Menlo promotes logistics advantages of Rotterdam

With nearly 30% of Northern Europe’s annual container imports and exports passing through the Port of Rotterdam, the region is unsurprisingly a major focal point for manufacturers and retailers in European supply chain operations.

Menlo Logistics, the global logistics and supply chain management unit of Con-way Inc. is now looking to develop its business at the 8,500 square meter facility still further.

According to, Tony Gunn, Menlo’s Managing Director in Europe, 57% of all Asian and American sourced products have a European Distribution Center (EDC) located in the Netherlands.

“And a significant proportion of these are in the Rotterdam region,” he said.  Part of the reason for this high concentration is the flexibility that the location allows dynamic supply chains.”

Menlo has had a presence in Rotterdam since the company began its European operations in January, 2003.

Evan Armstrong, president of Stoughton, WI-based Armstrong & Associates, said that Menlo is among the key global 3PLs providing extensive IT capabilities, over 5,000 employees and provide service to 90% or more of the world’s Gross Domestic Product.

While Menlo’s current Rotterdam-based shippers reside predominantly within the high tech sector, the logistics capabilities of its personnel and suitability of the warehouse are also geared to handling life sciences, lifestyle and e-commerce product, said UPS spokesmen.

Indeed with key nodes in that transport network such as Schiphol, Brussels, Aachen and Dusseldorf all within a two-hour drive (and Frankfurt just four), the hubs of the major freight integrators are all less than an hour away.

“Menlo’s Rotterdam base ensures the physical dimension of supply chain flexibility,” said Gunn. “Operations within the facility also mirror this crucial adaptability.”