Marks & Spencer has announced the largest investment in its history in its food supply chain, with a multi-year investment of £340 million for the development of an automated National Distribution Centre (NDC) in Northamptonshire. It comes as the company prepares to double the size of its M&S Food business.
At 1.3 million square feet, the new facility will feature advanced automation which M&S says will enhance operational efficiency and improve product availability on shelf.
The new NDC will be based at Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal and is expected to open in 2029. It follows the news earlier this year of a new 390k square foot distribution centre at Avonmouth in Bristol, serving stores in the Midlands, South-west England and South Wales.
Earlier this year, M&S announced an acceleration of its store rotation and renewal programme. The programme aims to create 420 bigger, fresher Food stores and a more productive group of 180 full line stores, with half the estate expected to be in renewal format by 2027/28. The investment announced today, which is phased over five years, will support the acceleration of the rotation and renewal programme and the capacity needed in the supply chain to support these stores.
Alex Freudmann, MD at M&S Food, said: “We’re transforming M&S into a destination for the weekly shop and modernising our supply chain is central to that ambition.”
Future-proofing the business
“This investment will boost capacity for future growth, lower our cost to serve over the long-term, and improve product availability – ensuring customers find the right products in the right place at the right time.”
“Our new site will strengthen our network and help us get ahead of the volume curve as we build a bigger, better Food business. By using the latest, proven automation, we are future-proofing both our business and UK retail logistics.”
During the construction phase of the new NDC more than 2,000 jobs will be created. Once operational the site will employ around 1,000 permanent staff, covering driving, logistics, management, as well as more technical roles such as automation technicians.
Automation in the new site will include an automated pallet crane for handling long-life ambient products, a high-speed shuttle system for sorting and storing stock and a hands-free picking solution that loads items directly onto store-ready delivery cages.
Prologis is the development partner and TGW Logistics has been appointed as the automation partner for the project.
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