// M&S will launch new food distribution centre in Milton Keynes
// The centre will create 360 new jobs across warehouse and inventory operations
M&S has announced plans to open a new national food distribution centre in Milton Keynes as part of plans to transform its food supply chain.
The 365,000sq ft centre will open in September, creating 360 jobs across warehouse and inventory operations.
Marks & Spencer said it would expand capacity to “drive improvements for stores and customers” and accelerate “the modernisation of its end to end supply chain”.
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As part of its Never The Same Again scheme, the warehouse will supply M&S Food products to South England regions and increase M&S Food’s ambient product capacity by up to 60 per cent “so customers can access a bigger, better range”.
With the Vangarde programme, M&S has already begun working on improvements to its supply chain in an effort to reduce waste and improve customer experience.
Implemented in 93 stores across the estate so far, the programme, which is being rolled out to all stores nationwide during this financial year, has resulted in more productive stores generating lower waste and higher sales, according to M&S.
The new Milton Keynes distribution centre will add to the improvements Vangarde is currently delivering.
“Our new distribution centre is great news for Milton Keynes and a major step forward for M&S, unlocking the value of our food supply chain and supporting our future growth plans,” M&S Food managing director Stuart Machin said.
“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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