Marks & Spencer is to open a new food distribution centre next month that will increase capacity and help address longstanding availability problems.
The Milton Keynes facility, which will employ 360 people and be operated by XPO Logistics, will supply stores in the south of England.
It will increase M&S Food’s ambient product capacity by up to 60%, providing customers with a “bigger, better range” and enabling more of them to do a full weekly shop, the retailer said.
The opening accompanies the rollout of the M&S’s ‘Project Vangarde’, which is designed to cut waste and improve customer experience through better forecasting, allocation and stock counts.
M&S said the project, which is currently operational in 93 branches and across its estate by the end of the financial year, has already “resulted in more productive stores generating lower waste and higher sales through an improved customer experience”. Staff are now able to serve more customers than before.
M&S Food managing director Stuart Machin said: “Our new distribution centre is a major step forward, unlocking the value of our food supply chain and supporting our future growth plans.
“Many of our customers’ shopping habits have changed over recent months and our new distribution centre will enable us to respond faster and more flexibly to customer demand, providing greater product availability and significantly improving the service we provide our customers.”
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