Marks and Spencer 2008 Annual Report Download - page 24

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22 MARKS AND SPENCER GROUP PLC
Service, IT
and logistics
Good service continues to be a priority
at M&S. In addition to training and
developing our in-store staff so that they
consistently perform well, we’re also
investing behind the scenes to improve
our logistics and IT infrastructure. This
investment will allow us to efficiently run
our supply chain and IT systems so that
stock is managed tightly and transactions
are processed effectively.
Mystery shopping
Each of our stores is anonymously visited
once a month – twice in the case of our
larger flagship stores – by a mystery shopper
who evaluates service quality. In 2007/08 that
was the equivalent of some 6,240 visits to
our stores. We’re pleased with the outcome,
as our teams achieved a new record average
score – 86%.
The mystery shopping programme was
developed in partnership with a customer
panel to help us identify where we need to
support our stores with additional training.
As a result the questions and scoring system
accurately reflect our customers’ priorities,
such as the standard of our fitting rooms.
Supporting our growth
Supporting our people behind the scenes,
our supply chain and IT systems play a
crucial part in ensuring our stores perform
efficiently, and provide maximum customer
satisfaction.
For our supply chain, the challenge in
2007/08 was to handle significantly increased
volumes, while remaining cost-effective.
Despite the growth of M&S Direct, increasing
sales volumes and more direct buying from
our suppliers, our supply chain coped well
under these pressures, delivering 13% more
stock to our stores, and responding to a
63% rise in volume from M&S Direct.
A more efficient future
The majority of our supply chain’s
physical infrastructure – the warehouses
and distribution centres – has remained
unchanged since the 1970s. The next
major requirement is to develop a world
class infrastructure that will support us
not just in the UK but around the world.
Having formed a strategic partnership with
logistics property organisation ProLogis,
we’ve been working together to build a new
warehouse in Bradford (see picture below).
This will play an important role in increasing
the speed and efficiency of our supply chain,
and further reducing costs.
Teardrop trailers
We became the first
company in the world
to adopt a revolutionary
new trailer (developed by
Don-Bur) whose teardrop
shape will reduce our
carbon footprint.
With 141 trailers now
on the road, our teams
have achieved a 10%
improvement in fuel-
efficiency and a 20%
reduction in CO2emissions
per garment moved. At the
same time, the teardrop
trailers also deliver up to
10% more load than a
conventional trailer.
The average
score in our
mystery shopping
programme
86%
New Bradford warehouse – computer generated image.