Case Study: Thorntons achieves 11% growth without extra staff with Manhattan Associates Warehouse Management

Sweet success as Thorntons rolls out Manhattan supply chain solutions

Thorntons, a UK premium confectioner with ~£200m turnover and national distribution from a 140,000 sq ft Alfreton warehouse, needed to replace an ageing WMS and introduce a new warehouse infrastructure to support aggressive growth and a tight Christmas deadline without disrupting operations.

Thorntons deployed Manhattan’s Warehouse Management on HP‑UX, integrated with its Oracle manufacturing and bespoke ordering systems, implemented with Manhattan and EDS support. The new WMS went live on schedule, improved productivity and temp training, enabled over 11% growth (handling £180m→£200m turnover and up to 250,000 boxes/week at peak) without extra permanent staff, and delivered an estimated £100,000 in cost savings in the first year.

Thorntons

Greg Garside

Head of Distribution Strategy & Quality