Marks & Spencer hit by glitches at new Castle Donington distribution centre

The IT issues at Marks & Spencer’s 900,000 sq ft warehouse, which opened to great fanfare in May, has caused some trading directors to express concerns about allowing their stock to flow through the new centre, according to Sky News.

M&S is working to address the problems, which had also given rise to compliance concerns about product integrity.

An M&S spokesman told Sky News they did not comment on “rumour and speculation”, adding: “We’ve said from day one that operations at Castle Donington will build over a long period of time to protect customer service. Nothing has changed and it is early days on-site as we follow the ramp-up plan.”

The retailer has been bringing the warehouse on-line in stages. Castle Donington, which will eventually be used to fulfil all online orders, will not be fully operational until the end of next year.

Castle Donington was hailed by chief executive Marc Bolland as a key milestone in M&S’s aim to modernise its supply chain.

The fully automated centre is designed to handle one million orders every day.

M&S is not the only retailer to be hit by teething problems while introducing a new distribution centre system. SuperGroup profits were hit when a warehouse glitch impacted stock distribution to stores in late 2011.