To ensure that orders placed on our site arrive safely, Hast can count on the services of a logistics preparation center. It is a pivotal place which takes care of receiving a large part of the products manufactured in our workshops and which then wraps and packages them so that they arrive with style at your home, in your mailbox or on your landing. .
This center is located in the middle of the Burgundian countryside, near the small town of Semur-en-Auxois. This is a center occupied by around fifteen preparers, as they are called, responsible for managing some 100,000 products, ours, like those of a whole bunch of other brands, mostly clothing. These people are men and women of the shadows who we rarely think about when it comes to imagining the journey of a piece. They are essential because they ensure the movement of things, in continuous flow. Jordan, 29, is one of them.
How did you become a logistics preparer?
In high school, I obtained a bachelor's degree in science and technology in the agronomy of life, which is intended in particular for careers in agriculture. But instead, I quickly became a worker in a factory that made steam generator tubes. I worked there for seven years, the last three as manager. Then I decided to leave the company. My former workshop manager then called me to tell me that he worked in an order preparation warehouse. I sent my CV and I was accepted. This is how I found myself here, in Semur-en-Auxois.
What setting do you work in?
It is a huge 3500 square meter hangar located in an industrial zone. When you enter here, the first thing you see are the preparation tables and, to the side, the office station dedicated to relations with our various customers. We are surrounded by products to prepare and send. Each sector of the warehouse corresponds to a customer, a brand. Today, within the company, let's say that I am a link in the chain and that it is a big, well-oiled chain. Everyone knows their job exactly and knows what the other has to do. It runs on its own!
So what are the different stages of preparing an order?
At the start of the morning, we summarize by computer all the orders, by brand, which were placed the day before for the same day. This allows us to know how many products are entered into our inventory during the day. We can thus define a preparation time slot for each of the brands. At the same time, we collect the products in various storage areas using a cart. This is called “picking”. You must then control the order by flashing the product, using a sort of electronic gun.
For each order, I can't help but imagine the customer who is waiting for him, the life he has. It's natural. If I see an address by the sea, I like to think of an elegant person, who dresses tastefully, walking on the beach.
The next step concerns the preparation of the packaging. This differs from brand to brand. Some of them require their product to be wrapped in tissue paper; others like to decorate the package with a small thank you card or a sticker. The packaging moment takes place on a table where a pair of preparers work. There is one who takes care of the documents related to the product, and the other who is responsible for the packaging. Once ready, the order is placed on postal carts, at least for Colissimo packages. Separate locations exist for Chronopost and DHL and other different services from La Poste.
Is there a particular technique for packaging products?
We do not use machines. Everything is handmade. In fact, there are natural reflexes in the way of handling products, like a sort of facial expression. We always take the box with our left hand and place it in our right so that when the product is finished being packaged, it will be as close as possible to the box. This is the kind of detail that allows you to do as little as possible while saving time. At our company, one person has already processed 240 packages in one day. This is a record that has stood for a very long time.
Do you ever give free rein to your imagination when you take care of this or that order?
For each order, I can't help but imagine the customer who is waiting for him, the life he has. It's natural. If I see an address by the sea, I like to think of an elegant person, who dresses tastefully, walking on the beach. For all these years, we have really sent parcels almost everywhere in France and abroad. What surprises me the most is when it comes to an address located not far from our warehouse, as if we were preparing our neighbor's package. In this case, I always wonder if I didn't meet the recipient at the market on Sunday morning.
Are any commands impressive?
Sometimes you have to manage ten shirts, or ten pairs of pants, at once. And each time, I tell myself that a good portion of the pieces will end up coming back to us. This happens a lot: people order a lot to be sure they have bought the right cut, the right size. The rest they send back. It never fails.
What is your relationship to clothing?
Fashion doesn't attract me that much! I like pretty shirts, polo shirts, but generally I wear everyday clothes. At the warehouse, I have a fleece with the company logo. And gloves , and safety shoes, when necessary.
What would you like to say to all these people who receive mail every day that you make in the shadows?
What's annoying about our work is that we never get a return. I don't know if what I do pleases the customer, if they like the packaging, if they happen to be surprised…I would like that to be the case.
The stories of Hast and Bourgogne Direct Logistics are intrinsically linked since our respective adventures started almost at the same time, we were then their first client. We are proud to work with a company whose human and environmental values have continued to evolve over the years. Today, our partner succeeds in being a carbon neutral company by offsetting its emissions and using 100% recyclable cardboard, 70% of which comes from recycled materials (the remaining 30% comes from responsible forests) and you benefit from it.
NB: We would like to thank Jordan, Martin, Guillaume and the entire team for the professionalism and responsiveness they have demonstrated in recent months.
