The Bookseller.com

30th August 2008

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Waterstone's consolidation on track

25.01.08 Graeme Neill

Waterstone's head of distribution Rob Entwistle assured publishers the retailer's new 150,000 sq ft consolidation centre will be fit for purpose by early summer. "The move to the consolidation centre is on track for an early summer trial launch, and it will gradually run up to cover the whole estate," he said.

The nine-week roll-out period will mean the centre is able to cope with the full launch, he said: "There will be early life support from Unipart and Waterstone's to deal with any teething troubles." He added that the centre was a response to publisher comments about the high cost of serving Waterstone's.

"There's a complexity to our current model compared to that of other retailers," he admitted. "There's a high level of returns and associated administrative costs. What we are doing is an opportunity to greatly reduce supply chain complexity. One dispatch point gives us future potential for significant savings."

Blog: On the road to recovery

Retail waterstone's Graeme Neill