<<<< return to table of case studies

With almost 800 branches, The Co-operative Pharmacy is the third largest pharmacy chain in the UK, with a nationwide presence from the north of Scotland to the south of England, with pharmacies in Northern Ireland and Wales too. In Wales they are the single biggest pharmacy chain.

The Co-operative Pharmacy employs more than 5,000 people and dispenses approximately 55.6 million prescriptions annually. They are part of the Co-operative Group, which has a turnover of more than £9 billion, 2.5 million active trading members and more than 80,000 employees.

In order to enable the Co-operative Pharmacy to deliver to all of its UK branches from the same depot for the first time, they decided to invest in a new National Distribution Centre at Meir Park, Stoke-On-Trent.

Knapp was chosen to provide all internal logistics within the new facility, which at 190,000 sq ft is around four times the size of The Co-operative Pharmacy’s existing facility in nearby Wolstanton.

Knapp, acting as general contractor and systems integrator, was responsible for the realisation of the National Distribution Centre's highly automated materials handling system, including miniload AS/RS, AFrames, extensive conveyor systems and robotic palletising, all under the control of Knapp's 'KLASS-X' control system.

In order to realise the project, a 1,000m² mezzanine floor with 3 part M staircases and 3 pallet gates was required. Knapp chose the UK’s leading mezzanine floor manufacturer, Davicon Mezzanine Floors, to design, manufacture and install the floor. Installation took place over 3 weeks.