Co-op Andover depot hit by three-day snarl-ups

Depot struggled with the “sheer upsurge in demand”

The Co-operative Group stores in the south of England have been hit by problems at its mega-depot in Andover, Hampshire.

Staff have reported lengthy delays and no-shows of deliveries from the 467,000 sq ft regional distribution centre, which serves around 400 Co-op stores in the south.

One source told The Grocer stores had been plagued by delays for the past couple of weeks, affecting availability. Others took to the society’s staff Facebook page to complain deliveries were anything from three hours to as much as three days late.

The society said the problems had been caused by the recent heatwave.

“This has resulted in a massive increase in delivery volumes from around 8.4 million cases per week to more than 10 million cases a week to meet demand,” a spokesman said.

“While the vast majority of deliveries across the UK met their allocated delivery times, some deliveries to stores in Southern England were delayed due to the sheer upsurge in demand on the Andover depot. Our distribution team at Andover has worked extremely hard to resolve the situation.”