intralogistics project value chain: engineering and management of large-scale projects, automation and supervision, development and integration of WCS, digital solutions for flow optimization, as well as on-site deployment and maintenance.

Thanks to an international network and a proven culture of cooperation, Actemium is able to deliver large-scale projects while guaranteeing proximity, responsiveness, and continuity of service across the entire territory and worldwide. This internal synergy was one of the key drivers behind the project’s success, from design through to operational commissioning.