B&Q is consolidating its distribution for the south of England at a new £77 million distribution centre in Swindon and closing five sites in the North West and Midlands.
The new 797,000 sq ft distribution centre will handle high volume products. B&Q said it would bring “product closer to the stores therefore improving customer service as well as reducing transport miles, transport costs and CO2 emissions”.
A spokesperson said it planned to bring in a third party logistics provider to run the new site and would be going out to tender for the contract. It is expected to start operations from July 2011 and be fully operational by January 2012, creating some 550 jobs.
The sites that are close are Preston Brook near Runcorn, Coventry, Chepstow, Middleton in Manchester, and an existing site at Swindon which are all run by third party logistics suppliers.
More than 1,000 employees will be affected including:
Preston Brook: 615 DHL
Preston Brook: 24 Kuehne & Nagel
Coventry: 157 Wincanton
Chepstow: 75 Kuehne & Nagel
Middleton: 30 Wincanton
Milton Keynes: 5 Wincanton
Swindon: 125 Wincanton – it is hoped they will transfer to the new site
These changes will take place in 2011 and will be fully completed by January 2012.
[asset_ref id=”860″] Product will be closer to stores like Farnborough.
The Swindon development is part of B&Q’s strategy to consolidate its logistics at network of three huge distribution centres – two of which are already in place.
It has an 800,000 sq ft site at Redhouse Interchange in Doncaster, which is operated by Kuehne & Nagel. This will not be affected by the changes.
And at Worksop it has a 1.1 million sq ft distribution centre operated by DHL Supply Chain. B&Q said it envisaged that these latest plans would generate about 250 new jobs at Worksop.
It also has a 250,000 sq ft home delivery depot at Branston near Burton on Trent.
B&Q said there would continue to be a requirement for a consolidation centre in the North West and details of this would be released at a later date.
