M&S unveils its 'mega-shed' to drive efficiency

The 1.1m sq ft building is the largest warehouse in the M&S network and one of the biggest in the UK. It will serve all M&S stores with

furniture products and store equipment, such as racking.

Next year it will store non-refrigerated food such as biscuits, cereal and tinned food, and eventually it will also include clothing.

The 67m building is part of M&S's plans to reduce its network of 110 warehouses to three or four huge distribution centres in strategic locations across the UK.

Sir Stuart said it was "absolutely core" to the future of the company.

"This will be the 21st century way we get the best quality goods, as fast as possible to consumers," he said.

The centre, which is on ProLogis Park Bradford, just off the M606, took 205 working days to build and will employ over 1,200 people when it is fully operational.

Sir Stuart said: "This is part of a masterplan that we started about six years ago, which will probably take another five to complete, about putting Marks and Spencer's information technology and logistics platforms on to a 21st century platform.

"We were looking to start one of the biggest warehouses in a place

which is accessible to as many people as possible and Bradford is accessible to about a sixth of the UK population within an hour, it's got all the transport infrastructure, and... we got together with Bradford Council who had this site. It was a win win situation for everybody."

New chief executive Marc Bolland is due to announce his plans for the company's future growth at the group's interim results in November.

All eyes are on whether M&S will start an online delivery service for its food division but yesterday Sir Stuart remained tight-lipped about whether it is being considered by Mr Bolland.

"There's no immediate plan for us to do home deliveries (on food) at the moment," he said. "But there is a new chief executive who takes over at the end of the month... and he'll have some new and exciting plans. I can't say what they will be but he will tell you about them in November."

The building has been developed with Plan A – M&S's eco and ethical plan – in mind. The building is carbon neutral, has achieved an environmental rating of BREEAM Excellent, the UK's national standard for best practice in sustainable development and environmental performance.

M&S has also invested in a nature programme surrounding the site.

Darrell Stein, M&S' logistics and IT director, said: "Over the next few years we're planning to invest in significant warehouses and systems to make our supply chain as efficient as possible."

He added: "It will provide better service to our customers as our product is stored in one place rather than scattered all over the UK."

Coun David Green, Bradford Council's executive member for regeneration and economy, added: "This site will provide hundreds of jobs for residents, contribute millions of pounds to our economy over many years and act as a catalyst for further growth.

"Marks & Spencer's choice of Bradford is clear evidence of the district's ability to provide the infrastructure and skills required by market-leading businesses."

Construction work was carried out by Winvic and operations are being run by logistics specialist Wincanton.

A quarter of the building's materials were sourced locally. The steel frame and the rain water tank were both manufactured in West Yorkshire.

The new building: Facts & figures

Twelve Wembley pitches or 15 Valley Parade pitches would fit inside the building.

n It's a one-mile walk around the outside of the building.

n Around one sixth of the population live within an hour of the site.

n You would need approximately 140bn Percy Pig sweets to fill the warehouse.

n There are 134 doors for lorries to access loading bays.

n 3,500 tonnes of steel were used in the building's frame.

n Under the service yard there is a 2.1m diameter rainwater storage tank which is 1200m long. When full it holds four million litres of water.

n The sprinkler system has 50,000 individual sprinkler heads.

n The centre took 205 working days to build and will employ over 1,200 people when it is fully operational.

n The building is carbon neutral.

n M&S has planted 400 native trees and created two ponds and new wetland areas around the site.