The history of one order: how long it takes EVA.UA to deliver seven items
10.01.2025
The pre-holiday season is one of the most challenging for retail. Ukrainians choose gifts for their loved ones, and stores arrange large-scale sales. Online retailers must also ensure orders are fulfilled before the holidays. How does EVA.UA handle this? A report from the Lviv distribution center of the online store.
Before heading to the warehouse, we purchased shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, body lotion, lip balm, and two creams—one for the hands and one for the face—on the EVA.UA website. Thanks to discounts, the order was about a third cheaper than the regular price. But we’ll check how quickly it will be fulfilled and whether the purchased items will arrive at the pickup point.
EVA is the largest national network of beauty and health stores. It was founded in 2002 in Dnipro. Currently, it unites about 1,100 outlets across Ukraine and has its online store, EVA.UA. The retail network is supplied with goods by five warehouses, and three more fulfill clients’ online orders. The total area of the company’s distribution centers is about 120,000 square meters.
Orders Keep Increasing
Ten years ago, EVA operated a single warehouse in Dnipro, covering about 20,000 square meters, says Sergey Zinchenko, the logistics director of the network. In 2016, the company decided to open a second warehouse in Brovary, a suburb of Kyiv. “At that time, there were already significantly more stores. Most new openings were in central Ukraine, so we decided to open the second warehouse in Brovary,” Sergey explains.
Sergey Zinchenko, Logistics Director of EVA and EVA.UA
Now, despite wartime losses, EVA counts about 1,100 outlets. The company manages five warehouses for the retail network in Dnipro, Kharkiv, Lviv, Brovary, and Odesa. All of them process exclusively those goods that are then delivered to stores. A standard EVA retail store assortment includes up to 21,000 SKUs.
However, since late 2017, the company has also been developing e-commerce. The e-commerce segment in Ukraine grows by 20% annually, and this is evident at EVA.UA. In recent months, the online store has received about 20,000 orders per day. Its share in the company’s total sales is about 14%, one of the highest indicators in similar business models in Ukraine. During peak times, like Black Friday, says Nadia Bondaruk, head of logistics for the online store, EVA.UA received up to 55,000 orders. Like in the U.S. and EU countries, Ukrainians increasingly buy gifts for holidays in advance, during sales. However, EVA’s logistics managed the large volume of orders.
Olga Shevchenko, Executive Director of EVA and EVA.UA
“To become the leader in the e-commerce market, the largest drogerie player in Ukraine had to implement a hybrid model that combines omnichannel capabilities and offers full freedom for online platform growth,” says Olga Shevchenko, executive director of EVA and EVA.UA.
A Separate Business
The online store assortment is larger than that of EVA stores and is constantly expanding. A year ago, it included 100,000 SKUs; this year, it’s 140,000, and it may grow to 180,000 SKUs next year. This includes not only shampoos, creams, or lipsticks but also, for instance, children’s toys, the desired Dyson hairdryer, or even an electric toothbrush costing 15,000 UAH. Managing such an assortment is a real challenge for the logistics department.
Sergey Polyakov, Deputy Logistics Director
E-commerce requires a completely different approach, explains Sergey Polyakov, deputy logistics director. While the retail store requires goods to be collected and palletized, the online store works with end consumers—each order needs to be packed and shipped to an individual customer. That’s why, since 2018, EVA has had separate warehouses for e-commerce. Currently, there are three—in Dnipro, Brovary, and Lviv. The Lviv warehouse was opened in 2021 next to the one servicing the retail network. This distribution center was prepared and launched in just ten months. “The first 12 loading and unloading docks are for retail stores, while docks 12 to 17 are for e-commerce,” explains Nadia Bondaruk, head of logistics for the online store.
Nadia Bondaruk, Head of Logistics for the Online Store
In Lviv, as in Kyiv, the weather is gloomy with no hint of sunshine, but work is bustling. Trucks constantly arrive at the docks, loading and unloading goods, while new construction is underway nearby. EVA is building an additional warehouse for e-commerce needs with an area of 9,000 square meters—the building is almost ready, as is the surrounding area. “We understand that the e-commerce segment will grow, and we’ll need new warehouse capacities. We’re preparing for this now,” says Sergey Zinchenko. The new warehouse is planned to be operational in 2026.
At the entrance are recently purchased solar panels—like many other businesses, EVA cares about energy independence. Sergey Polyakov says their capacity is 600 kW, which is the same as the logistics center’s consumption. Its area is about 22,000 square meters and includes many mezzanines, the highest of which has five levels. Currently, during blackouts, powerful generators ensure uninterrupted operations—electricity switches over in a few minutes.
How Orders Are Collected
In the warehouse, all goods are categorized—separate storage for bulky items or expensive products like skincare cosmetics priced above 1,000 UAH. Or items in high demand—the distribution center is notified in advance about promotions, sales, or seasonal demand increases. Some items, like liquid products, are additionally packed to prevent leakage.
Warehouse staff receive order information on data collection terminals and immediately start gathering it. The entire picking area is divided into several sections, with each specialist responsible for their own—this speeds up order processing. All items are collected in boxes and sent to a specially equipped zone.
Goods may be stored on different levels and are all gathered in one place—the order sorting area. Orders arrive in "waves," about 70 per wave, says Nadia Bondaruk. From here, you can see almost the entire warehouse area. For instance, a three-level conveyor transports packed parcels to the control zone (it can prioritize orders that need to be processed faster). Or a robot that groups orders and allows assembling from several boxes. Previously, this work required two people per shift.
In the control zone, staff check orders and pack them into boxes. Barcodes are automatically applied to the boxes, after which parcels are sorted on a special line and palletized by delivery types.
Orders can be received in several ways—picked up at one of the pickup points located in stores, or at Nova Poshta or Ukrposhta branches. Additionally, the company has launched its courier service in Kyiv, Lviv, and Dnipro. On average, each courier delivers 40 parcels, but this number is planned to increase, says Sergey Zinchenko. For example, in Kyiv, the company has already rented a small warehouse of 100 square meters, where all orders from Brovary—a city located 30 kilometers from the capital—are delivered. “Previously, couriers would travel to the warehouse, then return and waste time, so we changed the approach and deliver goods faster,” says Sergey Zinchenko. He adds that the company plans to expand the courier service—the popularity of this service, especially in Kyiv, is growing.
We ordered our parcel for pickup at one of the stores in Lviv, where it arrived the day after the order. The average order fulfillment time for EVA.UA, according to Sergey Zinchenko, is currently about 1.8 days, but this is not the limit. The company plans to deliver most parcels the next day, and in cities with warehouses—on the same day as the order.