Companies will increasingly need to be more agile and flexible in designing their distribution networks, according to Peter Ward, cargo supply chain commercial manager at DP World London Gateway.
Shifts in global sourcing combined with new and multiple channels to market are likely to drive multiple stocking locations, he told property agents at a briefing by Jones Lang LaSalle in Birmingham.
“In the UK it may prove optimal for a major DC in the South to complement another operating in the Midlands,” he said.
Cameron Mitchell, Jones Lang LaSalle’s national director of national industrial and logistics pointed out that the country could be facing a shortage of distribution facilities. “We therefore welcome DP World London Gateway’s commitment to offer a substantial common-user facility from which businesses can either benefit from incubator or shared space – while gaining flexibility in their supply chain – and if the business case is right for them to later move into their own facility.”
Richard Meering, senior director at CBRE, added: “We welcome the London Gateway development. “This, along with DB Schenker offering rail services from London Gateway to the Midlands, highlights the potential supply chain benefits that end users can gain by using London Gateway in conjunction with Midland’s DCs alongside rail hubs such as DIRFT, Hams Hall and BIFT at Birch Coppice”
