The start of a New Year is the ideal time to conduct a company health check.
It makes so much sense to review the progress of your company and identify how you can make the most of the market position you’ve established and decide how to improve your business and how to take it to the next level. You will need to revisit and update your business plan with your new improvement plan in mind and make sure you deliver these new improvements in a timely manner.
We think that the Brexit withdrawal agreement should be high on everyone’s agendas in the UK – whether you trade between the UK and the EU or not – because the impacts of the agreement (or lack of) will far exceed just those directly involved…and here’s why.
The Financial Times has recently reported that Brexit-related stockpiling is driving up the cost of short-term space in UK warehouses, as companies across the country guard against a no-deal outcome that could cause gridlock at ports and chaos in cross-border trade.
Companies of all sizes and in all sectors are laying plans to hoard raw materials, components, packaging and finished goods. Solutions are becoming more difficult to find with panic hoarding of warehouse space.
The voracious growth of e-commerce has devoured warehouse space for rent in recent years. Experts report of Amazon’s domination of the market in terms of demand … Read More
Brexit and its effects upon Ireland were not entirely evident when the UK population voted to leave the European Union on 23rd June 2016. There are many repercussions for the warehousing and logistics sector.
We all know that in Ireland there’s a land border between the UK, in the guise of Northern Ireland and the country Eire, otherwise known as the Republic of Ireland. In the past, the need for customs and security checks meant that the border was a physical as well as legal and political manifestation. Nowadays, it isn’t a barrier in any practical sense. People can … Read More
The Daily Telegraph reports that one in every five pounds spent in UK shops is now online.
New data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows online sales rose by 15.3 per cent over the past year and now make up a record high of 18.2 per cent of all retail sales. This is up from 2013 when one pound in every ten was spent online. Katie Morley, the Consumer Affairs Editor emphasises that:
“In particular shoppers are avoiding ‘dusty old department stores’ and shopping on their computers and phones instead, experts said, as they saw online sales rise … Read More
Have you seen HAL 9000 in the iconic film ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’, Sonny in Isaac Asimov’s ‘I Robot’, David in ‘Prometheus’, or ARTI (artificial intelligence system) in the recent film ‘2036 Origin Unknown’?
These films challenge credibility, are fabulous, thrilling and exciting. It is reassuring that these AI robots are works of fiction. Will they remain make-believe, or is this robotic artificial intelligence fantasy becoming a reality, now that we are in the 21st Century?
You will probably watch some of these films on your Smart TV, but will AI (Artificial Intelligence) facilitate Smart warehousing?
Whichwarehouse is aware that in a marketplace that is increasingly globalised and interconnected, the way fresh fruit and vegetables are carried from origin to destination is changing. The expansion of online distribution integrating New Distribution Hubs (temperature controlled warehouses), is at the heart of this food ecommerce innovation.
The supply chain itself is in a continual state of flux, shaped and re-shaped by the emergence of new markets and shifting patterns of consumer demand. Distributors are rising to these challenges and aided by technological advances are improving their efficiency.
As last mile delivery becomes the focus for all retailers, the increasing tendency for warehouse space to be used as dark stores is impacting the warehousing and logistics industries in three main ways:
Every business focuses on various areas of improvement such as cost cutting and customer service, but for order fulfillment organisations these two areas in particular, can be linked to drive greater benefits.
The freight industry has two major expenses, fuel and depreciation – the condition of vehicles (and plant, for order fulfillment companies) has a direct effect on your profit, so maintenance and preventive action are always cheaper and more effective than major repairs or delayed maintenance that creates greater levels of cost.
Moving freight and delivering orders are both essential, and expensive. … Read More
Road haulage has long been at the sharp end of environmental awareness, but warehouse and distribution centres are increasingly focusing on improving their environmental performance for three main reasons: