Month: August 2020

Indoor climate solutions specialist Zehnder Group UK has launched what it calls a new generation of radiant ceiling panels to ensure businesses and other organisations can heat and cool their buildings comfortably and efficiently, whilst achieving substantial energy savings.

Zehnder ZFP delivers a number of benefits and advantages including an optimum indoor climate all year round, whilst the panels can achieve a proportion of radiation of over 80%, meaning that the supplied energy can be transferred effectively.

In addition, the high stability of the modules means that only a few suspension points are required – significantly reducing the required installation time. Weighing only around 14 kg/m², the Zehnder ZFP can also be used for low roof loads.

The individual elements of the Zehnder ZFP are designed as an innovative modular system that can be combined with each other according to the project requirements to create tailored project solutions. Each solution is produced to a customer’s exact requirements and supplied in line with the on-site workflow.

The individual product components can be combined to suit the needs of each project. For example, a design for a sports hall may include ball guards, raised headers, perforation and acoustic insulation, whilst a solution for a logistics hall could incorporate LED light fixtures. The food industry could choose a system that allows easy adjustment and maintenance of the desired constant temperature, plus a dust protector panel.

David Simoes, Marketing and Product Manager, RHC at Zehnder Group UK, said: “The technology within the Zehnder ZFP is orientated for the future. It can be operated with a broad range of system temperatures. That is why it can be combined with modern heat pumps with their lower flow temperatures without any problems.

“The vast experience and expertise of our team ensures we can continue to develop and design industry-leading heating and cooling solutions that are truly flexible and allow our clients to make substantial energy savings.”

Global eCommerce platform Kooomo provides advice for retailers on how to create an omnichannel business 

Executing an omnichannel strategy has been a priority for many retailers for some years now, but the rapid increase in online shopping and changing spending habits caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have sped up this adoption further. However, according to Global eCommerce platform, Kooomo, many retailers still fail to fully understand the meaning of an ‘omnichannel presence’ and how it differs from multichannel and are therefore missing out on optimising their operations.

Ciaran Bollard, CEO of Kooomo says, “In multichannel marketing, the brand is at the centre of the strategy, with one static message that’s communicated to each channel. By contrast, in omnichannel marketing, the customer is at the centre of the strategy with each channel adapting around the customer’s behaviour. Omnichannel allows for the synchronisation of all inventory and sales channels, creating a customer experience (CX) that flows from online to in-store and vice versa. It also means having a fully integrated supply chain to maximise stock value.”

Ciaran outlines that retailers considering a move to an omnichannel solution should focus on three primary aspects: synchronised data/stock, diversified sales channels and the user experience.

1. Synchronising data and stock

When looking for an omnichannel solution, consider an outlet that can easily synchronise inventory across all online and bricks and mortar stores to dramatically reduce the risk of ever running out of stock. This means you can order inventory in a more accurate fashion (reducing wasted costs) and better communicate to your customers if items are low or out of stock.

Collecting and synchronising data will also play a major role in successful omnipresence, as this will improve the flow of the customer journey and improve the CX. Customers should be able to fill a basket at their convenience, continue shopping across different sessions (and different devices), and have the option for delivery, collect in-store or to order from in-store for delivery.

1. Diversifying sales channels

Omnichannel shoppers have a 30%[1] higher lifetime value than single-channel shoppers so you should give customers the option to buy across all channels. Offer multi-channel options including click and collect, purchase from mobile/mobile apps, purchase from marketplaces, purchase from social media – as many channels as possible. Consumers love nothing more than having choices, so if you have a bricks and mortar presence as well as an online store for your brand you have already tapped into this desire for options than implementing omnichannel into your online strategy.

Omnichannel shoppers spend 15% more per purchase[2] than those who shop on one channel and are much more likely to return, so why not spoil your consumer for choice?

1. The User Experience (UX)

Unification and flow are crucial for a positive UX, but there is also personalisation, customer assistance and transparent information to consider. Successful personalisation is constructed using the data you have collected to create a unique experience for the customer which they now expect as standard. After all, consumers are more likely to engage with an offer if it has been personalised to reflect previous interactions they’ve had with that brand. This means you need to build suggested pages and personalised correspondence around your consumers’ unique profiles.

Good customer assistance can help ensure that the customer journey reaches its endpoint with minimal disruption or frustration. Consumers expect a business to be available 24/7 so it goes without saying that retailers have moved beyond the realms of 9-5. Therefore, it’s imperative to bridge any current gaps between you and your on-demand consumers.

Transparent information, now more than ever, is essential for good UX. It’s important that the messaging on your website accurately reflects your service, especially in times of crisis or delays. Customers are willing to have a longer delivery window now that physical shopping is off the table, so make sure all communications are transparent and as accurate as possible to reinforce a positive CX.

It is very important to keep communications with customers timely and update them as the situation changes. This includes clearly confirming your delivery and express delivery timings on your online store which is crucial to avoid disappointment and bad reviews. This will also help to alleviate fears and build trust during times of uncertainty or supply chain disruption.

Ciaran concludes, “Of course, creating a great omnipresence does not pertain only to these three elements as there is much to consider before creating an effective digital presence. However, taking the initial steps to ensure synchronisation of data/stock, diversified sales channels and a satisfying user experience are the stepping stones that will set you on the right course for success.”

Victa Railfreight has  been awarded a Freight Fund Grant by Transport Scotland which is enabling it  to undertake a comprehensive trial of the movement by rail of timber, primarily from forests in Caithness to the Norbord Plant at Dalcross near Inverness during August and September.

The objective of the trial is to re-establish rail as a potential means of transporting timber from forests to the main users of timber, to reduce the pressure on fragile rural roads and to help reduce carbon emissions.

Victa is leading a cross industry effort, with active support from Network Rail and Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership (HITRANS), building on their previous pioneering Branchliner work in this sector.  Wagons are being supplied by DB Cargo and train operation, including locomotives and drivers, is being provided by West Coast Railways (WCR).  This team effort is the culmination of activity following on the Timber by Rail Summit convened by the Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Tourism – Fergus Ewing in the spring of 2019.

The main flow will be from the freight terminal at Georgemas Junction in Caithness to Inverness freight yard for onward delivery by road to Norbord, with timber coming from Munro Harvesting.  But other potential loading points may be used, once the Georgemas trial has become established.

Neil Sime, Managing Director of Victa Railfreight, said, “Victa Railfreight is delighted to be able to lead this cross-industry effort to re-establish the movement of timber by rail from forests in Scotland to the main production plants.  We greatly appreciate the funding from Transport Scotland without which this trial would not be happening. The collaboration with parties in both the rail and timber industries has been excellent and very timely given the publication last week of the Scottish Decarbonisation Policy, for which modal shift to rail is a key target.”

Bill Reeve (Director of Rail at Transport Scotland) said “The Scottish Government has a strong record of supporting rail freight.  It recognises the environmental benefits that modal shift of freight from road to rail can make in terms of reduced emissions and improved air quality, and the important contributory role rail freight makes towards the Scottish Government’s Net Zero target for all greenhouse gases by 2045.”

“I am personally encouraged by the proactive collaboration between the rail and timber industries throughout this trial so far and I look forward to seeing further projects such as this which can only be good news for both our economy and our environment.”

Frank Roach, Rail officer for HITRANS, said “HITRANS are grateful that Victa has come forward to co-ordinate the rail effort and we are delighted to have been able to provide active support and additional funding.”

 

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.