June 16, 2023

Why choose warehousing in the Midlands, UK?

Crane Worldwide Logistics has increased its presence in the United Kingdom by extending its contract logistics services. We have implemented a client led strategy.

This strategy involves expanding our contract logistics operations and therefore an investment into warehousing near Birmingham Airport.

This airport is in the Midlands area in the centre of the United Kingdom. The Midlands is an important logistics hub in the UK, located near Birmingham, Derby, and Leicester, it is sometimes known as the "Golden Triangle" of the UK.

It is situated in the center of England and has easy access to major roads across the UK. In the UK, this accessibility to warehousing adds a lot of value to distribution services.

UK warehousing market: A result of Brexit?

UK demand for more warehouse space has risen dramatically as online shopping has increased as a percentage of retail sales. There are ongoing orders for warehouse buildings, which reflect changes initiated by supply chain adjustments made after Brexit.

Brexit has caused a surge in upcoming construction projects. In 2021, warehouse building orders were valued at £5.6 billion, the highest figure since 1985. 

This demand for building new warehouses is due to the UK warehouse shortage.

The Midlands region is cost-efficient

According to the World Bank, London is the 85th most expensive city. The Midlands has a lower cost of living than London by 41%. Due to London's high cost of living, doing business in the capital is more expensive.

Businesses in London charge more for their warehousing services to cover the higher costs, while businesses in the Midlands can charge less and have lower costs. Tthe Midlands' cost of living is lower than London's therefore this area can provide affordable services and cost-effective warehouse solutions.

Choosing the Midlands as a warehouse storage location from a client perspective or purchasing units is cheaper and more cost efficient.

Industries in the Midlands

The Midlands, a center of the Industrial Revolution, is still home to important automotive and aviation manufacturers.

To this day, the Midlands is more manufacturing intensive than any other region in the United Kingdom. As a result, industrial properties and warehouses in the Midlands play an important role in providing distribution services for local factories.

Motorways like the M1, M5, M6, and M40 are used by logistics and distribution companies in the Midlands to transport goods to cities and urban areas like Liverpool and Manchester in the north and London in the south. The second-largest air cargo hub in the UK, after Heathrow, is East Midlands Airport, a crucial node in the nation's logistics network.

Many large manufacturers place their warehouses in the Midlands because its a central hub for road transportation with access to all major motorways.

What does Crane Worldwide in the Midlands offer?

Our Wellesbourne facility is 66,000 square feet in size with 4 dock doors and is a multi-user site. We have 4,660 block pallet positions and 18,800 BDCM1 carton positions.

The services we offer our clients include:

• Pick pack, ship across multitude of different FMCG businesses
• Value-added services including labeling, tagging, and SKU transformation.
• Bonded and DG warehousing
• Full in house WMS integration and customer-own WMS integration
• Bespoke packaging solutions to improve sustainability and cost saving packing transport efficiency
• Transport management and final mile fulfilment
• Internal brokerage team: customs, customs clearance, full bond management and trade compliance support
• Worldwide air freight and ocean freight solutions
• Full end-to-end 3PL offering

Reach out to the team today, to discover more.