High Street bookshop chain Waterstones said it was working hard to move backlogs after a problem with the warehouse’s technical systems led to stock shortages.
The retailer, which has more than 300 stores in the UK, upgraded to a new system called Blue Yonder a few weeks ago but is struggling to deliver stock to stores and fulfill customer orders.
A spokesman for the chain said: “Waterstones last month upgraded the system that manages the distribution of stock from our warehouse to Blue Yonder technology. This is already working, with stock flowing to our bookstores and customers. However, a backlog of orders has been created during the lead time, which we are now processing as quickly as possible.’
The Waterstones representative went on to apologize for the “unusual slowness” and said the chain expected to catch up by the end of August. “We expect by September to start taking advantage of the much more sophisticated platform we have now.”
Sam Missingham, publishing commentator and founder of book marketing service The Empowered Author raised the issue on Twitter and was inundated with responses from frustrated staff, authors and customers.
One Waterstones bookseller wrote: “We have had no supply for over a month because there is an overhaul of our system but something has gone wrong and we have to order emergency stock direct from the publishers. Glasgow ran out of books.
Another said: “Our delivery and order processing systems were super outdated. They were upgrading them and something went wrong so the orders didn’t match properly in the system and as a result we couldn’t get any books whether they were in stock or for customers. a nightmare.
The Waterstones spokesman added that not all stock issues were due to the new system: “We note some of the public comments, much of which complain that we have under-bought some titles. Unfortunately, no amount of fancy new warehouse systems will change the fact that as booksellers we choose what to buy, sometimes too sparingly, sometimes too enthusiastically. We can’t blame Blue Yonder for that.
Missingham said: “Waterstones’ problems with upgrading their warehouse systems meant that very few books were delivered to stores.” Booksellers were “urged to continue to offer alternatives to customers’ requests for many new books”, she said, while “others customers are encouraged to order from the Waterstones website. However, many customers said of a four to six week wait and pre-orders not being delivered on the day of publication, with Waterstones still accepting payment for many.”
She believes the problems have had a “devastating impact” on authors whose newly published books have not been stocked by the chain.
Edinburgh-based author Sarah Sheridan said her latest novel, The Fair Botanists, was Waterstones’ Scottish Book of the Month, “but a lot of shops have run out [because] of errors in arrangement”.
Meanwhile, Suzanne Wise, whose second novel, OK Then That’s Great, was published in July by Gollancz, said: “It’s nobody’s fault, but it’s really bad timing – my first book came out during the pandemic, so I had that problem and now these distribution problems came up around the release of my second novel.
She added that while “obviously everyone is doing their best”, authors whose books have recently been published have lost the promotion they might have received from Waterstones. “Even when the problem is fully resolved, they’ll probably have a couple of weeks of new books back up, and then of course a lot more new books will come out,” Wise said. “I don’t know how they’re going to be able to put all these books away and give them the priority they deserve.”
Missingham said the shortage has also “had a knock-on effect on publishers, with smaller presses not being able to deal with it the way bigger publishers can”.
However, she warned customers not to take out their frustrations on booksellers in stores. “The problems are at the head office,” she said. “Please consider this next time you visit Waterstones, the staff do their best to find you a great book to read.”
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