The Very Group hails festive impact of Skygate automated fulfilment centre
The Very Group, which operates online retailer Very.co.uk, reports a successful second peak for Skygate, its fulfilment centre in the East Midlands, UK, which opened the day the first national Covid lockdown began in March 2020.
It says that 8.3 million items were processed in total, all shipped with 80% recycled content in Very dispatch bags.
222,492 items processed on 2nd December was a new daily record. And the fastest order during Christmas 2021 was processed and despatched in 18 minutes and 31 seconds.
Skygate, meanwhile, ran on 100% renewable energy during peak for the first time.
The Very Group claims that high levels of automation mean the labour cost per unit at the facility is circa 60% lower compared with the company’s former fulfilment operation.
Dirk Van den Berghe
The Very Group has appointed former Walmart Executive Vice President and Regional Chief Executive for Asia and Global Sourcing, Dirk Van den Berghe, as Non-Executive Chair.
In his most recent executive roles with Walmart, which he joined in 2014, Van den Berghe was responsible for the retailer’s business in Canada, China, India and Japan.
He also oversaw Walmart Global Sourcing, a supply chain that supports all its divisions in the United States and international markets.
During this period, Van den Berghe and his team played a key role in realising Walmart’s investment in and partnership with Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com, and in developing the joint venture between Seiyu, Walmart’s subsidiary in Japan, and Rakuten, a major e-commerce player in Japan.
They also realised a $16 billion investment in India’s Flipkart.
Van den Berghe has also held a range of senior roles in Asia and Europe at Ahold-Delhaize (then Belgium-headquartered Delhaize Group), including CEO of Delhaize-Le-Lion in Belgium, France and Luxemburg between 2011 and 2014, and a position on the group’s global executive committee.
He is also currently a non-executive director at Colruyt Group, and previously held board roles at JD.com and Flipkart Group.
Henry Birch, Group CEO at The Very Group, comments: “We are delighted to have someone of Dirk’s calibre and experience join our company as chair.”
“Dirk has successfully transformed and grown some of the very best companies in e-commerce, marketplaces and payments, and we believe he will make a material difference in helping us achieve our growth aspirations.”
“He is the perfect person to lead our board and assist with strategic options that we are considering over the coming year as we enter the next important phase of the Group’s development.”
Van den Berghe says: “The Very Group has transformed into a digital leader in the UK and Ireland, and is ideally positioned to benefit from increasing consumer demand for both online shopping and flexible payments. I look forward to working closely with the board to deliver profitable growth over the years ahead.”
