Supply chain specialist Alison Maffin calls time on her 16 year run at Waitrose & Partners

Alison Maffin has announced her departure from Waitrose & Partners, where she spent the past 16 years, most recently serving as Supply Chain and Logistics Director.

In a LinkedIn post, in which she did not reveal her next move, she said: “After 16 fantastic years, I have decided that now is the right time for me to leave Waitrose. I have mixed emotions as am so proud of what we have achieved, a little sad to be leaving an incredible team and some amazing peers but extremely excited about what's ahead.”

She added: “I am leaving on a high following our full year results which shows that Waitrose is a brilliant brand with strong momentum. We have achieved record customer satisfaction scores, record availability and market beating volume growth. Our transformation plan is working, and I have loved playing my part in it. “

Maffin noted that, when she took over supply chain, the retailer was in the middle of replacing its core merchandise systems and availability was not where it needed to be.

“Fast forward to now, we have modernised our tech, have a brilliant team that works collaboratively across the business to deliver record availability for our customers, week in, week out. Our customers have noticed and we won the Grocer Gold availability award for the first time ever!! Just as importantly, Partner engagement scores in supply chain have improved each year.”

She concluded: “The whole team at Waitrose is fantastic and I will be cheering you on as you take the next steps along your transformation journey. Thank you so much to all the brilliant Partners who have made my time so very special, we have had a blast!”

Satalia

Waitrose has partnered with AI solutions specialist Satalia as it looks to optimise online delivery routes.

The aim here is to better plan delivery schedules, reduce travel times, and minimise fuel consumption across its fleet.

“Delivering the best possible experience for our customers has always been at the heart of what we do,” says James Lee, Head of Fulfilment at Waitrose “Working with Satalia allows us to offer even greater convenience, while taking another important step toward our goal of reducing emissions and operating more sustainably.”

“By harnessing AI powered technology, we can now offer customers more precise and convenient delivery times while significantly reducing our environmental impact. This is a brilliant example of how technology can help us deliver on our promises of both exceptional service and sustainability” said Pav Kalia, Head of Change Delivery and Technology.

Satalia’s platform provides real-time optimisation, taking into account variables such as traffic conditions, vehicle capacity, and delivery time windows. The solution is now live across Waitrose’s network of 170 stores, two customer fulfilment centres and a fleet of 1,400 vans, supporting 160,000 home deliveries each week.

“We’re proud to support Waitrose in achieving both operational efficiency and sustainability goals,” says Daniel Hulme, CEO at Satalia. “By leveraging AI, we can make complex decisions at scale that benefit customers, businesses, and the planet.”