Case Study

Waitrose

Waitrose Deliver London: Dark store design and development.

Waitrose

Waitrose Deliver London: Dark store design and development.

Waitrose is rapidly developing its own grocery home shopping service, alongside the Ocado service. Waitrose decided to launch the service in London in 2011, and engaged Javelin Group to help with the launch. This included:

  • Market size: An estimate of the sales potential in London.
  • Fulfilment strategy: Whether to use stores to fulfil or a separate warehouse laid out like a store (‘dark store’).
  • Overall programme management.
  • Dark store operation and technology design, including warehouse selection and design.
  • Implementation support.

We started planning our launch of Waitrose Deliver in London in the summer of 2010. Javelin Group worked closely with us and helped us understand the market potential, how we could improve the customer experience, what the logistics solution options were and the overall business case. Once the board approved our plans, Javelin Group supported us with programme management, operational and technology design and implementation of our ‘dark store’, from which we fulfil most of our London demand. We went live with this in October 2011, less than 12 months after approval. The launch was almost flawless, and we are delighted with our performance in London. The Javelin Group team was an essential part of our success, and I am very pleased with their work.
Robin Phillips, Director, eCommerce, Waitrose.

www.waitrose.com

Find out more about Javelin Group’s Operations service line.