Skip to content

Japan & Korea Supply Chain

STRAUSS, DHL launch integrated Columbus logistics hub handling 1.3M units/year

STRAUSS and DHL Supply Chain launched an integrated logistics partnership in Columbus, Ohio, on June 24, 2026. The hub processes up to 1.3 million units annually and embeds embroidery and print customization directly into fulfillment. After six months of joint integration, the operation supports STRAUSS’s U.S. B2B growth and upcoming digital store enhancements. Matthias Fischer, STRAUSS COO and Treasurer, and Patrick Bennett, DHL Supply Chain North America CFO, confirmed the go-live and scalability benefits.

Original source: ajot.com

STRAUSS, DHL launch integrated Columbus logistics hub handling 1.3M units/year
📋 本文要点

STRAUSS and DHL Supply Chain launched an integrated logistics partnership in Columbus, Ohio, on June 24, 2026. The hub processes up to 1.3 million units annually and embeds embroidery and print customization directly into fulfillment. After six months of joint integration, the operation supports STRAUSS’s U.S. B2B growth and upcoming digital store enhancements. Matthias Fischer, STRAUSS COO and Treasurer, and Patrick Bennett, DHL Supply Chain North America CFO, confirmed the go-live and scalability benefits.

According to www.ajot.com, STRAUSS and DHL Supply Chain have officially launched an integrated logistics partnership in Columbus, Ohio, with operations going live on June 24, 2026.

Strategic Integration Goes Live

The partnership marks a major milestone in STRAUSS’s North American expansion, consolidating its U.S. operations around Columbus as its domestic home base. After six months of joint integration work by cross-functional teams from both companies, the new end-to-end logistics setup became operational on June 24, 2026. The first outbound package shipped from DHL’s Columbus distribution center that same day — confirming full operational readiness.

The collaboration unifies STRAUSS’s workwear personalization capabilities with DHL Supply Chain’s fulfillment infrastructure. Under the agreement, DHL provides comprehensive services including warehousing, distribution, and embedded product customization — specifically embroidery and print services — all conducted within the same facility. This co-located model eliminates handoffs between separate vendors and shortens order cycle times significantly.

Scalable Infrastructure in Columbus

DHL’s Columbus distribution center is now configured to process up to 1.3 million units per year in its current setup. The facility is designed with flexible scalability to accommodate STRAUSS’s projected growth trajectory in the U.S. market. This capacity supports both standard bulk orders and small-batch, logo-branded workwear — a key differentiator for B2B customers requiring rapid, precise customization.

“We are excited to have DHL Supply Chain as our global logistics partner and be so close to them in our second home,” said Matthias Fischer, COO and Treasurer of STRAUSS. “Over the past six months, our teams have worked with great commitment to build an integrated setup that is now live and already delivering results. This partnership gives us the ability to provide our customers and business partners with the gear they need and personalize it to their exact requirements faster and more efficiently than ever before.”

Accelerating B2B Digital Transformation

The partnership directly enables STRAUSS’s upcoming digital enhancement: a revamped U.S. B2B online store scheduled for launch later in 2026. The updated platform will integrate STRAUSS’s established European personalization workflows with DHL’s U.S.-based fulfillment execution. Customers will be able to configure, preview, and order customized apparel digitally — with real-time visibility into production status and delivery timelines.

This move aligns STRAUSS with broader industry trends toward embedded customization in B2B e-commerce. Competitors such as FedEx and UPS have recently expanded similar bundled logistics-and-branding offerings for mid-market corporate clients, though few combine in-facility embroidery with single-provider accountability at scale.

Operational Backbone for U.S. Growth

Patrick Bennett, CFO of DHL Supply Chain North America, emphasized the strategic fit: “As STRAUSS accelerates its expansion in the U.S., DHL Supply Chain is providing the operational backbone to support that growth. By integrating fulfillment and customization into a single, scalable operation, we’re enabling STRAUSS to expand its footprint with greater speed, efficiency and consistency.”

The Columbus hub serves as the central node for STRAUSS’s entire U.S. supply chain — replacing fragmented third-party arrangements previously used across multiple regional warehouses. This consolidation reduces total logistics cost per unit while improving inventory accuracy and reducing lead time variability. For supply chain professionals, the model demonstrates how tightly coupled personalization and fulfillment can reduce working capital tied up in finished-goods inventory — particularly valuable in markets where seasonal demand spikes require agile capacity ramp-up.

Source: ajot.com

Compiled from international media by the SCI.AI editorial team.

Ask SCI.AI Finished reading? Continue with SCI.AI. Explore the related policy, route, company and historical context. Continue asking
South Korea, Brazil Ink Deal to Restart Mercosur FTA Talks
Japan & Korea Supply Chain

South Korea, Brazil Ink Deal to Restart Mercosur FTA Talks

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva agreed on 29 July 2026 to restart free-trade negotiations with Mercosur — the South American bloc of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Bolivia. A joint working group will prepare a formal declaration for the Mercosur summit in December 2026. Talks, launched in 2018, stalled in late 2021 amid manufacturing-sector concerns. Analysts say Seoul must back diplomacy with real investment and technology transfer. Mercosur’s $3.5 trillion GDP and 270 million consumers make it a high-stakes opportunity for Korean exporters and supply chain planners.

Nissan to export US-built Murano to Japan in early 2027
Japan & Korea Supply Chain

Nissan to export US-built Murano to Japan in early 2027

Nissan will begin exporting the U.S.-built Murano SUV from its Smyrna, Tennessee plant to Japan in early 2027 — enabled by a September 2025 U.S.-Japan trade agreement that lowered U.S. tariffs on Japanese vehicles from 25% to 15% and allowed U.S. safety certification to satisfy Japanese regulatory requirements. The move follows similar announcements by Toyota and Honda to export U.S.-assembled models to Japan. Nissan sold 42,747 Muranos in the U.S. in 2025 (+121% YoY), while U.S. imports from Japan fell 17.4% to 113,094 units.

Japan pulls rare earths from Pacific seabed; yttrium at 1,000 ppm
Japan & Korea Supply Chain

Japan pulls rare earths from Pacific seabed; yttrium at 1,000 ppm

Japan has extracted yttrium (at 1,000 ppm) and dysprosium from deep-sea mud near Minamitorishima Island in the Pacific Ocean. The seabed deposit lies 2,000 meters below the surface and forms part of Japan’s strategy to cut reliance on China, which supplies over 90% of global refined rare earths. Despite promising assays, commercialization remains distant due to high extraction costs, with no large-scale pilot expected before the late 2030s. Japan has committed ¥15 billion to seabed R&D and is pursuing alternatives including domestic smelting (Shin-Etsu, 2027), recycling (Toyota Tsusho), and international partnerships (France, Greenland). Rare-earth costs for Japanese firms rose over 20% in early 2026.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Scan to share via WeChat

Open WeChat and scan the QR code to share

QR Code

Add New Playlist