Pictured - United Kingdom Warehousing Association

22 Member Case StudyMeeting Expect’s expectationsExpectDistribution isusing a fleet offour-wheel,electric-poweredFlexi EURO VNAtrucks tomaximise spaceutilisation at itsBradford facilityEstablished in 1988 as Pennine Parcels,rebranding as Expect Distribution in2006, UKWA member Expect operatessome 250,000 sq ft of warehousing and distributionspace spread across three strategicallylocated sites in Yorkshire.The facilities – one at Halifax and two inBradford – provide storage for a diverse varietyof products ranging from medical suppliesand food stuffs to industrial equipment.The sites also act as hubs where loads aremarshaled as part of Expect’srole within the Palletline palletdistribution network. ExpectDistribution is the largest inputterof freight into the Palletlinenetwork and was the first haulierto put 1,000,000 palletsthrough the system.The facility adjacent to theM606 in the Odsal region ofBradford is the most recent ofExpect’s three sites to open. Itwas needed to cope with thegrowing demand for the company’sservices and combines54,000 sq ft of high quality warehousingspace with a very busy cross docking operationand the Companys’ Head Office functions.When planning the layout of the storagecube within the Odsal warehouse, Expectopted to maximize the available space byspecifying a narrow aisle storage systemserved by Flexi Narrow Aisle articulated forklifttrucks.“We were committed to narrow aisle storagebut because a large part of our businessinvolves cross docking it was important toselect a truck that could function efficientlyand safely in all areas of our warehousingoperation,” explains David Storrie, ExpectDistribution’s Head of warehousing.“We also needed trucks that would allowus to optimise storage density while at thesame time permit fast and efficient individualpallet accessibility - which can become aproblem with many other forklift based highdensity storage systems,” he adds.Pallet capacity at the Low Moor unit is 7,000with pallets stored six high in the racking.Following a period of close consultationbetween key personnel from Expect and thewarehouse planning team at Flexi NarrowAisle, 2.0 metres was agreed to be the optimumaisle width for the project.While Flexi trucks can pick up and turnpallets in aisles as narrow as 1.6 metreswide, in applications like Expect where highthroughputs need to be achieved and fastertravel speeds are required, the speed atwhich a truck can safely operate in the aislewaysis more important than the need to narrowthe aisleways.But, even when setting theaisles 200mm wider than theminimum wide, the Flexiswere still far more space efficientfor Expect than usingconventional moving mastreach trucks – an optionwhich the company had alsoconsidered.As this site is a multi userfacility, Expect do not havepick faces within the racking– the Flexis either pick fullpallet loads or, if part picksare required, the trucks drop a pallet from itsstorage location and deliver it to a marshalingarea where orders are made up, beforereturning the load to its location within thestore.All of the pallet put away and pickingwithin the racking is undertaken by the Flexiswhile the job of unloading and loadingincoming and departing trailers in the yard isshared between the Flexi articulated trucksand a fleet of 2.5 tonne LPG powered counterbalancedtrucks.“The Flexi’s ability to unload incomingtrailers like a counterbalance machine andserve our narrow aisle racking means wehave been able to reduce double handlingand make optimum use of our forklift fleetand labour resource,” says David Storrie.“The Flexi trucks have allowed us toreduce aisle widths to maximise storagecapacity while maintaining a safe and productiveoperation that allows fast and efficientpallet put away and retrieval cycles.”A fleet of four-wheel, electric-poweredFlexi EURO VNA trucks is in operation atPremier Point, Expect Distrbution’s Odsal site.August 2012www.ukwa.org.uk