Grocer to open second dotcom fulfilment centre in Coulsdon London
Waitrose will more than double the number of online delivery slots available to shoppers in the capital when it opens a second e-commerce grocery depot in Coulsdon, South London.
The grocer, which currently fulfils London shoppers’ orders made on Waitrose.com through a network of London branches and a dotcom fulfilment centre (DFC) in Acton, West London*, will open the second site in Autumn 2014.
The multi-million pound depot will help more than double the number of orders fulfilled in the capital by despatching up to twice as many orders per week as at Acton. The purpose-built, six acre site will feature an 80,000 sq ft picking space - twice the size of that at Acton - and allow up to 50% more items to be picked per hour and up to 50% more drops per van to be made per week at the Coulsdon DFC.
Waitrose.com delivers more than 1.5m Waitrose products and branded items to shoppers nationwide and is the fastest growing online grocery business**.Sales within the M25 tripled last year to represent 20% of all Waitrose.com sales and total ecommerce sales jumped 40.6 per cent in the first half of this year.
The second DFC will build upon the traditional ‘dark store’ model operated at Acton - where Partners (employees) pick products from aisles laid out like a customer-facing branch - to create efficiencies in the picking, replenishment and logistics models.Navigation around the warehouse will be made more efficient and a self-contained chilled picking room will reduce refrigeration costs.
A redesigned fleet of vans, with on-site access to repair services and refuelling, will increase the number of deliveries made to customers on any one journey, maintain frozen food temperatures for longer, increase route efficiencies and cut transport costs.
Shoppers in the capital whose orders are fulfilled by the Coulsdon DFC will be able to choose from one-hour delivery slots between 6am and midnight and continue to get free delivery on orders over £50.
The site will create 500 jobs and key to the role of those employed at the warehouse will be carrying out Waitrose’s renowned customer service in the online environment. They will ensure Waitrose.com meets specific customer requests - such as green bananas or extra thick slices of ham.
Waitrose retail director, Rob Collins, said: “Demand from Waitrose.com shoppers in the capital has soared over the last year. Our dotcom fulfilment centre in Acton will reach capacity in 2014, and we have been looking for the right location for a second for some time.
“The DFC in Coulsdon provides the perfect, purpose-built site for us to take what we have learnt from Acton and step our online operation up a gear.”
The grocer, which currently fulfils London shoppers’ orders made on Waitrose.com through a network of London branches and a dotcom fulfilment centre (DFC) in Acton, West London*, will open the second site in Autumn 2014.
The multi-million pound depot will help more than double the number of orders fulfilled in the capital by despatching up to twice as many orders per week as at Acton. The purpose-built, six acre site will feature an 80,000 sq ft picking space - twice the size of that at Acton - and allow up to 50% more items to be picked per hour and up to 50% more drops per van to be made per week at the Coulsdon DFC.
Waitrose.com delivers more than 1.5m Waitrose products and branded items to shoppers nationwide and is the fastest growing online grocery business**.Sales within the M25 tripled last year to represent 20% of all Waitrose.com sales and total ecommerce sales jumped 40.6 per cent in the first half of this year.
The second DFC will build upon the traditional ‘dark store’ model operated at Acton - where Partners (employees) pick products from aisles laid out like a customer-facing branch - to create efficiencies in the picking, replenishment and logistics models.Navigation around the warehouse will be made more efficient and a self-contained chilled picking room will reduce refrigeration costs.
A redesigned fleet of vans, with on-site access to repair services and refuelling, will increase the number of deliveries made to customers on any one journey, maintain frozen food temperatures for longer, increase route efficiencies and cut transport costs.
Shoppers in the capital whose orders are fulfilled by the Coulsdon DFC will be able to choose from one-hour delivery slots between 6am and midnight and continue to get free delivery on orders over £50.
The site will create 500 jobs and key to the role of those employed at the warehouse will be carrying out Waitrose’s renowned customer service in the online environment. They will ensure Waitrose.com meets specific customer requests - such as green bananas or extra thick slices of ham.
Waitrose retail director, Rob Collins, said: “Demand from Waitrose.com shoppers in the capital has soared over the last year. Our dotcom fulfilment centre in Acton will reach capacity in 2014, and we have been looking for the right location for a second for some time.
“The DFC in Coulsdon provides the perfect, purpose-built site for us to take what we have learnt from Acton and step our online operation up a gear.”
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