Hatfield, UK: Ocado is to close its oldest distribution centre in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, later this year. Activity at the site will transfer to a new automated warehouse in Luton, due to open this year.
The Hatfield warehouse handles around a fifth of Ocado orders.
Tim Steiner, chief executive, Ocado Group, said: “As the online grocery channel grows, our new, enhanced fulfilment centres and technologies will drive a step change in customer experience and efficiency.
“With this capacity coming online, now is the right time for us to halt operations at our oldest facility at Hatfield and consider our future options for the site.”
In February, Ocado said it was pausing the openings of new distribution centres in the UK after making a record annual loss of more than £500m last year. Revenues at Ocado Retail, the M&S joint venture with M&S, fell by 3.8% in 2022.
Hatfield was Ocado’s first automated warehouse, opened in 2002. The group has since switched to robot picking and packing that require fewer staff and are more efficient. Ocado said: “The latest generation of robotic customer fulfilment centres are consistently achieving well over 200 units picked per labour hour … compared with about 150 for our first generation CFC [customer fulfilment centres] in Hatfield.”
