Tag: Warehouse

As the UK enters a new normal, the post lockdown economy is on shaky ground.  The true strength will not be revealed until the furlough scheme finishes, but we are likely to enter one of the biggest recessions on record, with mass unemployment across most sectors.

Whilst uncertainty looms large, there is still demand for work. Challenges will be overcome as we strive to build up the economy to its pre-COVID state.

For warehousing, the challenges are ever present; there will be several areas that need attention in order to keep your facility running smoothly. To be ready to weather any storm, addressing the challenges (both present and future) is key to success.

The highs and lows of demand

With unemployment on the rise and the country entering recession, sales across all sectors will be affected; some positive, some negative. Be ready for every eventuality and assign your warehouse resources accordingly.  During the low periods, catch up on other less important tasks. You may need to shorten or lengthen your staff’s shifts depending on each peak and trough.

Following new regulations

Compliance with rules on social distancing, health and safety, and PPE needs to be followed to the letter.  These are new legal requirements, so it is down to you to meet every one of them.  Of course, you will need to adjust your usual work practices to cope, but productivity will be effective and efficient once you put them into place.

To Hire or Fire?

The economy will recover. It might be difficult at times; where you may not be as busy now, months down the line could be a different story. The biggest challenge is knowing how to deal with your staffing levels against activity in your warehouse. Increased activity will mean you may need to take on extra manpower. However decreased activity could see you reducing your workforce.

Experience

If you’ve had to let employees go, you may find your team lacking in experience, particularly if you’re over the worst and are thinking of recruiting new staff.  Make sure any staff you take on are fully trained; this could be the perfect time to implement new resources and processes, making output in your facility better than ever.

 

Warehousing is the foundation of the supply chain, and with the current coronavirus pandemic ripping through the economy as well as the planet, that supply chain has been well and truly disrupted.  Companies have had to adapt to a new way of working and many are looking for a more ‘flexible’ logistics solution, starting with warehousing.

The answer to many companies’ nightmares has been to use the concept of utilising a third party’s warehousing facilities ‘on demand’; flexible warehousing.  This gives them the option to pay for required storage capacity only when it is needed.  Services can range from spare space in an area of a warehouse, to a fully serviced solution, including transport and logistics.

The average length of an industrial warehousing lease is around 7 years, so flexible warehousing is a lifeline to many companies, particularly through uncertain times such as these.  This of course can cut out the middleman with supply to the consumer being transported direct from the third party warehouse.  As many companies are reluctant to invest long term in warehousing facilities, flexibility is key.

During the pandemic, online retailing has skyrocketed.  This has exacerbated the need for more urban storage solutions, closer to urban locations.  Many different sectors are in direct competition for land nearer to large cities, so countryside storage seems to be the way forward, at least for the time being.

Temporary or flexible solutions are not altogether a new concept; with the rise of flash sales, and in particular, Black Friday deals, retailers have found new ways to cope with storage of fast moving stock.  If they were to utilise their own spaces, they would be left with empty shelves for a lot of the year, and only at full capacity during peak sale periods.  This is obviously a false economy, and the reason flexible warehousing is becoming a more attractive proposition.

For new businesses unable to predict their sales, and more established firms wishing to expand, this seems like the ideal short term solution.  And as warehouse space is advertised more frequently online, the growth in demand and awareness is rapid.  Flexible warehousing could be set to be the norm in the months and years ahead.

 

You can find information about our warehousing services here.