4 What are the pros and cons for a company such as Nike to take on these materials handling services as opposed to leaving them to retail customers? Nike has a central customer service centre (distribution centre) located at Laakdal in Belgium. The centre is 200,000 square metres in size and serves 45,000 customers in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Northern Africa) with footwear, apparel and equipment. The centre receives products from supplier factories around the world for distribution to retail clients both before the start of all four seasons each year, as well as during the season. Prior to the start of a season, when work is at a peak, the workforce stands at some 2,300 operational staff. Off peak, that drops to 1,350 staff. Deliveries are very time critical, given the seasonal nature of the business. Retailers demand instore availability on day one of a new season. The centre is a clear example of a company deciding to centralise receiving, storage and shipment to customers at one location in Europe. The benefits including consolidation of inbound shipments, lower inventory levels and better delivery service (in comparison to fragmented warehouses scattered around Europe). This does not mean, however, that the logistics operations are standardised for all flows of goods and all customers.