Marks and Spencer invests in people and tech ahead of digital Christmas
Marks and Spencer is increasing capacity at its online distribution centre at Castle Donington, as it prepares for high Christmas demand during the coronavirus outbreak.
It is hiring 500 extra seasonal staff, which comes on top of the creation of 400 permanent roles in July.
This means the retailer’s distribution centre will be run by a team of around 4,000 over Christmas, an uplift of over 30% on the same period in 2019.
They will be supported by two Autobagger machines, nicknamed Percy and Penny. These can each pack 2,000 items every hour, and like the rest of the site, are powered by 100% renewable energy, with 25% coming from the solar panels installed on the roof at Castle Donington.
Workers are also using Microsoft Power BI and Microsoft teams. M&S Teams usage has quadrupled during the pandemic.
Last year, M&S completed the build of its new 245k sq ft mezzanine floor at Castle Donington and it is fully operational for Christmas 2020. The record despatch from the mezzanine last year was 50,000 single items. This year the team is aiming for 75,000.
Paul Burns, M&S’s Clothing & Home Head of Logistics, says: “We’re set up to ensure our colleagues can safely help our customers shop online with confidence this Christmas – from great new team members to investing in our tech.”
Bricks and clicks
Elsewhere, 140 M&S stores teams are now picking online orders, for Click & Collect and home delivery, up from 86 last year. As a result of customer shopping changes during the pandemic, over 40% of M&S parcels are now collected at an M&S Food-only store versus 30% last year.
Following a trial at four stores during November, the retailer is extending its new contactless Click & Collect service to a further 12 stores including Hedge End, Epsom and York Vangarde.
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