Ikea opens new 452,000 sq ft Dartford distribution centre

Ikea UK has recently opened a new 452,000 sq ft customer distribution centre in Dartford, Kent. This new multi-million pound facility will enable faster, more sustainable home deliveries to customers in London and the southeast of England, according to the group. Located at the former Littlebrook Power Station site near the Dartford Crossing and M25, the new distribution centre is conveniently placed on the border of London to deliver almost one million orders annually, with many deliveries reaching customers within 24 hours of an order being placed. Jakob Bertilsson, county customer fulfilment manager, Ikea UK, said: “In London, we are opening new Ikea stores, investing in our fulfilment network and offering new services to meet more people where they live, work and socialise. Establishing a distribution centre in the region is a hugely exciting and significant step in our investment in the city, as well as a continuation in our omnichannel strategy to support customers however they choose to shop with us. “We want people to enjoy the Ikea experience, whether visiting our stores, home planning or online. The distribution centre will enable this by increasing availability of our products and reducing lead times. It also builds on our ambitions for 100% zero emission ‘last mile’ deliveries for 2025, a critical component of our sustainability strategy.” The new Dartford distribution centre will enable a significant reduction in carbon emissions and is operated 100% by renewable energy, following the retailer's bid to deliver 100% of London customers’ orders via electric vehicles by 2025. To enable this, Ikea will install 28 rapid HGV chargers at the distribution centre, to power up HGVs while loading and unloading Ikea goods in under an hour. Additionally, 60 overnight chargers are set to be installed. Investment in the new distribution centre is the latest milestone in Ikea’s ongoing London expansion through new city stores, the development of existing ones and new delivery capabilities. With a storage capacity of 35,000 m3, the enormous distribution centre is capable of housing up to 9,000 different products, spanning across almost every product in the Ikea range. The launch of the facility has created over 300 jobs and is operated by British logistics firm and longstanding Ikea service provider, Wincanton. James Wroath, CEO at Wincanton, said: “Wincanton is excited to play such a key role in the transformation and expansion of Ikea, who will benefit from our unrivalled expertise and proven operational excellence in eFulfilment. We are looking forward to further strengthening our partnership to achieve our shared goals of meeting Ikea’s customers’ needs quicker than ever before.”