If you’ve ever been involved in setting up a warehouse, you’ll know how critical the racking layout is. It’s not just about how many pallets you can fit — it’s about how efficiently people, products, and processes move through that space every single day.

But here’s the million-pound question: should your racking layout be designed by the racking supplier or a logistics consultant?

When it comes to warehouse development, the internal design and fit-out phase is where operational success is either built in—or compromised. From storage configuration to equipment selection and workflow efficiency, every design decision has a lasting impact on productivity, safety, and scalability. As logistics consultants, our role in conducting a peer review of the internal design and fit-out is to ensure that every square metre of space contributes to a seamless and efficient operation.

As global trade becomes more unpredictable, building resilience into your supply chain has never been more important. Supply disruptions from tariffs, trade deals, or geopolitical events can interrupt the supply of critical components and finished goods. Companies that rely solely on suppliers operating under just-in-time principles may find themselves unable to secure stock when demand spikes.

In today’s global economy, supply chains face a level of uncertainty that is unprecedented in recent decades. Political factors such as Trump-era tariffs, renegotiated trade deals, and shifting international policies have disrupted traditional sourcing and logistics strategies. Even if you’re not directly involved in imports from affected regions, these shifts can ripple through your supply chain, delaying components, inflating costs, and challenging your operational resilience.

Automation in logistics equipment is growing rapidly in the UK, driven by the need for efficiency, accuracy, and sustainability. However, several key challenges continue to slow down or complicate its adoption—particularly for SMEs, warehouse operators, and 3PL providers.

Here are the main challenges facing logistics automation equipment in the UK:

Running your warehouse operations through your ERP system can offer benefits like data centralisation and streamlined workflows—but it also comes with several downsides, especially for growing or complex logistics operations.

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.

Artificial Intelligence and Automation

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.