MDS expands its distribution centre in Dourdan (91) to 46,000 m²
MDS's logistics centre in Dourdan, Île-de-France, now covers an area of 46,000 m². The book distributor plans to deploy new technologies there soon.
On July 4, 2025, the book distributor MDS inaugurated a warehouse extension of an additional 6,000 m² for its distribution center of formerly 40,000 m² based in Dourdan, in the Essonne region. Committed to an industrial transformation, the company centralizes all the editorial distribution professions on this site: single book price, bookstore returns, logistics, sales administration, customer service, finance, HR and IT dedicated. "In an uncertain economic context, our business is evolving, from wholesaler to grocer who must respect his customer promise, 60,000 references that can be ordered at any time by professionals and delivered within 24 to 48 hours," explains Olivier Barbé, Managing Director of MDS. This new warehouse, a key element of our centralization of activity, ensures that we gain in agility and quality of service in a context of just-in-time flows and ever shorter delivery times ». More than 60 million books are shipped each year from the distribution center in Dourdan.
Automation and AI
The site will incorporate automation designed by Savoye, with PTS (goods-to-person solutions) comprising more than 100,000 bins handled by 180 robotic shuttles, as well as the Jivaro packaging machine that tracks down voids in packages.
MDS will also begin deploying Salesforce's latest-generation CRM at the end of 2025 to centralize all internal and external data, from receipt to order preparation and transport. From 2026, using this tool, MDS will explore the potential of artificial intelligence in automating proposals for answers to the simplest and most recurring questions. This includes freeing up time for account managers to focus on the most specific or complex requests. "AI will be used in our company to transform our customer experience, and this is a first," says Olivier Barbé. We already have a customer portal to which we will add a chatbot to respond 24/7 to the most basic requests. It will be a question of taking a further step to automate and modernize our customer journey, according to the expectations and needs of book professionals. »
An ecological dimension
In line with MDS' CSR approach, the new 6,000 m² warehouse offers the possibility of concentrating a large part of the pallet stock on a single site and optimising costs, by eliminating overstocks currently located more than 50 km away. More than 15,000 additional pallets will be integrated into the extension, reducing additional stocks and inter-site transport, which are sources of costs and CO2 emissions. "Today, we were thinking in m³ and not in m² in our warehouse to optimise storage and picking, while integrating the dimension of a positive social and environmental impact on society Olivier Barbé explains. In addition, equipped with photovoltaic solar panels on its entire roof, the new building will produce 25% of the energy consumption of the entire large MDS logistics site in Dourdan.
Source: voxlog.fr
