MARCH 2020 WAREHOUSING
transactions and larger plots. That’s why we’ve
seen a lot of the development along the M1
corridor and in the East Midlands Gateway area.
But at the other end, you also see, for what we
call ‘fi nal-mile’ customer deliveries, a rise in
smaller facilities. Companies like Amazon are
strategically building massive facilities in certain
locations to meet next-day customer demand. But
then they also then need smaller facilities closer
to the end customer – the bigger facilities then
feed the smaller ones.”
What DHL is seeing instead, is a move towards
better-located warehouse hubs. Goldrick cites a
customer in the aftermarket supply chain, which
exports products globally. It currently operates
three facilities across the UK, but is looking to
consolidate into one large site, “most likely in
the East Midlands Gateway area.”
The reason for this is that over half of the
company’s exported products are sent overseas
via air freight. “It can make more fl ights out of
the nearby airport, and then service other parts
of the supply chain globally,” says Goldrick. “That
actually enables the company to knock-out other
facilities around the world because it’s got that
connected hub, meaning it can provide much
shorter lead times by being able to hit more and
more fl ights. The
UK, where it has
feeds the rest
of the world via
a big supply base,
one mega hub. This
model is very effi cient
from a cost perspective and
from a labour perspective,
but also an environmental
effi ciency perspective as well.”
Instant gratifi cation
But what impact will this have
for manufacturers? Just-in-
Time deliveries and lean supply
chains are a cornerstone of
effi cient manufacturing, where
being able to move goods in
and out of the factory is vital.
And, to add to the complication,
people’s demands are increasing
– again, thanks in part to our
old friends, Amazon. “The socalled
e-tailers are dramatically
changing the landscape,” says
Pentadel’s Kemp. “Nowadays,
we want to go on our phones
at 4pm and have the product
delivered at 9am the next day.
People are now expecting this
in the workplace, as well.”
While this demand for
instant delivery may cause
headaches for the DHLs of this
world (although Goldrick says
it provides a “really exciting
opportunity” for logistics
providers), the advantages
it off ers manufacturing
organisations, especially
from a maintenance
perspective, are massive.
“If you drill down and start
thinking about lead times,
you can take days out of that,
rather than minutes and
hours,” says Goldrick. “That’s
a massive advantage from an
inventory perspective – if a bit
of equipment has broken
down, the cost isn’t
just in how much
the spare part
will cost, but
how long it will
take to get there
and how long
the machine is
offl ine for. What
society is expecting
in terms of personal
life is moving into
industry and really raising
the bar and challenging the
norms within the warehouse.”
Mike Bristow, managing
director of manufacturing
logistics at DHL Supply Chain
(pictured, above), says that all
this means manufacturers are
paying closer attention to their
warehousing than ever before.
“Warehouses and the supply
“There is defi nitely a trend
towards size, being driven by
a lack of available space”
James Kemp, managing director, Pentadel
www.manufacturingmanagement.co.uk 31
/www.manufacturingmanagement.co.uk