While we might not think of grocery warehousing space as being industry leading but companies like Ocado in the UK and Instacart in the USA and Canada, are pushing the boundaries of rapid fulfilment, whilst delivery structures like Ocado and Getir have changed warehousing operations to allow them to live up to their slogan of ‘groceries in minutes’. And while it’s true that Getir has been experiencing some financing problems recently and has pulled its operations in France and Spain, that doesn’t negate the impact that the new forms of grocery warehousing are having on omni-channel operating, facility upgrades and … Read More
Warehouse operations have substantial environmental impacts. To be sustainable, warehousing needs to find a balance between profit and sustainable or ‘green’ practices.
At its most basic, green warehousing means reducing energy consumption. However, an inclusive green warehousing strategy can impact every area of warehouse activity from packaging to distribution, from pallet storage to logistics. In fact, logistics can be one of the easiest warehouse areas to ‘green’. Greening your warehouse can offer a near immediate return on investment (ROI) and also allows you to position yourself as a leader in sustainable … Read More
This has only recently become a topic of consideration for UK warehouse users and it has been a while since it was even much of a possibility. In 2021/22 there was an intense scarcity of warehouse space and warehouse managers were so desperate that they were paying premium prices for any warehousing that did become available. The causes of this problem were:
Companies having expanded warehouse space during the pandemic to allow them to hold more stocks close to the end customer.
Companies moving their goods into the UK to save on delivery costs.
However, now … Read More
Keeping a warehouse running smoothly involves a number of balancing acts – one of them is adopting and integrating new technologies alongside existing systems.
Broadly speaking, ‘legacy’ refers to any outdated computer system (software or hardware) that’s still being used. Legacy systems aren’t necessarily obsolete – many continue to work and continue to be essential to the function of the warehouse.
The elements that make a system ‘legacy’ are:
Four years ago, nobody would have predicted how much warehouse space in the UK would currently be used for food. Demand from food manufacturers and retailers increased by 58% over the past 12 months, after highly publicised shortages left shops empty at the beginning of the year. There is a record 4.3 million square feet of warehouse space currently occupied with food – or food production. Warehouse space has been used, not just for storing food, but for processing and even for growing it, with the UK’s biggest vertical farm in Harlow containing 105,000 strawberry plants – all housed in … Read More
Every warehouse manager knows how difficult conditions have been since the pandemic and finding solutions has been equally challenging. Warehousing space in high demand areas is at an all-time demand high and even 3PLs in those geographic areas are starting to be choosy about the clients they work with, because they are so much in demand. Warehouse rental is becoming highly profitable which makes moving or relocating more difficult, and more expensive. When you aggregate together higher costs, competition for warehousing space and demand for trained personnel, finding internal ways to build competitive advantage can be significant. In addition, if … Read More
What is the role of technology in warehousing? Most of us think we already know the answer, and it has to do with robots sliding around warehouse space in the dark, picking orders and generally acting like little autonomous vehicles. However there’s another way that warehouse operators are using technology – and that’s to respond to customer demand.
Automated decision making has two different forms:
Let’s look at that in detail as it’s an … Read More
Question One – What’s going on for me?
Surprisingly, this is the question that most often gets neglected by organisations. Why? Because all too often, warehouse space decisions are made in a hurry. Circumstances change, supply chains alter, products are suddenly in high demand, seasonal demand requires a change of pace and so on. As a result, many companies
Few countries are immune from the mayhem that starts with Halloween and ends with the January sales. In between we have Black Friday, American Thanksgiving and Christmas. For companies involved in e-commerce fulfilment, this is the make or break period – the time in which they will manage their warehouses effectively, optimise their logistics and maximise profits. For others, it’s a period of madness where their ability to control their pick and pack operations begins to break down and logistics arrangements fall short, so orders go unfulfilled and customers are disappointed.
Surprisingly, online shopping only accounts for 27.6% of … Read More
Contract warehousing is being touted as one of the potential routes to success for growing businesses. Why? Because warehouse space – and warehouse capacity – can often be limiters to business growth and increasing profits.
Outgrowing warehouse space is an obvious problem; whether it happens because you’ve increased inventory, expanded product lines or just started to stock bigger items. Companies find different ways to address this in the short term, by changing their warehousing layout, by investing in different storage solutions like pallet storage, or by renting satellite warehousing that can easily resource the main warehouse. In the long term,