supply chain
When you stock as many products as we do, sourcing, maintaining stock and store distribution is a highly complex exercise - and this responsibility lies with our Supply Chain department, which is split into two main areas, logistics and our European distribution centre (DC).
There's never a dull moment, since we take the unique approach of despatching stock daily, so that it can arrive at our stores within one to three days (depending upon travel distance). We make one delivery every day to our stores in the UK, and on average every two to three days to the Irish and continental European stores.
Logistics. This team works closely with our Merchandising team to ensure that the right quantities of the right product arrive in our European DC at the right time. Together the Logistics and Merchandising teams liaise with the suppliers to make sure that the required quantities of products are sourced, all the relevant paperwork is put in place, flight and shipping schedules are met and the stock is delivered on time to our European DC. And whilst the distribution of stock to our stores is handled by a third party carrier company the management of the carrier is the responsibility of the logistics team.
European Distribution Centre. Employing around 50 people, from operators to supervisors and everything in between, our European DC supports c. 458 stores across the UK and Ireland, and an expanding portfolio of stores across Europe. This means packing on average 10500 boxes per week and filling 3-4 articulated lorries every single day going to 10 countries. As you can imagine, that means we need a lot of hard-working, dedicated people to keep everything running like clockwork. And it works. We haven't missed a target in 18 months.
So, how do we do it? By keeping our team, lots of whom have been here for many years, happy in their work. We operate a day shift (8am - 4pm and 7am to 3.30pm (Friday) with occasional overtime), and a ‘back-shift’ (1pm – 9.30 pm Monday – Thursday and 12 noon – 8.30pm on a Friday). Please note, all our DC staff work both shifts on a weekly rotation.
True to our Claire's values, we always keep our environment spotless. Our managers are amongst the most approachable and supportive in the industry and we run a health and safety committee and a forum for all staff. Above all this is a friendly place, where people actually look forward to their Monday mornings.
