2. Biz Network June 2021 39-80.qxp_Chamberlink 01/06/2021 09:09 Page 52
LOGISTICS IN THE EAST MIDLANDS
FOCUS FEATURE
The logistical challenges of a growing industry The logistics industry was already growing in line with the explosion of e-commerce before the pandemic, but it has truly come of age over the past 15 months as people have come to know their delivery drivers and a raft of jobs have been created in increasingly visible warehouses. It presents some great opportunities for the East Midlands if it can overcome challenges, as Dan Robinson reports.
t used to be the person bringing Ringtons tea, the milkman or the teenagers on their early morning paper round. Now, it’s the Amazon and dpd delivery drivers – bringing groceries, clothes, electronics, home furnishings and medicines – who many of us are on first-name terms with. Their arrival on our doorstep is the result of a journey that began with a few website clicks, but operating behind the scenes is a logistics industry that is undergoing rapid transformation and fast becoming a titan of the UK economy. “So many people were forced to divert to online shopping and e-commerce sales have gone through the roof,” says Gwyn Stubbings, planning director at GLP, one of Europe’s leading developers and operators of logistics real estate. “It was the logistics industry that enabled this to happen and there’s been a huge reliance on it to perform incredibly well to keep the country going. “As a lot of businesses are now having to adapt online, demand will only continue to grow.” While these trends existed pre-pandemic – the online proportion of total retail sales grew from 6.2% in 2009 to 19.2% in 2019 – the lockdown impact was stark, with a sharp increase to 27.9% in 2020, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Even as the reopening of the economy is likely to stabilise these numbers, the trajectory will continue upwards, while the onshoring effect of Brexit will also likely contribute to increased demand.
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Magna Park Lutterworth is billed as Europe's premier logistics park
THE EAST MIDLANDS, located within the so-called “golden triangle” that is within a four-hour drive of about 95% of the UK population, already has a headstart on many other regions. The airport’s reputation as the busiest pure cargo hub for air travel in the country has activated a wave of development up and down the M1, while the neighbouring 700-acre SEGRO Logistics Park East Midlands Gateway is now home to powerhouse brands including Amazon, Nestle, Shop Direct, Games Workshop and Kuehne+Nagel.
INTERNET SALES AS A PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL RETAIL SALES (%) % 30
20
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Gwyn Stubbings, planning director at GLP 0 2007
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