Logistics Link South was hailed a success after visitors braved the rainstorms to make their way to Sandown Park for the first day of the exhibition.
Snapfulfil, Chess, Apex Linvar, Flexi, Inotec and Red Ledge were just some of the exhibitors reporting a good level of inquiries.
There was also strong interest in Port to Shelf, the new exhibition that focuses on the wider supply chain.
Meachers Global Logistics was highlighting its sustainable distribution centre initiative, which is supported by Southampton City Council. The SDC is a consolidation centre that is becoming particularly popular with public sector organisations in the area, though it is open to both public and private organisations. Meachers reckons it could reduce the number of HGVs travelling into Southampton City Centre by up to 75 per cent.
A new launch from Flexi Narrow Aisle is a layer picking system. Instead of forks, the Flexi truck is fitted with an attachment that enables it to pick up layers from above. The company says the Flexi PiCK layer Picking System offers case pick rates of more than 1,000 outers per hour per man.
Sales and marketing director John Maguire said: The traditional grocery retail supply structures have tend to be somewhat rigid, most FMCG products packaged and stacked on wooden pallets.
“The palletised loads then move through the supply chain with surprisingly few options offered to the ultimate retail store management. Often either products by the full pallet quantity or individual case picked quantity, often at higher unit price due to the extra picking cost.
“The introduction of product layer marketing concept in the USA has been developed by Flexi Narrow Aisle into a cost effective method of marketeers offering retail stores a third alternative, lower cost than case quantities but less inventory commitment than full pallet. We feel this new development will be of particular interest to the UK’s growing value variety store sector.”
The second day of the Exhibition coincides with the Logistics Manager Summit at Sandown Park which is focusing on logistics outsourcing and 3PL contracts.
More than 60 per cent of respondents to the 2013 Logistics Manager State of the Market survey indicated that they operated a rolling 3PL contract with no fixed term. Is this the future of contract logistics?
And are traditional, fixed term contracts still suitable or are flexible/rolling contracts the way of the future?
A group discussion led by Adam Chazanow, managing partner at Graphene Partners, will also look at the importance of contracts, asking if it is imperative for external partners to buy into the customers business model for the partnership to flourish?
The opening session will look at how the Spirit Pub Company has transformed its operation through collaborative logistics strategy enabling a greater focus on the customer experience.
Richard Tubey, supply chain & purchasing project manager, will discuss how it has built a collaborative relationship with its third party logistics provider that has since delivered a flexible, innovative supply chain solution and supported robust growth.
And Iglo, the company behind the Birds Eye brand, will talk about the development of its relationship with DHL.
A joint presentation from Peter Broome, Iglos group distribution manager, and Gavin Lucas, DHLs VP Operations, Life Sciences UK, will examine how do the two teams interact to ensure consistent results.
The Logistics Manger Summit takes place at Sandown Park, Esher. Alongside it will be the Logistics Link South Exhibition and the new Port to Shelf Exhibition which run from 11th to 12th February.
