Supply Chain

Availability is the most fundamental part of any retail business: if the products aren’t on shelves, then customers can’t buy them. But, with more than 330 stores and over 40,000 product lines, getting every product to the right place at the right time is a huge and complex logistical challenge.

The role of B&Q’s Supply Chain team is to make it work as simply and smoothly as possible. We know we’re getting it right when our customers don’t notice anything – because the products are right there when they want them.

The team works in three main functions:-

• Retail Supply Chain teams work closely with the Commercial Categories, forecasting and purchasing products throughout the year. They plan stock inputs for new seasons, promotional events and for new range launches – and manage around 750 vendors in the UK and worldwide. B&Q is the UK’s largest deep sea shipper, bringing in enough containers last year to go all round the M25.
• Supply Chain Development looks after our systems and processes, monitoring how things are working and constantly looking for ways to make our distribution more efficient. An important part of this is the Orange Team, which handles more than 4,000 queries from stores every week – ordering new stock, keeping track of customer orders and responding quickly to any potential concerns.

The Retail Logistics team manages our Distribution network and the vehicle fleet that transports our products to stores (currently around 240 tractor units and 800 trailers). Last year they travelled 38 million miles, transporting nearly four million cubic metres of product. B&Q’s Distribution Centres are run by third party contractors who, between them, employ over 5,000 people.