Waitrose to open first national distribution centre in Milton Keynes
Waitrose is to open a new state-of-the-art national distribution centre at its Magna Park development in Milton Keynes in the summer 2015.
The size of twelve Premiership football pitches, the new centre will handle the distribution of around 25,000 grocery and home department lines which will be delivered via Waitrose’s four regional distribution centres.
Waitrose said the new facility will help to simplify the supply chain and improve the efficiency of handling nationally available lines that have historically had to be sent between regional distribution centres.
David Jones, Waitrose supply chain director, added: “The decision to open our first National Distribution Centre marks a pivotal moment in our supply chain history and reflects our phenomenal growth. Waitrose has outperformed the market for five years and we have ambitious plans to open 38 shops in 2014 and continue to expand our online platform.
Never Miss a Retail Update!“By simplifying our supply chain, we improve its resilience and greatly improve our ability to serve our branches now and in the future.”
The retailer is now in talks to transfer the operation at the nearby Kuehne+Nagel-run Celestia depot which services Waitrose. TUPE is expected to apply, and, over the next few months, consultation will begin with K+N employees at Celestia.
