With an open-minded attitude, willingness to learn and ability to work as a team, you’ll take pride in working for a well-loved brand. In our distribution centre you’ll work in a familiar and friendly environment, taking satisfaction in a job well-done, that you can leave at the door when your shift ends.
If you’re organised and can focus on the task at hand, you’ll get plenty of opportunities to learn and a clear role progression if you want it. Whilst meeting targets and staying productive in both quiet and busy periods, you’ll get a flexible working atmosphere that suits you.
Size and scale
We’re the UK’s leading book distributor with over 650,000 square feet of storage space. Our Frating distribution teams pick, pack and despatch more than 120 million books each year, covering over 85,000 titles. That’s a lot of books going to over 160 countries, requiring a crucial distribution team to facilitate the scale of our operation.
Warehouse operations
Our operations team keep the wheels of our distribution service running. We receive orders from all over the world from as small as one book right up to multiple vehicle loads. Our teams plan the orders to achieve a standard service level agreement and then ensure that the orders are completed and sent via a series of air, sea, and road freight options.
For Operatives, our warehouse operates in three shift patterns to suit your availability, transport options, and working preferences: 6am – 2pm / 2pm – 10pm / 10pm – 6am. All three shifts come together as one team to strive towards meeting our company goal of getting books into as many reader’s hands as possible.
Ambitions Personnel supply us with hundreds of temporary warehouse workers who are welcomed as part of the Penguin family. After twelve weeks you will benefit from the same pay and holiday as our permanent workers and some of our additional company benefits like our discounted staff book sales. Many of our temporary workers go on to permanent roles with us, just start here!
Engineering are responsible for all electro-mechanical preventative engineering. They proactively manage our engineering systems and infrastructure to ensure efficiency in warehouse operations machinery. As a team they are responsible for ensuring that resources are being correctly used in line with the site strategy, and for providing solutions to breakdown and delivering maintenance on any given shift.
Engineering
Amazon operations
Naturally, Amazon is one of our key retailers. We have a dedicated operations team to ensure our Amazon order fulfillment that include general oversight, compliance, and data specific functions.
From purchase order confirmation through to delivery to any of 35+ UK fulfilment centres (and more internationally) our team will deal with Purchase Order health, overseeing the booking of deliveries through our carrier, to the successful delivery.
Responsible for the management of all inbound stock assets, stock management whilst on site, discrepancy resolution, and ensuring that the right stock is in the right place at the right time.
Logistics get involved in perpetual inventory counts, moving stock from various points around the facility, and dealing with any issues relating to its accountability. Working within a small office-based team, there are also plenty of opportunities to get into the warehouse facility itself and carry out various stock investigations and counts. The team is also responsible for special order releases, our value-added operations and for high-security embargo titles before our strict release dates to the industry.
Logistics
Customer service
As custodians of our well-loved brand, customer service problem-solve for our customers and take satisfaction in a job well done. Alongside a friendly, familiar, and supportive team, the team are cross-trained in different skill sets to go the extra mile. Everyone from Switchboard Operators, to Customer Experience come together to meet targets and focus on what’s needed on any given day.
They bring their attention to detail, resilience, and empathy in return for a flexible atmosphere and hybrid working options. Great communication skills have a positive impact on our company reputation.
The continuous improvement team are responsible for maximising the efficiency and success of our warehouse operations. They support internal stakeholders with specialist resources to identify, prioritise, and deliver a portfolio of improvement opportunities. With data analysis and problem-solving they drive improvements across multiple areas of the operation including safety and infrastructure, process, communications, sustainability, and the supply chain for example.
Continuous improvement
Our canteen serves hot and cold food between 8am – 10am for breakfast, 12pm – 2pm for lunch and 5pm – 6pm for dinner, to meet the needs of those on shift patterns.