Month: February 2020

Retail supply chain specialist Noatum Logistics (formerly MIQ Logistics in UK), a Top 50 global freight forwarder that counts French Connection, Phase 8 and GANT among its supply chain clients, has agreed terms on a new 150,000 sq. ft. facility at London Medway, to develop a dedicated retail and eCommerce facility.

The strategically located London Medway facility, which is due for completion at the end of 2020, will incorporate multiple mezzanines to add a further 225,000 sq. ft of capacity, primarily for automation, eCommerce order picking and fulfilment.

Noatum Logistics plans to maximise storage and operational capability of its new facility, with additional mezzanine levels and flexible space solutions that will add a further 225,000 sq. ft. of capacity, primarily for automation, ecommerce order picking and fulfilment.

Noatum Logistics has been expanding its national warehousing footprint for twenty years, to service a growing portfolio of fashion brands and retailers.

Steve Hicks, Contract Logistics Director North Europe, for Noatum Logistics. “Noatum’s distribution capability integrates with our International supply Chain (ISC) product to provide customers with a true end-to-end supply chain solution.”

“Purchase order, vendor and freight management, segues into contract logistics and eCommerce solutions, with full visibility and granular reporting.”

“Continued growth of online sales will drive demand for pick and pack space, which is why we are forecasting that this new development will be filled shortly after completion and will almost entirely be taken over by existing customers.”

“When fully operational, the new Noatum Logistics facility will be capable of processing 50,000 + pcs a day, equivalent to 3 million + parcels a year.”

Protective packaging materials and automated systems manufacturer Pregis has joined Circular Economy Flexible Packaging (CEFLEX), a European consortium of companies and associations representing the entire flexible packaging value chain.

CEFLEX has established a roadmap and targets to achieve a circular economy for flexible packaging for the years 2020 to 2025, and to increase recycling efforts across the EU. Robust actions also include guidelines on packaging design, driving collection and sorting of flexible packaging materials, as well as the identification of sustainable end markets for their downstream use. The initiatives also include a business case component which calls for recycled flexible packaging to be returned to the economy in quantities and at a competitive price/quality for end market applications.

Pregis also recently announced that it had joined the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, which has a $1.5 billion investment goal over the next five years to help end plastic waste in the environment.

Pregis has also partnered with How2Recycle®, to provide consumer-friendly recycling instructions printed onto film-based products to increase adoption. Pregis also teaches customers how to prevent damage through the shipping and fulfillment cycles to avoid unnecessary environmental burdens.

“Joining CEFLEX represents another example of the company’s efforts to support a circular economy by creating the highest-quality recyclable products, while maximising recycled content and reducing raw material dependence,” said Clint Smith of Pregis.

Packaging company Kite Packaging has recently invested in 2 new MAN TGX 26.470 tractor units. Equipped with state-of-the-art on-board innovative systems designed to make journeys more economical, Kite’s latest addition to its fleet enhance safety and driver comfort and include high-specification driver sleeping cabs.

The adaptive cruise control regulates the speed of the truck and the distance to the traffic ahead, relieving the pressure on the driver and increasing traffic safety. All-round live-view CCTV provides drivers with the ability to see other traffic or obstacles, thereby minimising the risk when turning or manoeuvring. The trailers are also equipped with retracting load restraints and load-bearing inner curtains.

The new trucks can hold a higher capacity of loads meaning fewer pallet miles for the companies National Distribution Centre and the latest fuel-efficient engines and tipmatic transmission, leading to more power and even greater efficiency.

OCS Worldwide (OCS), an international mail and parcel delivery specialist, has opened two international mail processing centres (IMPCs) with New Zealand Post in the United Kingdom.

OCS has been working in partnership with New Zealand Post on commercial parcel exports from the United Kingdom, since 2015. The co-operation with one of the world’s leading international post offices has provided OCS clients with a range of value-added and high quality solutions for commercial parcel delivery in New Zealand.

The launch of the mail processing facilities or ETOE (extraterritorial office of exchange) operations with New Zealand Post will enable OCS’s ecommerce clients to reach international markets by accessing New Zealand Post’s extensive global distribution network, directly from the UK.

This serves OCS’s desire to fulfil demand in the ecommerce market for flexible tailored solutions that meet the diversity of delivery options required by clients and their customers.

New Zealand Post provides key advantages to OCS’s ecommerce clients, including highly competitive postage rates to many worldwide destinations and simple IT integration that allows access to a range of ecommerce solutions including Tracked or Untracked delivery and Returns options. This is supported by fast dispatch with 24/7 processing and export from OCS’s Heathrow facility.

OCS’s Heathrow facility will begin processing mail and parcels through the ETOE this month, and this will extend to OCS’s Midlands hub in Coventry, in the Spring.