At DELIVER Europe 2025, Tom Killeen, Chief Operating Officer at THG, gave a powerful breakout session unveiling how fulfilment strategy has evolved from back-office function to core growth engine. THG, known for brands like MyProtein, LookFantastic, and Cult Beauty, has spent 20 years obsessively refining every operational touchpoint to improve customer experience.

The result? A fulfilment model that drives revenue, loyalty, and operational savings—with data and automation at its core.

From Ecommerce Chaos to Operational Mastery

Key Milestones in THG's Fulfilment Journey

• 2004 – THG founded; began selling CDs/DVDs cross-border from Guernsey

• 2010s – Acquired MyProtein and LookFantastic; early ecommerce brand building

• 2013 – Built in-house translation system to launch native websites in under 24 hours

• 2015 – Launched 70 native-language ecommerce sites in one year

• 2016 – Built £120M, 1M sq. ft. fulfilment centre in the UK

• 2017–2018 – Expanded manufacturing and fulfilment into the US and Poland

• 2019 – Built in-house warehouse management system (WMS)

• 2020 – Developed global courier management system with direct carrier integration

• 2021 – Launched AutoStore systems in UK and US fulfilment hubs

• 2022–2024 – Reduced distribution costs by 500bps and improved delivery speed by 53%

• 2025 – Externalised THG Fulfil as a service for other brands

 

📊 Quantified Impact: The Numbers Behind the Strategy

Killeen’s keynote was rich in data, making it clear that THG doesn’t just talk about fulfilment—it measures it:

• 500 basis points: Distribution cost reduction from 2020–2024

• £100 million per year: Cost savings from automation and efficiency gains

• 53% faster delivery: Order-to-door speed improvements in the same timeframe

• 1.45 days: Average delivery time in the UK

• 27%: Orders placed after 10 p.m. that still make next-day delivery

• 77%: All orders that arrive next day

• 10 million orders: Automatically upgraded from standard to next-day

• 11% increase: In spend from customers surprised by upgrades

• 2% increase: In retention when customers receive unexpected fast delivery

These numbers are perfect for a future infographic showing cost-to-speed gains or consumer response to fulfilment upgrades.

Automate, Iterate, Repeat: The Technology Stack

THG’s fulfilment infrastructure is built for speed, control, and iteration:

• AutoStore & LiBiao Robotics: For compact, high-density picking

• In-house WMS & WCS: Custom-built systems managing millions of SKUs

• Courier Management Platform: Direct integration with global carriers

• 15,000 operational deployments per year: ~45/day from THG’s dev team

• 40% labour cost reduction: Post-AutoStore implementation

• 20% additional savings: After optimising automation with internal data access

Each layer in THG’s tech stack is fine-tuned to remove seconds from every fulfilment flow—treating operations like a Formula 1 race.

Surprise and Delight: Fulfilment as Retention Strategy

THG doesn’t just deliver parcels—they engineer moments of delight:

• 10 million customers received unexpected next-day delivery

• These customers spent 11% more and were 2% more likely to return

• 99% of first-time customers are upgraded without prompting

As Killeen explained, “If a CMO will spend £15 to acquire a customer but not 20p to delight them with faster fulfilment, they’re missing the point.”

Third-Party Accreditations & Brand Reputation

What makes this model even more impressive is that it resonates with customers and industry metrics alike:

• 85% of TrustPilot reviews are five stars

• 50% of those 5-star reviews specifically mention positive delivery

• Keywords like “fast,” “upgraded,” and “delighted” dominate the feedback

This organic feedback reinforces that fulfilment isn’t just a backend concern—it’s a brand differentiator.

What’s Next? Bringing Fulfilment as a Service to the Market

With its internal success proven, THG is now externalising THG Fulfil—allowing other brands to:

• Use THG’s global automation footprint

• Tap into THG’s courier network and WMS

• Plug into a system that’s been obsessively built for customer retention

They also act as robotics and automation consultants, offering AutoStore and LiBiao deployments alongside fulfilment services.

Final Thoughts: Fulfilment Isn’t Just About Cost—It’s About Trust

In closing, Killeen issued a challenge to the industry: stop treating fulfilment as an afterthought. Whether it's upgrading orders at scale, shaving seconds through automation, or investing in warehouse data loops, THG has shown how customer-centric logistics can become a driver of brand trust and margin—not just an overhead.

“If you’ve got the best product and the best campaign but fail delivery… it won’t matter. They won’t come back.”