Welcome to our second quarterly Back of Store feature of 2016. As our latest crop of stories show, Britain’s multiple grocery retailers and their suppliers remain committed to investing in their warehousing and logistics operations and the equipment, services and solutions they need for them.
On the retail side Lidl, Britain’s fast growing supermarket operator, has revealed it plans to open its twelfth RDC in the British Isles, this time in East Devon, confirming its dedication to its supply chain. For the suppliers, Nestlé has been working for a year now with LPR, the pallet pooling expert. Since Nestlé began using LPR to manage its pallet pool it has cut its production line stoppages and manufacturing downtime.
We also have news from the equipment and solutions suppliers about their new products and recent projects. Warehouse automation specialist KNAPP has developed an innovative order picking solution for containers in the food retail sector, the ‘FAST’ Fully Automated Standard Tray, which handles goods automatically from goods in to goods out. KNAPP recently installed the system in Swiss retailer Migros’s Zurich DC. Union Industries, the UK’s leading manufacturer of industrial rapid roll doors, recently helped cooked chicken manufacturer Benson Park with its recent chill store extension. The new Matadoors feature the Crash-Out system, which ensures warehouse operations continue to run smoothly in the event of a collision with the doors.
When it comes to increasing storage capacity in the grocery supply chain, one temporary option is leased warehouses. In this situation, safety equipment must be quick and easy to install and transfer elsewhere, hence the Salvo SML-EI, Castell’s cost effective new version of its Salvo loading bay safety system, specifically designed for leased warehouses.
If your business uses hand pallet trucks you could easily be falling foul of the law. That’s the message from Mitsubishi Forklift Trucks UK. If workers have to exert an unsafe force effort to undertake a task, it’s the employer’s duty to ensure they either move smaller loads or use motorised equipment such as a powered pallet truck. To see whether you are working safely or you should consider a move to power pallet trucks, take a look at Mitsubishi’s online checklist. See the article for details.
Also in this feature, don’t miss Schoeller Allibert’s latest returnable transit promotion, running up to May 31st, offering customers free universal dolly and handle offer when purchasing five full pallets of some of the company’s most popular crate ranges.
Have a successful summer.
CHARLES SMITH Publishing Editor
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