On Tuesday, 17th September 2024, MKC TV was invited to visit the John Lewis Partnership at Magna Park, Milton Keynes, as part of UKWA’s national campaign, "Around the Warehouses in 80 Visits." This initiative is a key feature of "2024: The Year of Warehousing," celebrating the 80th anniversary of the UK Warehousing Association (UKWA). To mark the occasion, UKWA CEO Clare Bottle embarked on a tour of 80 warehouses across the UK, shining a spotlight on this vital but often overlooked sector.
Clare Bottle made a grand entrance in a specially branded "2024 Year of Warehousing" Tesla, with prizes awarded for spotting her along the way using the hashtag #WheresClare. Upon arrival, Clare was welcomed by Phil Courtney, General Manager of the site, along with senior team members Rhiannon McCallay-Pearce, Holly Philip, and Lee Ryle, as well as shift manager Gary Armiger. Chris Wright, UK Partnership Director at ACS Staffing Solutions, also joined the group for the facility tour.
The tour offered an in-depth look at various operations, including the two-person fulfilment system, the technical training centre, the cut fabrics operation, and the local customer delivery hub. The team at John Lewis gave a warm welcome, starting with a presentation on the company's operations.
Magna Park 3, which opened in May 2016, boasts a 640,000 sq ft facility, later expanded by a 220,000 sq ft mezzanine. Initially, there were concerns about filling the additional space, but it was fully utilized within months. The warehouse employs highly advanced systems, and the people driving the operations are equally impressive. Their recycling efforts are extensive, with nearly everything, from old mattresses to polystyrene, being sent to recycling plants in truckloads. The facility's storage setup is unique and particularly versatile, offering bulk stacking, post pallets, standard 4-way pallet racking, and double-deep pallet racking, which ensures agility and flexibility.
To conclude the visit, Phil Courtney was presented with a UKWA certificate in front of the eye-catching branded Tesla.
It was an incredible experience for MKC TV to get a behind-the-scenes look at the operations at John Lewis in action.
Why 2024 Was The Year of Warehousing
Warehousing remains one of the fastest-growing yet least understood sectors in the UK. This is partly because people rarely see what happens inside these often vast buildings, where millions of products are processed daily. As a result, the essential work of warehouses has always been "behind the scenes" and, to a large extent, underappreciated.
However, as the role of warehousing becomes increasingly central to everyday life, it was time to turn the spotlight onto the million-plus people who work in warehousing, recognize the great work they do, and appreciate the sector's contribution to the economy and national life.
UKWA has around 1,000 members, representing some 200 million sq ft of warehousing across the UK. Overall, the warehousing and logistics sector contributes £163bn GVA.
Now that is impressive!
On Tuesday, 17th September 2024, MKC TV visited the John Lewis Partnership at Magna Park, Milton Keynes, as part of UKWA’s national campaign, "Around the Warehouses in 80 Visits," celebrating the UK Warehousing Association's 80th anniversary. UKWA CEO Clare Bottle, touring 80 warehouses across the UK, arrived in a branded "2024 Year of Warehousing" Tesla. Phil Courtney, General Manager of Magna Park, and his senior team hosted the tour, showcasing advanced operations like the two-person fulfilment system, recycling efforts, and versatile storage setups. The visit concluded with the presentation of a UKWA certificate to Phil Courtney.
Published Date: 17.09.2024
Author: Simon Ram