M&S builds new online warehouse within Bradford distribution centre
Marks & Spencer has announced that its Bradford distribution centre is to become a second warehouse for its online business as it looks to improve online capacity.
The retailer opened the facility in 2010 and it currently delivers both clothing and food to M&S stores in partnership with logistics specialist XPO. The centre will be using existing vacant space to create a new online warehouse for M&S.com and will support the retailer’s Castle Donington online warehouse as well as an in-store pick model.
The investment in Bradford follows a successful trial over Christmas where staff manually picked products from the existing automated distribution centre to service online orders. M&S said the build is now underway with the aim of being operational in time for Christmas 2021. The facility will be an online warehouse for boxed products and will eventually support around 20% of M&S online orders.
Stephen Langford, director of M&S.com said: “We’re transforming our clothing business to be more relevant, more often for our 22 million customers – however they choose to shop. Whilst it’s exciting our stores have reopened, growing our online business has never been more important and part of that is a behind the scenes network which means we can serve our customers as efficiently as possible. Building Bradford is a key way we’re setting ourselves up for a more digital future at M&S under the banner of MS2.”
