Holland & Barrett said it is driving an automation upgrade across its distribution network as it seeks to boost efficiency and support online growth.

On Thursday, the retailer announced a new partnership with Autostore, a company that builds automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS) using robotics and advanced software to optimise warehouse operations.

In a LinkedIn post, Vineta Bajaj, group chief financial officer at Holland & Barrett said: “We actually have a shiny new AutoStore getting ready to go live very soon, and it is going to be a game changer for how we move products from warehouse to customer.”

AutoStore's main product is a cube storage grid in which containers are stacked compactly and accessed by robots from above.

The system aims to ensure that robots bring items directly to workstations, improving efficiency and ergonomics, instead of having workers go to the shelves.

Its design aims to optimise space and enable faster and more accurate order picking.

Bajaj went on to emphasise the importance of automation to drive Holland & Barrett’s warehouse operations.

“There’s something about walking on the floor, seeing the kit in action, and watching robots glide around that just makes me feel right at home,” she said.

She added that a warehouse is where “finance, operations and innovation meet,” with every conveyor belt, sensor and process mapping directly to productivity, cost efficiency and customer experience.

Bajaj also said that the company is currently looking to hire someone for a leadership role focused on automation.

“If you’re as obsessed with automation, efficiency and future-ready supply chains as I am, and fancy helping us automate the hell out of our distribution, supply chain or last mile, come talk to me, we have fantastic leadership roles open right now,” she added.

Automation forms part of the retailer’s wider expansion strategy, which involves opening 50 new stores in 2025.

During the past financial year, the company has refurbished 315 stores and opened 35 new stores, including 15 concessions.

The concessions are part of the retailer’s efforts to trial new format stores, including travel locations, garden centres, and a kiosk in Dublin which sells a selected range of 1,000 products.

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