Amazon has officially opened a £107 million distribution centre in Peterborough, creating around 1,400 jobs at a facility described as the first of its kind in the UK and the largest of its type in Europe.
The 690,000 square foot centre marks the first new Amazon building in Peterborough for 15 years and introduces a different approach to how the company moves products through its UK logistics network.
The site can hold up to 16 million items during peak periods and has the capacity to ship as many as five million items a week. Rather than sending orders directly to customers, it supplies around 20 Amazon fulfilment centres across the country.
The new facility is designed to hold some of the products customers buy most frequently, including household essentials such as pet food and toilet paper. These products are then distributed to fulfilment centres, where they are combined with the rest of customers’ orders before delivery.
By positioning popular products within the company’s logistics network, Amazon aims to reduce pressure on fulfilment centres and help make more items available for same day or next day delivery.
The additional storage capacity is also intended to help maintain stock availability and keep deliveries running smoothly during busy shopping periods, including Prime Day and Black Friday.
New technology changes how products move
The Peterborough centre introduces new pallet computer vision technology designed to check products as soon as they arrive from suppliers.
The technology removes the need for a separate check in step, helping products move through the facility more quickly as stock arrives and is dispatched to fulfilment centres.
Together, these features are part of a new operating model for Amazon, with products moving from suppliers to fulfilment centres under one roof without the traditional unpacking and sorting stages.
Tomislav Batinic, Site Leader at the Peterborough centre, described the opening as a significant moment for the company.
“This site is a complete re-invention of how we run part of our logistics operation, and a historic moment for Amazon,” he said.
“It is the first of its kind in the UK and the largest in Europe, and it is fitting that it is happening in Peterborough, a city with real history. Products arrive from suppliers at one end and head out to fulfilment centres across the country at the other, all under one roof.”
Batinic said the new type of facility would help shape the company’s operations in the coming years.
“This type of site will be the template for how we run our operations in the years ahead, so it is a privilege to be the one introducing it,” he said.
He added that the launch team had been given the name Team Founders to reflect the significance of the opening.
“We have called our team ‘Team Founders’ to mark how historic this moment is, and we are not just launching a building, we are laying the groundwork for something that will grow and endure long after Day One.”
1,400 jobs and employee benefits
The new distribution centre will create around 1,400 jobs, with positions ranging from Powered Industrial Truck drivers to inventory control staff, team leaders and area managers.
Employees receive competitive pay alongside a benefits package that includes private medical insurance, life assurance, income protection, subsidised meals, a 10 per cent uncapped grocery discount and a company pension.
Amazon says these benefits are worth thousands of pounds a year on top of employees’ salaries.
The opening also adds to the company’s established presence in Peterborough. Its existing fulfilment centre has operated since 2010 and employs more than 1,000 permanent staff.
The new building had previously been used to provide additional capacity during Amazon’s peak season. It has now been fitted out as a permanent distribution facility.
Training opportunities for employees
Amazon’s Career Choice programme also offers employees support with skills training and nationally recognised courses.
Under the programme, the company funds up to 100 per cent of eligible training costs, up to £3,000 a year, regardless of whether the course leads to a future career with Amazon or another employer.
More than 23,000 Amazon employees across the UK have taken part in the programme since 2014.
The training scheme forms part of the wider employment offer available to staff working at the company’s sites.
Part of £40bn UK investment plan
The £107 million Peterborough facility forms part of Amazon’s £40 billion UK investment plan for 2025 to 2027.
Its opening represents a new stage in the company’s operations in the city, combining additional storage capacity, new technology and a distribution model focused on moving popular products efficiently through the wider network.
With space for up to 16 million items at peak and the ability to ship up to five million items a week, the centre is designed to support fulfilment operations across the UK, particularly during periods of high demand.
For Peterborough, the opening brings a major new logistics facility to the city, around 1,400 jobs and a further expansion of Amazon’s existing local presence.
The company says the One Distribution Centre model will serve as a template for how it runs parts of its operations in the years ahead.