With nearly 33% of the UK’s warehousing stock being over 20 years old, according to a recent report from a leading property consultant, we’re facing an ageing workplace dilemma. Traditional warehouses and distribution centres that sprang up across the UK were fairly basic in terms of construction and certainly not designed for the demands of modern e-commerce, robotics, or high-speed sortation.
With warehouse operators facing continued pressure to enhance efficiency and meet customer demands while managing an often-unstable supply chain, optimising space has never been more crucial. This leads us to the growing trend of “brownfield” automation – integrating advanced, flexible automation into established, often space-constrained facilities rather than building new “greenfield” sites.
The rise in brownfield regeneration has been driven primarily by challenges around planning permission, the scarcity of land, the cost of relocating premises, and the desire for faster project turnarounds. To manage these challenges, businesses are looking to adapt existing warehouse sites to make them fit-for-purpose and future-proofed for the long term.
Older warehouses typically offer up some design challenges, such as uneven floors, low ceilings, internal structural pillars, and unusual layouts. Optimising the available space takes expertise and detailed know-how of automation technologies, and what solutions to implement that will turn inefficiency into a streamlined, agile flow and storage of goods, fit for today’s dynamic logistics landscape.
As a systems integrator, L-A-C is the ideal partner for these complex projects, providing expertise and access to a portfolio of innovative automation technologies poised to transform your operations and support continued growth. L-A-C brings a collaborative and consultative approach to each customer project, drilling down to the finite details to ensure every element of the planned solution is the perfect fit for your operations, vital for developing brownfield sites.
With in-house design capabilities and UK-based manufacturing, L-A-C delivers a wide range of custom-fit solutions, from bespoke conveyors, sortation systems, and high-density storage structures, to unique robotic end-of-arm tooling and goods-to-person autonomous robots. Each bespoke system is designed for fast, efficient material handling, integrates seamlessly with existing technologies or processes, and uses intelligent software, such as AI and machine learning, to enable operations to grow and adapt using data analysis that drives strategic decision-making. As renovation specialists for logistics operations, L-A-C has the tools to transform legacy sites into high-performance hubs for the future. Talk to our team of experts today.
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