GXO appointed by WHSmith as its new UK logistics partner

WHSmith, the global travel retailer, today announces the appointment of GXO, the world’s largest pure-play contract logistics provider, as its new outsourced UK logistics partner.

WHSmith has over 1,100 stores across the UK in both travel and high street locations which were previously serviced by the retailer from three in-house distribution centres in Swindon, Birmingham and Dunstable.

Under the new agreement, all three of these distribution centres will transfer to GXO, which will operate the end-to-end supply of WHSmith’s UK retail businesses. All 440 colleagues who work in these three centres will transfer to GXO via the TUPE process. By partnering with GXO, WHSmith is aiming to establish a more efficient and effective supply chain to support the performance of its UK Travel and High Street businesses.

WHSmith has also recently awarded its transport operations to GXO, starting from February 2024. GXO will be optimising the transport planning for WHSmith’s core distribution network as well as utilising its shared-user transport capabilities to provide full coverage for stores across the UK.

Sean Feeney, Supply Chain Director, WHSmith, commented: “WHSmith’s growth as a global travel retailer is accelerating and we need a supply chain which can match this and support our future plans. We are pleased to have appointed GXO as our UK logistics provider to work with us in creating a modern and efficient supply chain which delivers for our UK businesses and customers.”

Gavin Williams, Managing Director, U.K. and Ireland, GXO, commented: “We’re delighted to partner with WHSmith to deliver end-to-end supply chain management as part of its network modernisation. With our extensive retail warehousing and transportation expertise, as well as our technology-driven commitment to continuous improvement, we’re perfectly positioned to support WHSmith’s growth plans.”

A propos de GXO Logistics

GXO logistics, Inc. (NYSE : GXO) est le plus grand prestataire pure-player de logistique contractuelle au monde et bénéficie de la croissance rapide du e-commerce et de l'automatisation. GXO s'engage à fournir un environnement de travail diversifié de classe mondiale à ses plus de 130 000 collaborateurs répartis sur 970 sites totalisant une surface d’environ 18,5 millions de mètres carrés d’entreposage. L'entreprise collabore avec les plus grandes entreprises mondiales pour relever des défis logistiques complexes grâce à des supply chain technologiquement avancées et des solutions pour le e-commerce. Le siège social de GXO est situé à Greenwich, dans le Connecticut, aux États-Unis. Rendez-vous sur GXO.comGXO.com pour plus d’informations, et suivez GXO sur LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram et YouTube.

About WH Smith

WHSmith is a leading global retailer for the world’s travelling customer. With more than 1,700 stores across 30 countries worldwide, WHSmith offer customers a wide range of travel Media Release 09 th January 2024 essentials for their journey, including books, newspapers & magazines, digital accessories and food and drink.

The Company has a growing international business with over 640 stores primarily across the world’s leading airports, including over 320 stores in North America, incorporating leading specialty retail brands Marshall Retail Group and InMotion.