FEATURE u Warehousing & Materials Handling
Save the planet by looking into space
By Matt Whittaker, Commercial Director at Bis Henderson Space T
he recent COP26 summit has, despite some disappointments, highlighted the need for radical change in every area
of the modern economy, supply chains not least. This need is widely accepted and being acted on, but the carbon impact, and potential for improvement, of essentially static and inert warehousing and storage is less considered. That poses a problem, especially in the
UK. It is well recognised that the country is ‘under-warehoused’, especially given the rapid and permanent rise in eCommerce with its demands for increasingly sophisticated distribution facilities. But continuing to build ever more ‘big sheds’ is in no way sustainable, let alone carbon-neutral, on several levels. Firstly, while the local effects of climate change on agriculture are as yet unknown, they are unlikely to be positive – should we really be concreting over more farmland, in a country that hasn’t been able to feed itself for two hundred years or more? And secondly, is it wise to build ever more distribution centres, vital nodes in the economy of the nation, on increasingly vulnerable, if attractively flat, flood plains? The need for more warehousing and storage capacity is undeniable. But do we need to look towards new builds? We know that there is a considerable estate of unused, or under-utilised, warehousing that is potentially available, at least on a short-term or temporary basis. We also know that there are many businesses desperate to take advantage
22 January Irish Manufacturing
of those opportunities. How can we bring these parties together, to improve the carbon performance of supply chains without adding to the burden of new build?
VACANT SPACE Many companies are sitting on vacant or under-utilised storage space, for various reasons. And this ‘sort of vacant’ space is in no way carbon neutral. It isn’t too easy to heat, or refrigerate, or otherwise service as just part of a warehouse.
On the other hand, there are many firms that desperately need more warehousing storage or operational space. There are temporary, one-off requirements or there may be unplanned events, such as a fire in the warehouse or perhaps a major product recall. Then there are planned peak requirements.
Many businesses have to build stock in anticipation of seasonal or predictable events, for example new season fashion or Christmas. These events may be one-off or annual and some companies scale their warehousing to accommodate those peaks. However, this inevitably means they are paying top dollar for space that, for the rest of the time, isn’t really being used effectively. This approach is wasteful – financially and environmentally. And then there are needs that arise directly
from the climate agenda. In some cases, the overall carbon footprint can be mitigated by holding more stock close to market – that implies many more storage/warehouse areas.
Many businesses may be trialling new ranges or new markets and need the facilities to support a ‘toe in the water’. And many companies are experimenting with different strategies where they cannot necessarily commit to a long-term lease on a new build shed.
REQUIRED SPACE Fortunately, Bis Henderson Space exists largely to marry up these potential partners – the companies that are sitting on unrealised space assets, and the businesses that need temporary, short-term, seasonal or experimental storage or fulfilment facilities. Often, our ‘suppliers’ of excess space can
offer a fully-serviced site where clients can tap into the existing trained staff, IT systems and so on, and we always try to spot the synergies. For our space providers, the deals we broker can provide an unexpected source of income and volume-related operational efficiencies. For our space-hungry clients, we can source operational space that can help grow the business without climate change guilt. It’s not realistic to suppose that our economy can be sustained without some degree of new build warehousing, but it surely makes sound environmental thinking to make the best possible use of the assets we have before we commit to ever more carbon- intensive projects.
Bis Henderson Space
www.bis-hendersonspace.com
www.irish-manufacturing.com
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