Day: 7 March 2019

The team from Rubb Buildings on the rise and rise of flexible warehouse space:

The continuing growth of online shopping drives demand for new adaptable warehousing

Over the past decade online shopping has escalated at a phenomenal rate in the UK resulting in a demand for warehouse space which has nearly doubled.

Between 2007 and March 2018, around 235 million sq ft of warehouse space was leased or purchased across the United Kingdom which is equivalent to more than 3,000 Wembley Stadiums. According to CBRE about 60% of this warehousing space is used by retailers, feeding the demand of online shopping.

According to John Munnelly, Head of Operations at John Lewis: “Logistics is becoming the new retail”. 65% of activity in logistics is retail driven. A greater shift towards online business means a greater demand and competition for cost effective 3PL storage space so companies can adapt to eCommerce demands and the demands of their customers.

Amazon took a quarter of available UK logistics space in 2016 and the key takeaway from this is that businesses are going to need a lot more warehouse space for storing more product in the UK. They are also looking for the ability to be able to make structural alterations to accommodate future demands.

Flexibility, agility, capability and dependability are the key factors when looking forward at warehousing. How can warehousing cope with the demand and growth of online shopping? One answer is modular designed semi-permanent structures. Rubb Buildings a is UK manufacturer of these type of structures, and the company has seen an increase in the demand for adaptable warehousing.

Rubb Buildings Ltd Managing Director Ian Hindmoor commented: “Feedback from our customers suggests that they are planning for the future, to be able to maintain the flow of their production and fulfil the demand from their customers. Rubb storage facilities provide an alternative and sustainable solution to traditional storage warehouses. To keep up with this ever-changing environment a semi-permanent fabric structure helps save on costs and is able to adapt to the changing requirements of the end user.”

Flexible warehouse space provides businesses with many unique advantages. The benefits of semi-permanent structures include fast design, manufacture and construction, with the flexibility to be adapted, modified, extended or relocated if needed. This allows clients to adapt quickly to change.

Find out more here.

The team from Rubb Buildings on the rise and rise of flexible warehouse space:

The continuing growth of online shopping drives demand for new adaptable warehousing

Over the past decade online shopping has escalated at a phenomenal rate in the UK resulting in a demand for warehouse space which has nearly doubled.

Between 2007 and March 2018, around 235 million sq ft of warehouse space was leased or purchased across the United Kingdom which is equivalent to more than 3,000 Wembley Stadiums. According to CBRE about 60% of this warehousing space is used by retailers, feeding the demand of online shopping.

According to John Munnelly, Head of Operations at John Lewis: “Logistics is becoming the new retail”. 65% of activity in logistics is retail driven. A greater shift towards online business means a greater demand and competition for cost effective 3PL storage space so companies can adapt to eCommerce demands and the demands of their customers.

Amazon took a quarter of available UK logistics space in 2016 and the key takeaway from this is that businesses are going to need a lot more warehouse space for storing more product in the UK. They are also looking for the ability to be able to make structural alterations to accommodate future demands.

Flexibility, agility, capability and dependability are the key factors when looking forward at warehousing. How can warehousing cope with the demand and growth of online shopping? One answer is modular designed semi-permanent structures. Rubb Buildings a is UK manufacturer of these type of structures, and the company has seen an increase in the demand for adaptable warehousing.

Rubb Buildings Ltd Managing Director Ian Hindmoor commented: “Feedback from our customers suggests that they are planning for the future, to be able to maintain the flow of their production and fulfil the demand from their customers. Rubb storage facilities provide an alternative and sustainable solution to traditional storage warehouses. To keep up with this ever-changing environment a semi-permanent fabric structure helps save on costs and is able to adapt to the changing requirements of the end user.”

Flexible warehouse space provides businesses with many unique advantages. The benefits of semi-permanent structures include fast design, manufacture and construction, with the flexibility to be adapted, modified, extended or relocated if needed. This allows clients to adapt quickly to change.

Find out more here.

Dematic is set for an extraordinary year: 2019 marks the 200th anniversary of the founding of this international enterprise. Friedrich Wilhelm Harkort launched the predecessor of the intralogistics automation specialist with the Mechanische Werkstätten Harkort & Co. in Wetter an der Ruhr in 1819. Since then, corporate development has been closely tied to the progressive achievements of the Industrial Revolution. Today Dematic is one of the leading suppliers of automation technology.

“Dematic looks back over a long tradition. Our innovative strength has decisively shaped the history of intralogistics. We continue to make that claim today,” says Rainer Buchmann, CEO of Dematic Central Europe. After the first mechanical loom in 1784 ushered in the first phase of the Industrial Revolution, the Mechanische Werkstätten Harkort & Co. early on also relied on water and steam-powered production plants. Already in 1819, the company developed the first steam-powered crane and produced indoor cranes in series starting in 1840.

With the introduction of electricity as a source of power in 1870, the second phase of the Industrial Revolution began. The internal combustion engine replaced the steam engine, and the chemical and electrical engineering industries developed into new leading sectors. Influenced by the resulting possibilities, another forerunner company was founded in 1900 with the Stöhr Elevatorenfabrik, which specialised in continuous conveyors, elevators and bucket conveyors. In 1922 – about half a century before the start of the third Industrial Revolution – the company built its first mobile conveyor belt. A few years later, Stöhr developed the first suspended conveyor technology. This was an advance that enabled far more effective use of space in the factories. At the end of the 1950s, Stöhr created a paradigm shift in intralogistics with the world’s first storage and retrieval system. Three years later, the company built the first fully automated warehouse for Bertelsmann, processing up to 15,000 orders a day. While the company was renamed Stöhr Förderanlagen Salzer GmbH in 1968, it also changed its focus from a pure product provider to a fully-fledged solutions provider, with the goal of supplying customers with complete systems.

The third Industrial Revolution began in 1970 when the first programmable logic controller (PLC) named Modicon 084 was launched. For the first time, machines and systems were digitally controlled and operated with this device. To date, PLCs have been widely used in automation technology. Three years later, Mannesmann AG, which in the meantime had taken over Stöhr, revolutionised the construction of distribution centres with the world’s first automated high-bay warehouse. In 1990, the company finally rose to become the global market leader in conveyor technology. Five years later, Mannesmann Demag was the world’s first complete supplier of intralogistics.

At the turn of the millennium, the fourth phase of the Industrial Revolution began with a primary focus on cyber-physical systems. These ensure decentralised dynamic control and the networking of all components via the Internet, mobile computers and cloud computing. After 2005, when Dematic GmbH & Co. KG was established as an independent enterprise, the intralogistics automation company revamped the market for automated small parts storage at that time and invented the Dematic Multishuttle. In 2011, the company once again demonstrated its innovative strength and presented the RapidStore storage and retrieval unit, the RapidPick order picking station, the Multishuttle Flex and the DC Director warehouse management software. The second generation of the Dematic Multishuttle, introduced in 2012, was lighter, faster and even more powerful.

Today Dematic is one of the leading providers of integrated automation technology, software and services for optimising the supply chain. “The greatest success of our company, however, is the fact that we have always succeeded in influencing the market in an innovative way and in retaining both qualified and committed employees. Without them we could not celebrate our 200th anniversary this year,” says Rainer Buchmann. “Over the years, our corporate values of integrity, collaboration, courage and excellence have shaped us.”

Wincanton has been appointed by UK retailer The Co-op to launch and run their newest regional distribution centre in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire.

The initial three-year contract will see Wincanton manage all warehouse and store delivery operations from the facility to new and existing stores in the surrounding area, supporting The Co-operative Group’s continued growth and development as one of the UK’s leading food retailers.

The new Regional Distribution Centre, will store stock ready for distribution to stores, and is expected to create new roles for around 500 people, including 170 drivers.

The new agreement is in addition to Wincanton’s contract to service The Co-op’s logistics depots; Lea Green, Merseyside and Cardinal, Cambridgeshire. On those contracts, Wincanton employs 670 staff and a fleet of over 500 vehicles, making 110,000 journeys each year to up to 800 stores nationwide.