Hermes UK has completed the construction of a secondary sortation tier at its fully automated distribution hub in Warrington, North West England, bringing the hub’s processing capacity up to one million parcels per day, ahead of the Christmas peak season.
The 15,000 sqm hub initially opened in May 2014, with Hermes investing £14 million in the facility – the largest single investment in the company’s history. The second tier costs a further £10 million and allows Hermes to continue to support retailers who generate significant growth in online sales, especially during peak periods.
Starting in January this year, the second tier project was completed on time and to budget, with construction work being carried out during the evenings to prevent the disruption of the day-to-day operations at the hub.
Hermes stressed that the additional capacity at Warrington will play a key role in its international growth strategy while responding to the increasing customer demand for next day deliveries.
“Most significantly, the investment allows Hermes to ensure that its operations can be easily and efficiently scaled up and down upon demand, whilst being equipped with the necessary infrastructure to cope with growing volumes during longer periods of intense activity,” the company said.
Martijn de Lange, COO at Hermes, commented: “With the significant growth in e-commerce, and the emergence of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the supply chain industry remains under continual pressure to increase capacity. This additional investment will ensure that retailers can continue to have full confidence in Hermes’ ability to provide exceptional levels of service at all times, especially during the upcoming peak season, and for many years to come.”
To support its Warrington operations during the peak period, Hermes UK will also hire additional 400 staff.
De Lange explained that the company started preparing for this year’s Christmas peak right after last year’s peak season was over. “We are working alongside our clients to finalise our plans by analysing forecasted volumes and confirming collection schedules. In addition to Warrington, we have also added another 125 sub depots to our network and increased the number of scanners and handheld terminals across the business. During the peak season, we will also have 200 additional advisors across 19 client sites to deal exclusively with any enquiries; 3,000 more couriers and our money back delivery guarantee campaign will also return this Christmas.”
