The UK arm of GXO, a contract logistics company that runs warehouses and fulfilment for retailers and manufacturers, which grew its UK business through Clipper Logistics and Wincanton.
GXO is a contract logistics company: it runs warehouses and delivery operations for other businesses so that they do not have to. Its services, as described on a fulfilment industry site, include warehousing and distribution, online and in-store order fulfilment, reverse logistics (handling returned goods), cold chain (keeping chilled and frozen goods at the right temperature), cross-border logistics and last-mile delivery. In the UK it also runs a shared-warehouse service called GXO Direct and a Click & Collect service called Clicklink. UK work reported in news releases includes managing operations at BMW Group's Swindon site, working with Sainsbury's on fresh and frozen shipments (April 2023), and being appointed by WHSmith as its UK logistics partner.
GXO is quite a young company. It was created on 2 August 2021, when the American group XPO separated its contract logistics business. Brad Jacobs became non-executive chairman, Malcolm Wilson was the first chief executive and Patrick Kelleher is listed as chief executive today. By 2023 it was described as the world's largest pure-play contract logistics provider. We could not find a formal mission statement. The fulfilment-industry page we read says its aim is to help brands streamline operations, improve efficiency and scale up, which is a third-party description, not GXO's own words.
The UK is a major market for the company. In October 2022 it completed its purchase of Clipper Logistics, a British retail logistics firm whose clients had included Marks & Spencer, Morrisons and Virgin Media O2. That deal added more than 50 sites, about 10 million square feet of warehouse space and roughly 10,000 employees. In the same month GXO opened 30 shared warehouse facilities in the UK, and GXO Direct expanded into the UK in March 2023. In 2024 it bought Wincanton, one of the best-known British logistics firms. The fulfilment-industry page says GXO Direct runs 30 UK sites covering the whole country, but we did not find a UK-only headcount or a full list of sites. Worldwide, Wikipedia lists about 152,000 employees and 1,030 locations in 2024.
We did not read a culture page or staff stories for GXO, so we cannot describe the day-to-day atmosphere. What the sources do show is a company that has grown quickly, partly through buying other firms, so UK colleagues may work alongside people who joined from Clipper or Wincanton.
A contract logistics business needs people in many roles. On the warehouse floor there are operatives, team leaders and shift managers. Behind them are transport planners, engineers who look after automation and robots, health and safety specialists, IT and data teams, customer account managers, and finance and human resources staff. Many roles involve technology such as scanning systems, conveyors and robotic picking. GXO's UK website lists current vacancies and the sites where they are based.
Website: gxo.com
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