Warehouse and Fulfillment for Ecommerce in Europe
This note maps warehouse and fulfilment for ecommerce in Europe: Amazon FBA, Zalando Logistics, third-party 3PL, VAT, and the Germany–UK–Netherlands–Poland hub pattern. It is an informational market map, not a 3PL quote page. The European ecommerce market atlas keeps a short summary in section 4 and points here. Figures are reused from that atlas and the cited association / platform sources; nothing is invented.
Research compiled August 2026. Companion: European ecommerce market overview · European ecommerce research findings · global ecommerce data sources.
Major fulfilment networks
European fulfilment is not one warehouse for the continent. Stock concentrates where there is a large consumer market, a strong port or air hub, dense last-mile, and a VAT regime the seller can actually operate.
Amazon Pan-European FBA. Core inventory countries are France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Poland. Sellers must enable FBA storage in at least two of those countries. One inventory pool can cover multiple member states and triggers multi-country VAT registration (usually with OSS for distance sales). That is why “FBA Europe” is a tax and network decision, not only a pick-and-pack SKU.
Zalando Logistics. Zalando runs its own multi-country fashion network and sells logistics to brand partners as ZEOS. After acquiring ABOUT YOU it has been reshaping the network (including the 2026 closure of the Erfurt centre, affecting about 2,700 roles). Fashion return rates are structurally high, so reverse logistics is part of the network, not an add-on.
Allegro and Vinted (specialised last-mile). Allegro’s One Box locker grid (16k+ APMs, including DHL) handled about 41% of Q4 parcels, with Smart! free delivery across Poland. Vinted Go operates as a carrier in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain, with 500k+ pickup points. These are category or country networks, not pan-EU master warehouses.
3PL / ports. DHL Leipzig handles 2,500+ tonnes/day; Hamburg is Europe’s third-largest port; Rotterdam throughput was 428.4 million tonnes / 14.2 million TEU; Antwerp-Bruges about 266.5 million tonnes. Paris-CDG is Europe’s largest cargo area. These are the trunk lines behind “put a warehouse in Germany or the Netherlands.” Named 3PL rates are not published as official disclosure on this site; treat €/m² industry ranges in the atlas matrix as B-grade estimates.
Temu / AliExpress / Shein. They started as direct mail. After the EU ends the €150 duty-free threshold and charges €3 per small parcel from 1 July 2026, local or semi-managed warehouses (AliExpress Local+, platform managed stock) become relatively more important. That policy shock is why this page exists beside the atlas rather than as a vendor landing page.
Cross-border logistics (VAT, customs, last mile)
- VAT. Illustrative standard rates used in the atlas comparison: UK 20%, Germany 19%, France 20%, Italy 22%, Spain 21%, Poland 23%, Czechia 21%. Pan-EU FBA in two or more inventory countries usually means VAT registrations in each storage country plus OSS for B2C distance sales.
- Customs / 2026 parcel duty. From 1 July 2026 the EU removes the €150 de minimis and charges €3 per small parcel. Low-price + direct-mail from outside the EU is the model that breaks first.
- Consumer last-mile. Shoppers prefer locally shipped goods arriving within three days; click-through and conversion are materially higher than for long-haul direct mail. France adds a 14-day withdrawal right and a two-year legal guarantee, so local returns processing is not optional for fashion and electronics.
- Lockers. InPost (Poland Paczkomaty), DHL Packstation, GLS and PostNL networks are expanding (including PostNL’s 2025 Mannheim fulfilment centre in Germany). Locker share is already operationally material in Poland via Allegro.
Country-level hubs
Use this as a site-selection map. It is the same logic as the atlas decision matrix, written for logistics queries.
| Hub | Role | Why it is a hub | Constraint |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | Pan-EU distribution | Large market, borders nine countries, DHL Leipzig + Hamburg port | Highest warehouse cost in the set (€12–15/m²/month, industry estimate); heaviest compliance |
| United Kingdom | Standalone market | Post-Brexit VAT and customs; inventory does not interchange with the EU | Must be a separate node if the UK is in scope |
| France | Local demand + bulky goods | Large market, Paris-CDG cargo, strong bulky-item returns | Fine-grained local rules; high operating bar |
| Netherlands / Belgium | Entry + transit | Rotterdam and Antwerp-Bruges ports; efficient EU clearance | Small domestic consumption; needs a demand-side warehouse elsewhere |
| Poland | Cost + CEE | Warehouse cost about 30–40% of Germany (€4–6/m²/month, industry estimate); fast Eastern growth | A Poland-only node does not meet Western European delivery promises |
Decision shortcuts already in the atlas: one pan-EU master warehouse → Germany (UK separate); bulky home/appliance → Germany or France; TikTok Shop / Temu semi-managed stock → local warehouse plus local VAT in DE/FR/UK; cost-first buffer stock → Poland or Czechia; South Europe speed → Italy or Spain.
Trends
- Concentration, not sprawl. Overseas warehousing is concentrating in Germany (distribution), France (large-item + local), NL/BE (entry + transit) and Poland (cost + CEE) — the atlas one-line conclusion.
- Returns as a cost centre. Fashion return rates in the atlas matrix are about 30% in Germany, 25% France, 20% UK (industry estimates). Global online returns around 15.8% and an industry cost near $850bn (2025 cited figure) make reverse logistics a competitive variable.
- Nearshoring after the parcel duty. The 2026 €3/parcel rule pushes China-origin cheap parcels toward EU stock. That is a network shift, not a 3PL marketing slogan.
- Automation and lockers. Carrier locker grids and hub automation (DHL Leipzig, PostNL Germany) are how density is added without a warehouse in every member state.
Sources and methodology
All network facts on this page are taken from the European ecommerce market atlas section 4 and the sources listed there (Ecommerce Europe / EuroCommerce 2025, national associations, Amazon Seller Central Pan-EU FBA countries, Zalando logistics announcements, Allegro media, Vinted results, Port of Rotterdam and Port of Antwerp-Bruges 2025 throughput). Warehouse €/m², return-rate and bulky-goods scores in the atlas matrix are labelled industry estimates (B-grade), not official disclosure.
How figures were graded: global ecommerce data sources. Ranked platform comparison: top ecommerce platforms in Europe.