Warehouse Spaces In Demand As Online Shopping Surges

Demand for warehouse spaces has increased over the past few years because of the boom in online shopping. The pandemic served to accelerate this trend, which meant that warehouses have become even more central to economic activity. Warehouses need to be secured, and different companies use different types of closures and roller shutter controllers. Having adequate security measures in place, such as high-quality doors with roller shutter controls, are essential for companies to protect their goods.

Robin Woodbridge, Head of Capital Deployment of Prologis, said that he has never seen demand like this in the 30 years he worked in logistics. Even with their speedy process of building warehouses, they are still struggling to keep up with the demand for online shopping in recent years, especially so now during the lockdowns caused by the pandemic.

According to Woodbridge, they are constructing buildings even without a customer lined up. They just let potential buyers come and look before the warehouses are finished, though this does not happen too often. Historically, investors have not prioritised warehouses, but nowadays, they continue to prioritise developing them. Retail spaces are sprawling, and investors cannot build warehouses quick enough to meet the demand.

New research from Savills commissioned by the UK Warehousing Association found there has been a dramatic increase in warehouse space in the past six years. In 2015, there were 428 million square feet of warehouses in the UK, but this has increased by 32 per cent.

The occupants have also changed. In 2015, most occupants were high street retailers, but nowadays, they are often occupied by third-party logistics providers like Yodel, DHL, and the like. They use warehouses to fulfil and deliver most online shopping orders. However, the dominant occupants nowadays are what they call ‘pureplay online retailers’. These are businesses that do not have physical stores and only sell online. They have increased their warehouse occupancy by 614 per cent in six years.

Aside from that, warehouses have grown in size as well. Some are as large as ten football fields. They also process about a million packages a day. According to Woodbridge, the sheds are vital in helping society to function. Every additional billion pounds spent online means a further 775,000 square feet of warehouse space is needed.

15,000 people are expected to be employed from the start of operation in a large warehouse. This is why companies create training academies to help attract and teach people how to pursue a career in logistics.

Kevin Mofid, the Head of Industrial and Logistics Research of Savills, said that as online retail grows, people who need warehousing services have also changed. Nowadays, even robotics engineers and data scientists need a warehouse. Warehouses have become centres for different activities in order to improve efficiencies, and this includes technical developments. This is why these have been equipped with secure and automatic doors that use roller shutter controllers. These have various merits and utility that makes them essential in securing the products or data they house.

Mofid also stated that there is still a long way before the UK reaches the peak of the demand for warehouses and sheds. As Savills tracked how much warehouse space companies need, they found that they needed 232 per cent in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the first quarter of 2020. This increase also implied the changes in British shopping habits.

Demand for warehouses and sheds will also increase in the manufacturing and automotive sector as there will be a need for new battery plants for electric vehicles. As a result of Brexit, companies also want to store more goods in the country, added Mofid. This will also prove to be a new challenge for warehouse builders because those developments will only further increase the demand.

Chief Executive of the UK Warehousing Association, Peter Ward, said that the Government needs to recognise the importance of warehouses to the economy, especially their contribution to rapid economic growth.

Whilst the Government plans to sign off on the private sector building of 250,000 new homes each year in the next five years, the effect of an additional million drop of points has not been considered. It is high time for warehousing to be included in planning policy, Ward said.

Woodbridge added that companies had adapted well to the shift in the retail landscape, especially during the pandemic. This is now an opportunity to build long-term abilities and capability so that their supply chains can meet the customers’ expectations and demands effectively. While the future is still uncertain, the UK will undoubtedly change as the impact of Brexit becomes realised.

This is why companies should realise that if they want to meet the demands of their customers, they have to optimise their use of warehouse space and make their operations more agile. These are critical to their success, according to Woodbridge.

There is an increased demand for warehouse space in many companies, and they are investing in developing a design and improving their operations to meet the demand and drive their future growth. For companies to build long-term capacity to meet the needs of their consumers and customers, warehouse operations, design, capacity, safety, and security are all critical areas of focus to ensure that their investment will pay dividends in the long run.

Secure and Automatic Roller Shutters

Security is one of the priorities for businesses and even households. Installing the right devices will not just keep your property secure but will also give you peace of mind and assurance that your property or business is safe.

Adding automatic roller shutter controls will help provide you with ease of access and convenience when locking up at the end of the day.

At C Prox Ltd Including Quantek, you can find various devices such as roller shutter remote controllers for your automation and control needs.

We provide next day delivery for most products. Order today at www.quantek.co.uk before the 2 PM cut-off for your product to be shipped within the day.