Day: 7 August 2020

Two of the UK’s largest port businesses – Forth Ports Group and DP World – are to submit a joint freeport bid incorporating the Port of Tilbury and DP World London Gateway. Vivid Economics will provide expert advice and economic analysis during the process.

The partnership brings together the two major ports on the Thames. Together the two port businesses make Thurrock one of the UK’s strongest port and distribution clusters.

Both operations in Tilbury and at London Gateway have the scale, global connectivity and the ability to expand and develop land at scale as the market demands, claim the partners. The digitally connected multi-site free trade zone will focus on clean growth while seeking to act as an innovation hub across a range of sectors.

Details of the bid will be developed with Vivid over the coming months with the policy statement by the UK Government expected to be published in the autumn. The timescale for submission of a bid is expected to be towards the end of 2020/early 2021.

 

 

 

Recession fears are prompting a number of UK forklift rental companies to cut their spending on new additions to their rental fleets and sell some of their used equipment in an attempt to boost liquidity.  Such action is likely to result in a significant reduction in the number of lift trucks available for short term rental during the coming fourth quarter peak retail period, warns John Maguire, managing director of leading articulated forklift-based intralogistics solutions specialist, Narrow Aisle Ltd.

Maguire said: “Anecdotal evidence suggests that in anticipation of a sluggish 2021 forklift rental companies are preparing their businesses for the cash-flow challenges that may lie ahead.

“For retailers and their third party logistics service partners this means that planning ahead and ordering equipment in good time to ensure that they have sufficient materials handling resources to cope with the seasonal spikes in demand generated by the coming Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales season and, of course, Christmas, is essential.

“It is also inevitable that if there is less equipment available across the market for short term hire, some companies will increase their rental rates.”

A reduction in the number of short term rental trucks is also likely to cause problems for those companies holding increased inventory in an attempt to minimise the risk of supply chain disruption if Britain is unable – as seems increasingly likely – to agree a trade deal with the European Union before the end of 2020.

“Warehouse operators across the UK are under intense pressure to maintain handling efficiency at their facilities and many will need to bolster their material handling fleets with extra vehicles to cope with the additional goods they are storing on behalf of companies that are stockpiling products to ensure their business is not affected by possible future customs or port delays,” says John Maguire.

“At Narrow Aisle we are experiencing unusually high levels of demand for our range of Flexi articulated short-term rental trucks. We have over 350 vehicles in our short term rental fleet but some 90 per cent are already being utilized, so I would advise warehouse operators that need to add machines to their material handling fleets not to delay.”

Standard models in the Flexi fleet are offered for next day dispatch and installation anywhere in the UK. Trucks are maintained to a very high standard through Narrow Aisle’s product support network.

Rocketing demand for online deliveries since the coronavirus outbreak has put even more pressure on retail distribution centres to pick, pack and deliver goods faster than ever.

For those companies operating high speed, high output automated warehouses, consideration should be given to the storage platform that you introduce to the system. When storing and retrieving bulky items in automated high-bay warehouses, goplasticpallets.com says its range of heavy duty, full perimeter plastic pallets on 5 runners are the preferred solution. But when smaller items in smaller quantities are required, there are other options such as Miniload systems that use specialist Miniload containers.

The Miniload container is a strong, durable picking crate available in various sizes to perfectly fit your automated storage system. Designed for repeated use, these customised containers come with various options which often relate to a specific provider’s automation, such as special reinforced bases for extra strength (whether visible under the box or sandwiched between two base layers) solid or perforated sides, rigid or occasionally folding, special pick up locations and moulded-in bar codes.

Requirements for Miniload containers are normally vast, which reflects the density of these systems and the size of the companies operating them. Typical order volumes here are from 15,000 to 275,000 units, and even higher quantities as a system expands.

How do Miniload containers accelerate order picking?

In a large automated warehouse with aisles upon aisles of racking, a stacker crane, conveyors and all controlled by a warehouse management system.

The stacker crane will locate the Miniload container with the desired goods, extract it from the racks and transfer it to the picking area, which will likely be located at the end or sides of the racks. At the picker area, the stacker crane deposits the Miniload container onto the conveyors and the appropriate item is picked from the container, before it is returned by the crane to the racks.

The Miniload containers, which are all of uniform size, shape and strength ensure that order picking takes place in one smooth, simple process, and at high speed.

What are the benefits of automated Miniload warehouses?

Aside from accelerating order picking, using Miniload containers in an automated warehouse offers considerable benefits:

• Optimal space usage – the high-density storage means that warehouse space is optimised with little or no wastage
• Multiply storage capacity – we have heard of retailers multiplying their storage capacity 10-fold by using an automated Miniload warehouse system
• Streamlined picking – as the containers are picked and delivered to the operator at exactly the same location, the operator can man his station, away from other operatives
• Rapid ROI – as the Miniload containers are designed for frequent, repeated use, the retailer will quickly see a return on their investment
• Safe environment – as the system is controlled by a warehouse management system with minimum human involvement, optimum safety is guaranteed.