Supply Chain

March 30, 2007 (LBO) –Supermarket chain Marks & Spencer began shipping clothing made in their factories in the Indian sub-continent through the Global Parks logistics facility in Sri Lanka to its UK stores, Thursday. The multinational’s decision to use Sri Lanka as a supply chain hub demonstrates its confidence in the island despite the recent terrorist attack, investment promotion minister Sarath Amunugama said.

M&S will initially move a million pieces of garments through Global Park, a 400,000 square foot logistics centre at Seeduwa close to the Katunayake international airport.

The complex claim to be the largest such supply chain hub in the sub-continent and has a capacity to handle two million pieces of garments a month.

M&S decided on having a logistics hub in Sri Lanka because it is far cheaper than storing clothing in warehouses in the UK.

Amunugama said Sri Lanka’s location was its main advantage in global supply chain logistics as few countries in the region could supply warehousing space of that size so close to an international airport and port because of high land prices.

We can make use of our hub status in south Asia as we’re only 25 miles from one of the biggest e