Tarnais Pierre Fabre invests 70 million euros in Haute-Garonne to improve its supply chain

Pierre Fabre Laboratories (10,000 employees, 2023 turnover: €2.83 billion), a global player in the fields of medicines and dermo-cosmetics, is investing 70 million euros for the construction and equipment of a platform latest generation logistics in Muret (Haute-Garonne). A 73,000 m building² will be built on a 20 hectare plot in the Bonnets area, within the future Clément-Ader business park. It will be divided into three areas: storage of products from factories, preparation of orders for France and preparation of international shipments.

The positive energy building will be certified according to the BREEAM benchmark, an international standard which guarantees the environmental performance of buildings and their construction. Its roof will be covered by 30,000 m² of solar panels, which will generate 7 MW of power, the equivalent of 1,700 French homes. Work should begin in 2026 for effective commissioning in early 2028.

Some 300 employees in Muret

The Tarn group currently employs some 300 employees in Muret, spread over two sites which will be closed. He promised two thirds of this workforce, made up of permanent employees (the remaining third is temporary), to migrate to the new logistics platform. Currently, the historic site, opened in 1974 and located in the Joffrery business area, – of which Pierre Fabre is the owner and which will be resold – ensures the delivery of dermo-cosmetic products to customers for France. The second, opened in 2017 on the Seysses road and rented, manages the storage of products from the dermo-cosmetic factories of Soual (Tarn) and Avène (Hérault) and their international shipping. In total, more than 7 out of 10 products distributed by Pierre Fabre Laboratories worldwide pass through Muret.

This major investment in this new site located in the Haute-Garonne sub-prefecture constitutes the flagship of the group's supply chain improvement plan (900 employees), launched several months ago, which delivers 2 million orders per year with 112,000 customers (pharmacists, wholesalers, groups and e-retailers). This plan aims to reduce costs by 10% and maximize customer satisfaction, while offering better working conditions to employees and continuing the decarbonization of its activities.

“This global reflection on our supply chain is based both on the specificities of Pierre Fabre and on the context in which it operates,” explains Florent Tronquit, supply chain director of Laboratoires Pierre Fabre. The group produces cosmetics and medicines 95% in France. This involves a special distribution network since we must deliver to both our subsidiaries around the world and our French customers. We also find ourselves in a very strong and very international competitive environment. We therefore have a constant need to improve our performance to remain competitive in the market.”

Subcontracted international delivery of medicines

The organization of the supply chain will be rethought. The future Muret site will be responsible for the delivery of dermo-cosmetic and pharmaceutical products to customers in the south of France and the shipping of dermo-cosmetic products to subsidiaries and international distributors. The north of France will be covered by a second logistics site located in Ussel (Corrèze). As for international shipping of pharmaceutical products, it will be subcontracted to FM Logistic, partner of Pierre Fabre, from its platform located in Escrennes, not far from the factory that the group owns in Gien (Loiret).

“Historically, the distribution of our flows was based on the nature of the products,” continues the manager. We had a flow in cosmetics and a flow in medicines, specifies the manager. However, we realized the benefit of grouping together both cosmetics and medicines in the same deliveries, while keeping two delivery points for France.”

Better serve pharmacists

Florent Tronquit specifies that this new device will also contribute to securing the supply of medicines. “Until now, only one site distributed medicines in France,” he says. In the event of a problem, we were therefore not immune to not being able to ensure continuity of service. Having two separate sites that will have the same capacity will allow us to protect ourselves from this risk.”

This change should also benefit the group's customers, starting with pharmacists. “Today, they receive two boxes, one with cosmetics, another with medicines, with two different deliveries, two different delivery men who come from two different places,” adds the manager. It’s time-consuming for them, they have more boxes and waste to manage. The objective, tomorrow, is to have a single delivery with all the products to save them time for the benefit of their own customers. This customer-oriented strategic choice also has economic and environmental impacts (read elsewhere). A single truck will deliver to a pharmacy. By having this truck leave from the nearest point, we will reduce transport distances. In addition, we will also fill the truck better. We will in fact adapt the size of the boxes to the contents thanks to new technology which allows them to be cut so that they are just the right size.”

14 million euros mobilized in Ussel

Alongside the major Muret project, Pierre Fabre is mobilizing an investment of 14 million euros to modernize its Ussel site in Corrèze, which employs 70 employees and will recruit around ten more. “We are in the process of completely “refitting” it, describes Florent Tronquit. We are implementing an AutoStore system. This is an order preparation automation tool. It relies on small robots which fetch bins containing a single type of product. This allows the product to be brought to the order picker rather than having the picker pick up the product from a given location.”