Maersk Takes Over Management of Puma's North American Distribution

Maersk now operates more than 2 million square feet of Puma's North American distribution network, including automated warehouses in Arizona, California and Indiana.

The companies said their "partnership has expanded well beyond ocean shipping." Helmut Leibbrandt, senior vice president of supply chain management and logistics for the Americas at Puma, said the retailer requires an "agile, efficient" supply chain.

"As we've expanded our relationship with Maersk, we've seen the value of combining our highly automated distribution network with their operational expertise, technology, and integrated logistics capabilities," Leibbrandt said. "This next phase of our partnership strengthens our ability to move products more efficiently across channels, improve responsiveness to changing demand, and create greater value from the investments we've made in our U.S. distribution infrastructure."

The deal deepens Maersk's contract logistics footprint in the region. The company operates more than 70 fulfillment facilities in North America totaling about 22.5 million square feet. Globally, it runs more than 500 warehouses spanning more than 100 million square feet.

What Maersk handles for Puma

Maersk said it already provides warehousing and distribution logistics services that help Puma deliver to consumers worldwide. Those services include air freight, customs services, fulfillment and inland transportation.

The companies described the new agreement as the "next phase of their partnership," one that strengthens Puma's U.S. distribution network. Maersk said it will maximize the performance of Puma's automated facilities, improve efficiency and reduce costs. It will also support orders for the apparel brand's retail stores, online shoppers and wholesale customers.

Dave Hune, North America head of Maersk contract logistics, said the company is working with Puma to create a more flexible and scalable fulfillment network. Together, he said, they seek to "keep products moving quickly to stores and consumers."

"Many companies are looking for ways to get more value from the logistics infrastructure they've already invested in," Hune said. "This partnership is a great example of how Maersk can combine our operational expertise, technology, and logistics network with a customer's existing assets to improve efficiency, maximize the value of automation, and reduce costs."

Maersk listed asset control and data visibility as "core benefits" of its integrated logistics approach.

Automation at the center

Puma's warehouses in Arizona, California and Indiana run on AutoStore, an automated storage and retrieval system that combines automation and software "to enable more intelligent and efficient fulfillment," according to Maersk.

The system stores inventory in a compact grid. Robots retrieve goods automatically and bring them directly to employees at workstations for picking and packing. That reduces unnecessary travel and manual handling, Maersk said, improving speed, efficiency and workplace productivity "while making better use of available warehouse space."

AutoStore's design is flexible and scalable, the company added. That flexibility helps operations adapt to changing demand while maintaining fulfillment performance across ecommerce, retail and wholesale channels.

"The partnership advances Maersk's strategy of delivering integrated logistics solutions that connect physical assets, transportation networks as well as the latest technology and digital assets to create greater operational control, reliability and value for customers," Maersk said. "As supply chains become increasingly complex, fulfillment plays a growing role in helping businesses position inventory closer to demand, respond more quickly to market changes and serve consumers across channels."

A multichannel first in Torrance

The California facility will become Maersk's first in North America to support multiple clients' operations. Starting in 2027, Maersk said, the Torrance site will have capacity "for other brands that need fast, automated order fulfillment near strategic air and ocean gateways as well as one of the largest consumer markets in the country."

Puma ranks No. 65 in the Europe Database, a market research tool that tracks the region's largest online retailers by annual ecommerce sales.

For brands weighing whether to build, outsource or share fulfillment capacity, the Puma-Maersk model points to a hybrid path: keep the automated assets, hand the operations to a partner with scale, and open spare capacity to other shippers.