Amélie Leroy, HR Director of Groupe Blondel: “Logistics is a vehicle for social mobility—provided we open the doors”
For more than 60 years, Groupe Blondel has supported industrial supply chains through highly technical transport and logistics operations. With nearly 45 sites and 3,000 employees, the group places people at the heart of its development. Its Human Resources Director, Amélie Leroy, looks back on the transformations under way.
Recruitment, safety, ergonomics, seasonality... Human resources challenges in logistics are numerous. How do you address these challenges on a daily basis?
Amélie Leroy: Logistics brings together several human resources challenges, including significant labor shortages in certain occupations (drivers, forklift operators and order pickers), as well as demanding safety and service-quality requirements. To meet them, we rely on three complementary levers: forward planning, training and retention. This takes the form of onboarding programs from the time of hiring, training schemes to support skills development, and close social dialogue, with continuous attention to working conditions.
Your logistics sites are evolving to meet increasingly diverse needs. How do your real estate choices support this transformation?
A.L.: Groupe Blondel currently operates 45 logistics sites, representing approximately 400,000 sq. m. of storage space across France. In this context, our logistics real estate is evolving toward greater flexibility, security and technical sophistication. Platforms must be able to accommodate very different flows, sometimes subject to stringent regulatory constraints. We work closely with operations and IT teams to design scalable sites that meet the needs of both our customers and our employees.
ESG issues are now at the heart of industrial policies. How do you incorporate these criteria into the renovation and design of your sites?
A.L.:All our investments now incorporate an ESG framework deployed across all our sites, with particular attention to energy efficiency and social issues. In practical terms, this translates into targeted initiatives, such as switching to LED lighting, installing energy-management systems and creating rest areas. At our pilot sites, these measures have generated energy savings of up to 30%. Workplace well-being is an integral part of this approach and guides the design of our real estate projects.
You launched the “Blondel Drivers & Logistics Camp” to address labor shortages in transport occupations. Tell us about the origins of this program and its guiding principles...
A.L.:The Blondel Drivers & Logistics Camp was born from a clear observation: in a persistently tight labor market for transport and logistics occupations, recruiting is no longer enough. Talent must also be trained, retained and recognized. We therefore designed an immersive, operational and certification-based program intended to facilitate lasting access to employment. The program combines technical training delivered by specialist organizations, safety modules and on-the-job immersion with our teams. Support is individualized throughout the program. The certifications prepared for and awarded are recognized nationwide, whether professional qualifications, C and CE licenses, or FIMO initial training, depending on the pathway.
What have you observed in practical terms since this program was rolled out? How has it changed the way you attract and retain talent?
A.L.: The program was initially launched to support the opening of our logistics site in Valence, in the Drôme region, before being rolled out at our Saint-Quentin and Courcelles-lès-Lens facilities. To date, nearly 50 employees have benefited from it, earning a diploma or certification recognized nationwide. In practical terms, this program has changed our approach to recruitment. It is no longer simply about filling positions, but about offering a genuine onboarding and skills-development pathway. This significantly strengthens our appeal in local areas and fosters a more lasting relationship with employees, who can better envision their future within the company.
Promoting gender diversity in a historically male-dominated sector remains a challenge. What concrete measures are you taking to attract more women to your occupations?
A.L.:We are working both to challenge stereotypes and to adapt working conditions. This involves awareness-raising initiatives, targeted partnerships and practical adjustments, such as adapting certain equipment and schedules where relevant. In recent years, several of our sites have seen the proportion of women increase in historically male-dominated occupations (driver and order picker), thanks to dedicated support. Skills have no gender, and that conviction guides our actions.
Internal mobility is a central lever of your HR policy in industrial logistics, with pathways designed to support career development...
A.L.: Within Groupe Blondel, we actively encourage skills development and versatility, two essential levers for fostering agility in the field. Internal mobility primarily concerns our industrial logistics activities, particularly in the aerospace sector, which requires specific expertise and relies on a network of sites throughout France. Through our digital tools, we offer personalized training paths, enhanced career reviews and close HR support to guide each employee as their career develops.
Young people, career changers, seniors and people with disabilities: how do you adapt your occupations to the diversity of career paths?
A.L.: For young people, this takes the form of internships, work-study programs and virtual-reality training modules. For people changing careers, we work with employment-integration organizations and offer accessible onboarding pathways, including without prerequisites. We also support the employment of seniors and people with disabilities through ergonomic adaptations, physical-assistance solutions (e.g., exoskeletons), participation in DuoDay and, where relevant, adapted working hours. Logistics can be a vehicle for social mobility—provided we open the doors.
To conclude, could you share your five- or ten-year outlook for Blondel’s HR ambitions and the conviction that guides your actions every day?
A.L.: Our ambition is to make Groupe Blondel a benchmark employer in responsible logistics, combining operational performance, social innovation and long-term commitment. This approach is based on concrete indicators and recognized frameworks, including EcoVadis, to manage and substantiate our commitments. Every day, our actions are guided by simple, shared principles: pragmatism, commitment, responsibility and autonomy. We want to move the company forward by helping the people who bring it to life grow.
Groupe Blondel at a glance:
• Independent French transport and logistics group, founded in 1956
• Nearly 45 sites in France, approximately 400,000 sq. m. of logistics space
• 2,500 to 3,000 employees serving demanding industrial sectors
• Operates multi-sector logistics and transport solutions (industrial logistics, e-commerce, parcel delivery, heavy-duty trucking and tailor-made services)
• Strong expertise in industrial logistics, particularly in aerospace
• Active ESG policy, notably through a transport decarbonization strategy and CO₂-emissions-reduction targets.
