Отзывы сотрудников о компании WHSmith News Ltd

WHSmith News is the oldest business within the WHSmith Group.
It all started in 1792 when Henry William Smith started a newspaper round business. When Henry and his wife died, their two sons Henry Edward Smith and William Henry Smith took over a now prosperous concern. Later, William took control of the business and it became known as WHSmith. William set up the first newspaper distribution warehouse and used a fleet of small carts and fast horses to collect the daily papers and transport them to stagecoach stops. WHSmith could get the papers to readers 12 hours faster than the traditional overnight rail coach.

As the railway network grew, and trains became faster, it became more efficient to load newspapers on to trains at stations near the print centres so that they could be distributed as soon as the train reached its destination.

When William realised the potential of providing retail to rail travellers, he set up bookstalls by the stations, which in turn diversified and resulted in widespread retail stores and the formation of the WHSmith Group.

Today, WHSmith has grown considerably since its early beginnings and the Group now boasts a portfolio of businesses; WHSmith High Street, WHSmith Travel and WHSmith News.


As with all newspaper and magazine wholesalers in the UK, WHSmith News is positioned in the supply chain between publishers and retailers. We deliver media product from the publishers to our retail customers in one of the fastest moving supply chains in the world.
Distribution of magazines and newspapers is governed by contracts awarded to wholesalers by publishers. Under these contracts, the wholesaler distributes newspapers and magazines in specified postcode areas.

WHSmith News operates 50 distribution centres throughout England and Wales. Distribution centres – or houses, as they are known in the industry – have their own customer service departments. Retailers call their local house for information or to make changes to their orders. Retailers can also access order information and services using our customer website Connect2U.

WHSmith News has more than 4,500 employees and uses around 1,000 contractors. We operate our dedicated service 24 hours a day, 364 days a year.

Technology

As the UK’s foremost news wholesaler we require robust information systems that support our activities, link all of our sites and manage huge quantities of customer data. WHSmith News can offer customers an overview of the news business that is one of the best in our industry.

Our entire business is underpinned by an industry-leading computer system that uses SAP software. SAP enables us to achieve operational efficiencies and accuracy, as well as reduce waste.

SAP links all our 51 houses and other sites, such as the National Accounting Centre in Bradford. As we operate an intensely time-sensitive, high volume business, SAP enables us to prioritise communication and provide a high level of service to all our locations.

With SAP we can:
Support 22,000 customer calls every day and bill nearly seven million invoice items every week
Provide reports and analysis to publishers through the inf-use.com website
Provide retailers with the facility to manage their standing order online through Connect2U
Store a huge quantity of daily information. Around 1,300 million records are held, with millions more being created or updated on a daily basis


WHSmith News serves two groups of customers – publishers and retailers.
As the UK’s leading newspaper and magazine wholesaler, WHSmith News handles 53 million newspapers and magazines every week. We distribute product on behalf of more than 500 publishers, and deliver it to 22,000 retail customers. These retailers range from garage forecourts and supermarkets to independent retailers and corner shops.

We have 36% market share of magazines and 33% market share of newspapers in the UK.

Publisher clients

For publishers, we distribute their product and manage copy to ensure maximum sales and availability, and reduce waste. We also undertake promotional activity and provide them with market information and support to help grow their sales.

Retailer customers

For retailers, we supply newspapers and magazines to maximise sales and availability. We also offer a number of services to help retailers increase sales and make the most of their business. This includes promotional activity, marketing support, sales information, range and space advice, shop refitting and copy management. We offer a tailored range of services to our best performing independent customers.

We also distribute a range of non-News products to our retail customers including phonecards, confectionery, stickers, novelties and collectables.

We are driven by:

good service
customer needs
getting the right product in the right place at the right time