At DELIVER Europe 2025, Erik van Dee (Sales Director Europe) and Alin Pop (Head of IT Solutions) from Radial offered a compelling walkthrough of how to build operational resilience in a turbulent retail landscape.

Radial, a global 3PL and part of the BPost group, serves both B2B and B2C customers with end-to-end fulfilment solutions across over 100 warehouses. In Europe, their key differentiator lies in combining global reach with local agility – a principle reinforced by their decade-long partnership with Manhattan Associates.

The Reality of Retail: Fast, Flexible, Flawless

Radial’s fulfilment promise is based on three imperatives: always available inventory, reliable on-time delivery, and scalable capacity. To meet this, they offer dynamic solutions for same-day/next-day delivery, handle returns with speed, and ensure operational continuity for brands scaling from startup to enterprise.

Key challenges include:

• Increasing peak-pattern volatility (e.g. Black Friday now spans weeks)

• Rising complexity in global multi-channel distribution

• The cost and technical barriers of legacy fulfilment systems

Why Tech Matters: Manhattan as the Backbone

Radial leverages Manhattan Active WMS across all its European sites – a system that offers real-time control of warehouse operations, seamless TMS integrations, and robust visibility for both Radial and their clients.

Alin Pop explained how migrating from legacy platforms (e.g. Manhattan 14) to cloud-native architecture eliminated bottlenecks, reduced CapEx cycles, and enabled automated updates every 90 days without downtime. The result: faster onboarding, smoother automation, and enhanced scalability.

Automation and Integration at Scale

Radial’s move to microservices-based infrastructure allows them to:

• Integrate with automation (A-frame, pick-to-light, conveyors)

• Interface with Shopify, ERP systems, TMS providers like CentO and Metapack

• Deploy plug-and-play client onboarding and standardised warehouse templates

In Warsaw, Radial implemented automation with KNAPP and pick-to-light sortation, achieving massive scale-up potential. In Groningen, their flagship facility operates Quicktron robots, further speeding throughput and easing labour constraints.

Key Takeaways:

• Versionless Cloud WMS: Eliminates migration risks, ensures continuous innovation.

• In-house Middleware Layer: Abstracts complex business rules from both WMS and automation platforms.

• Microservices Architecture: Enables rapid deployment of services and integrations.

• Scalable Infrastructure: Seamlessly handles spikes from 5,000 to 30,000+ orders/day.

• Reusability: Templates and configurations from one site can accelerate rollout in others.

This breakout session was a masterclass in how tech-led operational strategies can future-proof fulfilment services. Radial’s innovation roadmap, rooted in deep vendor partnerships and technical autonomy, positions them to scale smarter – not just faster – in a competitive global retail market.