Welcome to the November 1st Warehouse & Logistics News. The skies are full of fireworks and the clocks have gone back – it must be November! Christmas is on its merry way and the heat is on for everyone involved in retail, especially on the warehousing and logistics side.
Research experts Mintel expect online sales to rise 14%, but over 80% of retail sales this Christmas will still be in traditional stores. With so much at stake in terms of satisfying consumer demand, the pressure is intense in all sales channels to meet delivery deadlines while at the same time working safely.
In this issue we have our exclusive SEMA Safety Conference 2014 Supplement. This annual fixture, staged by the Storage Manufacturers’ Association, is held at the National Motorcycle Museum, Solihull, near the NEC, on Thursday 6th November, sponsored by Troax and SESS. The theme of this year’s event, to which Warehouse & Logistics News is the exclusive media partner, is “Safety in the Storage Industry: Working towards Zero Harm.” In our Supplement we have an introduction to the Conference and interviews with Troax, SESS, SSI Schaefer and Storax, highlighting how they help operations raise their storage safety standards.
To help you maximise operational efficiency now and all year round we also have features on Pallet Networks, Warehouse Flooring and Conveying & Sortation. ‘Pallet Networks’ is a review of the major European, UK and regional pallet networks; ‘Warehouse Flooring’ includes floor preparation, maintenance, mezzanines and area marking; and ‘Conveying & Sortation’ covers automated materials handling equipment and IT solutions.
As our front cover story shows, in retail, particularly in the lead up to Christmas, fulfilling an increased amount of orders demands a different scale of viable thinking, which is why Hörmann’s fundamental approach to loading bay systems is driven directly by the customer. The industrial door manufacturer and loading bay specialist believes good working relationships are vital for in-depth understanding of the needs of individual sites and the overall operational needs of the client’s business.
Hörmann’s approach is certainly bearing fruit. This year, John Lewis Partnership began work on a second plot at IDI Gazeley’s Magna Park national distribution site in Milton Keynes, with Hörmann in consultation. Another installation within the retail group is underway next door, featuring similar products for Waitrose. With a growing roster of national clients from Prologis and Amazon to ASDA and Waitrose, Hörmann’s industrial teams have some exciting distribution warehouse projects and promising leads in the pipeline for 2015.
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