Published by Stoke-on-Trent Live
WALKERS HIT BY CRISPS SHORTAGE AFTER IT OUTAGE CAUSES SUPPLY ISSUES
Major technical issues following an IT upgrade have left Walkers Crisps struggling to meet demand from supermarkets.
The crisp manufacturer, which produces classics including Monster Munch, French Fries, Quavers, and Wotsits as well as traditional crisps, says it is working round the clock to get back to full capacity, BusinessLive reports.
It is understood that the company has been badly hit by the problem which has been affecting production for several weeks.
Supermarket shelves have been left empty as a result, with rivals including KP reporting big increases in demand for their products.
Walkers, which is part of the global PepsiCo group, said its operations in Beaumont Leys, Leicester, were making limited quantities of crisps and snacks.
A spokeswoman confirmed that a list of products reported on the Grocer trade website had been affected, including multipacks of cheese and onion crisps, baked ready salted, Quavers, Wotsits and French Fries.
She said: “We are currently experiencing disruption to the supply of some of our Walkers snacks products, as a result of a recent IT system upgrade.
“We’re very sorry for the inconvenience and would like to reassure everyone that we are working round the clock to increase supply.
“We’re incredibly grateful to all our colleagues in Leicester and our other sites for their hard work and dedication as we work through this issue.”
A spokesman for the Leicestershire-based Poundstretcher group said they had seen deliveries of Walkers products plummet in recent weeks.
He said: “They had a change to their systems and the change has taken much longer than expected.
“In our last order, instead of getting 26 pallets – which is equivalent to a truckload – we received seven cases, which is not even a pallet full. It is that bad.
“I was in Tesco the other day and the crisps shelves were empty, so I think the bigger supermarkets are being affected more severely as their sales are higher volume.”
Right now the homepage for multipacks on the Asda website lists KP products such as Macoy’s crisps, Hula Hoops, Discos and Wheat Crunchies along with Jacobs mini cheddars.
Walkers Monster Munch and French Fries are currently hidden away at the bottom of the page.
Walkers employs around 1,300 in Leicester where it produces a number of crisps and snacks.
In September PepsiCo said it had completed a £14 million upgrade of its Southern Region Distribution Centre in Beaumont Leys, Leicester – its largest UK distribution site. It was one of the biggest investments it has made in the UK.
A new building, it said, with “state-of-the-art equipment and technology” would increase storage capacity at the warehouse site by 29 per cent.
It said the investment would allow its crisps – which it said are bought by nine in 10 households in the UK – to be distributed to supermarkets and retail partners more efficiently.
It said: “As part of the new building, the latest automated technology has been installed to retrieve and move pallets of stock more efficiently.”