US e-commerce homegoods giant picks Northallerton’s BT distribution centre for UK orders

The biggest online retailer of home goods in the United States has chosen BT’s distribution centre in Northallerton to manage its UK warehousing and despatch services.

The £350k deal with US firm Wayfair will create around five new full time jobs with that figure expected to more than double by the end of the year.

This latest deal to the 150 strong workforce reinforces the North Yorkshire depot’s position as BT’s second largest UK supply chain centre, which already processes and distributes more than 20,000 customer orders per day.

BT staff will be managing the distribution of everthing Wayfair stocks in addition to the usual broadband hubs, BT TV boxes and other electronics.

Steve Davies, Wayfair’s warehousing and incidence reduction manager, said: “Due to the ongoing success of both Wayfair and our sister company Joss and Main, we needed a logistics partner who could support our current operation and ambitious European growth plans.

“BT Supply Chain, with their skills and capabilities in various distribution models, proved to be the best choice for our operations. In just a short time, we have already experienced a significant upturn in many of our key metrics that enable us to provide the best possible customer experience. We look forward to working with BT going forward and believe this deal will be of great value to our UK supply chain.”

Nick Hale, managing director of BT Supply Chain, added: “This is more good news for Northallerton and for BT Supply Chain.

“Logistically, Northallerton has enabled us to provide the ideal solution to meet Wayfair’s requirements but the high calibre of our highly-trained workforce enabled us to assure Wayfair we could meet the peaks in demand that are part and parcel of their business.

“This deal will allow us to continue maintaining and growing our presence in Northallerton during the next few years.”

Tom Keeney, BT’s regional director for Yorkshire and the Humber, said: “It’s fantastic news that BT Supply Chain continue to develop, grow and expand their operations in Northallerton. This contract with Wayfair is testament to the hard work of all the staff who have each contributed to the ongoing success and growth of the business.”