This year’s Covid-19 pandemic and resulting lockdowns have enormously influenced consumer behaviour. The surge in online shopping caused by the pandemic is expected to add £5.3bn to UK e-commerce sales this year to make a total of £78.9bn, according to analysts at Edge Retail Insight. This trend means warehousing and logistics have become even more important than ever.
This article was first published in the December 15th 2020 issue of Warehouse & Logistics News, subscribe to the magazine by clicking here.
Boughey Distribution, a company that specialises in logistics and distribution services, entrusted AR Racking with fitting out its innovative and state-of-the-art 21,000 m2 warehouse located in Crewe. The ambitious warehouse was built at a decisive moment during the crisis generated by the pandemic. AR Racking, a company that specialises in industrial storage systems, has installed an adjustable pallet racking system solution for Boughey Distribution. The warehouse, which has been recognised with the highest storage and distribution certification according to the BRC Global Standard, has 35,500 pallet positions.
Market research by industry analyst Plimsoll has shown MiTek Mezzanine Systems Ltd to be the number one mezzanine floor supplier in the UK for the fifth consecutive year. Analysis of figures for 2019 showed that MiTek Mezzanine Systems achieved a 19% market share, while the country’s top four mezzanine suppliers controlled almost half the market between them (48%).
With almost 2500 employees across 8 manufacturing sites and a £265m annual turnover, Sertec is a rapidly growing, ambitious company – one of the largest independent stamping and assembly suppliers in Europe with an extensive steel and aluminium product range. At its Tyseley premises in Birmingham, Smart-Space worked with the Sertec team to create a long-term space solution to house the company’s finished goods. The build challenges included extreme time pressures, a requirement for height to accommodate Sertec’s current fleet of VNA trucks and uninterrupted storage space. The company needed additional space to be able to continue with its investment and growth plans. It was particularly time-sensitive as unavoidable delays had already been created by the Covid-19 pandemic.
SEC Storage has designed and installed a space optimised storage solution at RAJA UK’s new warehouse facility leading to increased pick efficiency and impressive storage capacity that still offers 50% growth potential. With the new facility offering 270,000ft of warehouse space, SEC conducted a detailed space utilisation analysis to ensure the optimised space solution provided 40,000 pallet bays, five times more than they previously. SEC Storage was able to design a storage solution which would house all their stock in just two thirds of the building allowing them to benefit from the additional space in which to grow as part of their ongoing expansion strategy. Whilst conducting in-depth pallet analysis, SEC was able to reduce the amount of steel and consequently, the capital expenditure required on the project, by carrying out a full pallet analysis that demonstrated just 11% of pallets were heavier than 500kg, as opposed to the 1 tonne pallets previously assumed.
It is encouraging to see storage solutions providers keeping the nation moving during these testing times.
George Simpson
Features Editor
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