After celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2023, Portuguese logistics company Luís Simões has announced a reinforcement of its business with the opening of four new logistics operations centres, one of them in Spain. The facilities will be used to carry out tasks such as storage, order preparation, co-packing, management of tax warehouses and support for the Luís Simões group's distribution network on the  Iberian Peninsula.

The four new centres total 37,000 square metres and will generate seventy jobs. The new Spanish warehouse, strategically located in the Zona Franca logistics park in Barcelona, specialises in operations in the beverage industry. It has the capacity to store up to 5,000 pallets.

Growth project
The new centre in Barcelona joins the other four that the company already has in the Catalan capital and the extensive network it has in cities throughout Spain. Coinciding with its 75th anniversary, the group announced its intention in 2023 to increase its turnover, open new logistics centres and optimise its customer services.

Luís Simões' general manager of logistics, Luís Freitas, explains, "In 2023, we had set ourselves the goal of further increasing our turnover, and to achieve this it was essential to continue to expand our operational network with new logistics centres. We did this and the results exceeded all our expectations. We now enjoy better conditions to be able to respond to the needs of our customers, offering the excellence and level of service they require."

New technologies
According to the company's sustainability report, facilities and processes have been modernised after implementing new transport management system technologies. A project has also been launched to modernise a customer information portal and the foundations have been laid for a new warehouse management system.

More than 70% of the services provided by Luís Simões are linked to the consumption of food and personal hygiene and healthcare products, which are subject to specific requirements. According to its report, in 2023 it obtained the highest possible assessment in all certified facilities, for which it is subject to annual unannounced audits.

The company actually passed 77 internal and external audits last year. Its main operations comply with ISO 9001 quality management and ISO 14001 environmental management standards. Two of its Spanish centres stand out for their certifications: the one in Cabanillas del Campo (Guadalajara), for its good medicine distribution practices since 2020, and the one in Guadalajara, as a warehouse for organic products since 2021.

Photo: Luis Simões