Jack Betts · Head of Operations
I build operations that scale — and use AI to make them run leaner.
I'm a Head of Operations with 15+ years in fulfilment and e-commerce operations — from automated distribution centres for ASOS and Primark to building and rebuilding operations at three start-ups. Here's what I've done, and the kind of role I'm looking for next.
Northampton, UK · Open to on-site, hybrid and remote roles · Notice, availability and what I'm looking for · Get in touch
Career highlights
- 3 record peaksI was Senior Operations Manager at XPO on the ASOS contract, responsible for the fully automated outbound at its 2.5m sq ft fulfilment centreXPO / ASOS · 2015–19
- 450 peopleRan a Primark distribution centre and its open-book P&LDHL / Primark · 2019–20
- 185 → 615Cars delivered a week as I scaled UK home delivery in nine monthsCazoo · 2020
- 29 countriesRebuilt the operation after its move to the UK, then specced and built a returns portal that's now liveLocalised · 2022–now
Experience
From running shifts to running the whole operation. This is the one-line summary of each role; the full CV has the detail, results and systems for every one.
Oct 2022 – Present
Head of Operations · Localised
Rebuilt the post-purchase operation for a cross-border merchant of record after its move to the UK: payments, carriers, compliance and service.
Jan 2021 – Jun 2022
Head of E-Commerce Operations & Logistics · OOOOO
Reported to the CEO. Ran the marketplace and brand onboarding, the 3PL, and the international SaaS roll-out.
Mar 2020 – Jan 2021
Logistics Manager · Cazoo
Scaled UK car home delivery from about 185 to 615 cars a week, 85 to 175 drivers and 9 to 19 hubs in nine months — with under 1% of deliveries failing for logistics reasons.
Jul 2019 – Mar 2020
Site Operations Manager · DHL Supply Chain
Ran a 450-person Primark distribution centre and its open-book P&L, supplying all 193 UK and ROI stores.
Oct 2015 – Jul 2019
Senior Operations Manager / Duty Shift Manager · XPO Logistics
I was Senior Operations Manager at XPO on the ASOS contract, responsible for the fully automated outbound: record peaks three years running and 3m units moved to the new US site.
2013 – 2015
Warehouse Team Manager and Team Leader · Norbert Dentressangle
E-fulfilment for House of Fraser: promoted to team manager, and moved 353,000 units between sites in six weeks.
2008 – 2013
Department Supervisor · Morrisons
Where I learnt to run a shift.
Fulfilment is where I learnt to run things
Most of my career has been inside big, automated fulfilment operations — the shifts, the peaks, the P&L and the kit. It's the foundation for everything I've built since.
Automation I've run
- Dematic ASOS
- Dürkopp ASOS
- TGW Urban Outfitters
- Manhattan and Matflo WMS
- In-house built OMS
- Automated outbound and despatch
- WMS labour management
- Peak planning
- Inbound, outbound and returns
- 3 peaks
Record-breaking peaks, three years running
I was Senior Operations Manager at XPO on the ASOS contract, responsible for the fully automated outbound operation: 6 shift managers, 25+ team leaders, and every customer order out as promised.
- −70%
Customer service cost per contact
At Localised I outsourced customer service in my first three months, taking the average cost per contact from about £15 to about £4.50.
- Bonus
A fair score for every picker
My time and motion study and Excel model became XPO's timed-performance platform and the basis of the pick bonus.
- 3m units
UK to Atlanta, set up end to end
Planned and ran the stock transfer to ASOS's new US site: labour, budget, compliance and start-up.
- 450
A whole distribution centre and its P&L
Site lead for a Primark DC (DHL), supplying all 193 UK and ROI stores on an open-book contract.
Work
Four things I've done that show how I work. Each one covers what I found, what I did, what changed, and what I'd do differently now.
XPO Logistics · ASOS
A fair score for every picker, from a time and motion study
I built a performance model in Excel that scored every picker fairly for distance and difficulty. XPO built it into the OMS and used it to pay the pick bonus.
Became the pick bonus
Localised · Peter Jones Investment Group
Rebuilding a cross-border operation
I inherited old, broken platforms and processes after the business moved its operations to the UK, and rebuilt them. Failed payment captures fell 95%, and the cost per customer contact by around 70%.
−95% failed payment captures
Cazoo
Scaling UK home delivery at speed
Volume from about 185 to 615 cars a week, drivers from 85 to 175 and ten new hubs in nine months — with under 1% of deliveries failing for logistics reasons.
9 → 19 hubs in nine months
Built with Claude Code
An AI-built returns portal, from spec to live orders
I wrote the spec, built it with AI coding tools and ran the QA until it was taking live returns. Localised's developers reviewed the code and shipped it. Now live in 29 countries and 14 languages.
Live in 29 countries
How I've used AI and automation at work
Practical, not theoretical: where it's made a real difference in my roles.
Built a live returns portal with Claude Code
At Localised I wrote the spec, built it with Claude Code and ran the testing. Localised's developers reviewed the code before it shipped. It's now live in 29 countries and 14 languages.
AI as part of the day job
At Localised I use Claude and Gemini every day for data analysis, contract reviews, SOPs and exec papers. I've also automated a lot of my routine tasks, so I can run far more work in parallel. It gets me to a first draft quickly; the judgement is still mine.
Automation before it was called AI
I was Senior Operations Manager at XPO on the ASOS contract, where the fully automated outbound at the 2.5m sq ft site ran on Dematic and Dürkopp systems. I later worked with TGW automation consulting for Urban Outfitters. Before that, I ran a time and motion study and built a fair picker-performance model in Excel that XPO later built into the OMS to pay the pick bonus.
Automation is the thread through my whole career — I just have better tools now.
Side projects: built with AI
Outside work I've used AI coding tools to build websites for my band and for a friend's business. It keeps my skills current, and it's where I learnt to spec, build and test properly.
Live
Never Dakota
My band's full website: gig listings, wedding and event bookings with a date checker, a merch shop, reviews and the admin portals behind them.
neverdakota.com
Live
PJR Fire Design
A website for a friend's fire design business, built with AI coding tools.
pjrfiredesign.co.uk
You're looking at it
This site
I wrote the brief and built the site with Claude Code. It's fast, accessible and has no frameworks it doesn't need.
Built with Claude Code
About
I'm Jack. I've spent 15 years in e-commerce operations — from supervising shifts at Morrisons to running a 450-person distribution centre, then building and rebuilding operations at three start-ups.
I'm a planner and a systems person. I'd rather fix a process once than check its output every day, and I get bored doing the same thing twice — so I build a better way of doing it. That used to mean a spreadsheet. Now it usually means AI.
Outside work I'm Vice-President of Northampton Baseball Club (and I still play), I play guitar and sing in the covers band Never Dakota, and my house is slowly being automated, one project at a time.
Get in touch
Hiring for a Head of Operations or Operations Director? I'd like to hear about the role. Send me a message and I'll get back to you.
Recruiter? Notice, availability and what I'm looking for — all on one page.