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Waterstone's has increased the number of stores supplied by its hub to 140 as it enters the final weeks of implementing its new supply chain.
The retailer announced last week that the new hub, a 150,000 sq ft site based at Burton upon Trent, will be fully operational in June. Managing director Gerry Johnson declined to confirm a specific launch date. He said: "We will go as fast as we need to."
Three hundred full-time staff will ultimately be hired by Unipart, the company contracted by Waterstone's to run the hub. The distribution centre has taken almost two years to implement since it was first announced in June 2007. Originally mooted for launch in the first quarter of 2008, it has been subject to a series of delays. Staff have complained that during the early months of testing, availability had been affected. One said: "Supply has been varied."
Johnson has previously said that these delays have been to ensure that the hub is "de-risked". He said this week: "We have spent the past year rigorously testing the system and while any new system has areas that can be improved, we are satisfied with how it is now."
The hub consolidates orders from multiple publishers into one delivery per store. Books are placed into blue totes that are arranged for the store's different sections. Any stickering is carried out at the Burton upon Trent centre. "This does actually work, but I'm not sure if having blue tote boxes everywhere on the shopfloor during the afternoon isn't a step backwards from trollies," said another shopworker.
Waterstone's has been stung before when it has tried to change its supply chain. In the past, it had a fraught spell using W H Smith's Swindon warehouse and a partnership with Bertrams to scale out Christmas stock ended badly. Publishers' reactions to the hub's implementation have generally been favourable, with the proviso that it needs to work properly.