Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK logistics sector face a unique set of challenges that can hinder growth, competitiveness, and resilience.

Over the past five years, UK logistics automation spend has seen strong and accelerating growth, driven by e‑commerce expansion, labour shortages, and technology maturation:

The logistics industry in 2025 is undergoing rapid transformation, driven by technological advancements, evolving customer expectations, and global sustainability goals. Companies are leveraging new tools and strategies to build more resilient, efficient, and environmentally responsible supply chains. Here are some of the key trends currently shaping the logistics landscape.

One answer is recession, or variations on that theme. It certainly isn’t the Roaring Twenties at the moment. But while the lack of certainty in what the economic outlook is may curtail growth plans and capital expenditure, it doesn’t mean that you can’t improve your logistics and supply chain operation. So where do you start and what do you look for? This blog looks at warehousing operations and offers some suggestions.

The following article was written by the founder and former managing director of LPC over 15 years ago. While the article may appear a little dated, the underlying fundamentals remain unchanged, while the principles driving logistics forward are unchanged, it is worth remembering that the trends and fashions may come and go.

A SaaS WMS (Software-as-a-Service Warehouse Management System) and a Server WMS (On-Premise Warehouse Management System).

Embarking on the journey to identify the right Warehouse Management System (WMS) and vendor can be a daunting task. A WMS can bring a level of automation to greatly improve the efficiency of your business. If your operation is experiencing issues like frequent inventory inaccuracies, complex order fulfilment processes, high picking and packing times, poor visibility into stock levels, growing order volume, or a need to streamline overall warehouse efficiency and reduce errors, especially if you are dealing with a large number of SKUs or diverse product types, then then it might be time to start that journey.

Is your eCommerce warehouse set up correctly? Are you one of many businesses that set up your operation before your growing pains resulted in additional staffing and space constraints, and now simply continuing to do what you do is impacting what you need to achieve? Are you struggling to deliver a high service level and if not now – does your future growth suggest that you still will?

Investing in warehouse automation is a significant decision that can lead to long-term efficiency gains, cost reductions, and competitive advantages. However, determining the right time to make that investment depends on various factors, including the scale of your operations, business growth projections, and technological maturity. Here’s a breakdown of when to invest in warehouse automation:

The UK is experiencing significant growth in warehouse automation spending, driven by the increasing demand for efficiency, cost reduction, and the rapid growth of e-commerce.