Where do you fit in? Distribution

What springs to mind when you think about distribution? Most people think of warehouses, lorries and lots and lots of boxes. But the truth is a little more complicated (and interesting) than that.

In fact, it's impossible to over-emphasise just how important distribution is in today's Tesco.

The heart of our business

What use is a supermarket shelf if it's not brimming with exactly the products our customers want to buy? The fact is that no matter how hard we try in every other area of our business, if the distribution chain isn't perfect, then our customers won't be happy.

So it's a good thing we've got one of the best distribution networks around where you'll find working examples of technology which most people just get to read about in trade journals - including the latest paperless picking.

With new depots, new systems and new ways of running our distribution network, we make sure our customers get what they want, when they want.

Our UK depots - all 24 of them

The numbers are big. And we opened a new 370,000 sq ft fresh food depot at Peterborough in October 2005. Then there's our Doncaster depot, which we took over from a third party provider - then extended it by 110,000 sq ft.

Non-food depots

Six of our depots look after only our non-food and clothing lines.

In 2006, we opened two specialised non-food depots. At over 780,000 sq ft the Daventry depot is our largest, and handles two million cases of clothing every week. And our new Chesterfield depot distributes our non-food products and employs 400 people.

More than warehouses and lorries

Despite all the depots and superb technology, distribution is still all about people. And the pace of change means we're searching for leaders who want a role that will never sit still.

Your aim? To create simpler, more cost-effective operations, without compromising service or quality. Simpler - Better - Cheaper. It's in everything we do.