The purchasing department is a powerful marker of the group's DNA. Purchasing expertise is based on deep knowledge of the markets and solid market watch on international trade fairs.
The staff of the Purchasing department are in permanent contact with suppliers and negotiate the best purchasing conditions for the company: optimal prices, volumes and delivery deadlines, while constantly striving to limit stocks and procurement costs to guarantee the best profitability.
This department lies at the heart of the group's support functions. It is responsible for the daily management of administrative activities (reception, switchboard, etc.).
It works to organise and optimise daily administration processes, in order to facilitate and streamline the work processes of all departments.
As the driver of group development, reactivity, availability and negotiation capacity are the watchwords of this activity.
Present throughout France, the sales force is in direct contact with B to B customers, mainly in mass distribution, but also independent retailers. It is also involved in back office support functions, as well as in order management and settlement of disputes.
The Accounting & Finance departments are of two types :
- Firstly, to take care of the accounting of the group's companies. On a daily basis, this involves customer billing, posting purchase invoices, general expenses, tax declarations, treasury management, etc. They periodically produce reports of companies for which they are responsible.
- Secondly, managing and auditing the accounts of CARGO group companies. They also support the accounting departments of subsidiaries. They supervise the establishment of annual accounts for companies in the group. They monitor compliance with company rules, tax and accounting regulations. They establish consolidated accounts.
Computer systems and networks are the cornerstone for the operation of a company's internal departments as well as project departments. They are critical and must be considered in advance of deployment and production launch with an internalised data centre and PCA (Plan de Continuité d’Activité [activity continuity plan]) / PRA (Plan de Retour d’Activité [activity return plan]) bodies that allow response to the requirements of our various subsidiaries.
IT & Networks activities in the CARGO Group include:The ISD (Information Systems Department) comprises approximately sixty people, organised around several activity clusters (Business Intelligence, Organisation, Systems & networks, ERP, Development, web, etc.). It provides and manages a set of innovative services oriented towards new experimentation and technologies from its Toulouse office.
Encouraging teamwork through fruitful collaboration with the different departments of the group, its challenges are to respond to the ambitions of different companies and support them in developing those ambitions.
This is one of the key departments of the group and it subsidiaries. The Legal/HR/Payroll cluster provides expertise and operational support on core topics such as management of social law, commercial leases, intellectual property or even staff recruitment and management.
The actions conducted by these departments lie at the heart of the company's strategy and values.
Logistics involves managing time constraints at a lower cost. The CARGO Group is continually investing in new technologies, particularly the latest generation of robotisation tools.
The diversity of activities in the Group means that we control a very large number of logistics systems and this in turn allows us to adapt very quickly to the constraints of our customers.
At the heart of developments and connected with the purchasing, design and sales departments, marketing is involved in managing or supporting all subsidiaries and trade marks. Both strategic and operational, Cargo's marketing staff are equally comfortable with speaking about tableware or car cleaning or Christmas decoration.
Marketing activities in the CARGO Group include:Whether it means setting up a new shop, updating an installation or organising a retail space, the merchandising staff are there to highlight products or a shelf in accordance with the expectations and brand image of our customers. Presales or after-sales, a merchandiser can assemble furnishings, install or even create an inventory of items in all worlds: tableware, interior decoration, DIY, etc.
Merchandising activities in the CARGO Group include:Present across the import chain, the quality team works with the purchasing departments and supports them starting from the referencing of suppliers right up to the sale of products in the shop.
The different tasks of the Quality department include compliance with the standards and regulations in force for all references, as well as guaranteeing the performance of products launched on the market. To address that, this department has an internal test laboratory. Expertise and communication are its key words.
With the development of our chains of shops throughout France, these colleagues are in direct contact with the consumers.
The taste for exchange, customer contact, and product affinity are three points that are essential in order to progress in this activity.
In direct interface with the support services, they provide real-time feedback from the field that supplies marketers, merchandisers and buyers with valuable data.
The group's Supply Chain activity is concerned with import flows and organises all importations of products made by our different subsidiaries.
It integrates all regulatory and administrative aspects of the different service providers (customs or freight forwarding) and coordinates all flows through integrated monitoring tools.
Deadline compliance, supplier relations as well as purchasing and cost optimisation are some of the priority focus areas of the Supply Chain department based on performance indicators.
Its cross-functional approach allows it not only to identify and adapt global solutions but also to respond to specific requirements of our subsidiaries.
Supporting this organisation is our office in China, where 10 specialised category managers, each in a different field of activity, work every day to research the best suppliers and products in compliance with our quality requirements.
The technical department supports Cargo and all its subsidiaries in the creation, renovation, signage, security, planning and maintenance of business or commercial premises. Offices, warehouses and shops must comply with specifications as well as strictly defined and controlled standards. Daily care requires troubleshooting, repair, cleanng and maintenance services. To do that, the technical team contributes multi-disciplinary skills with high territorial mobility, while also managing external service providers.
Technical department activities in the CARGO Group include:Final link in the logistics chain, the role of transport is to organise the dispatch of merchandise within the times and towards the places negotiated in advance by the sales teams.
The diversity and the seasonal nature of CARGO group flows has led us to forge strong partnerships with our transporters in order to best respond to the requests of our customers.
To improve reactivity and promote quality, our customer service is capable of dealing with many risks in the transport field.
The task of this department is to develop and maintain the group's websites. Whether they are showcase sites to present our subsidiaries or brands, or e-commerce sites for our B2C or B2B offers, this department is responsible for the smooth operation of the sites, developments and new features on these digital media.
Web activities in the CARGO Group include: