Running a warehouse requires precision, experience and perseverance. It also takes a willingness to explore new options. If you don’t optimise your operations, then you could be wasting resources, time and, ultimately, money, which can affect your budget and business. In these challenging economic times, where many businesses are cutting back on staff and other expenses, but while demand for logistics services is still high, warehouse managers need to be more efficient than ever before. Demand for warehouse space is particularly high, and so organisations need to be focusing on making the most of the warehouse facilities they have. Here are some tips that can improve your warehousing efficiency and ensure that you deploy all your resources effectively. Focus On Health And Safety Health and safety is a vital part of managing any warehouse, as accidents can be costly and time-consuming to deal with. So, you need to make sure that you prioritise health and safety by taking every precaution possible. Simple actions like adding more safety signs and highlighting escape routes or potential dangers can provide major benefits. Explore Label Source’s health and safety signs to find ones that will benefit your warehouse and improve the safety of your workers and visitors. Make The Most Of Warehouse Management Technology Technology is revolutionising the warehousing and logistics markets, so it’s worth implementing the latest tools in your space. Some of these solutions might cost money to implement, but they have the potential to revolutionise your warehouse and automate repetitive tasks. From inventory management to HR, there are lots of ways that warehouse management software tools can benefit your organisation. So, whether your warehouse is currently conducting processes manually or you have technology but it’s outdated, you should consider checking out the new options on the market today. You can then find one that will deliver all the functions you need to save time, effort and energy. Improve The Layout Of Your Space It might seem surprising, but there’s a lot to be said for optimising the layout of your warehouse. It’s not about appearance: rather, it’s about focusing on ways you can save time and make the process of finding items and completing tasks easier. Even a small amount of wasted space can cause silos in the picking and packing processes, so it’s worth exploring ways to optimise your warehouse layout. Consider simple ways you can improve the way you manage your work by reorganising your space. It might take some time to move everything, but it’ll be worth the effort. Collaborate With Your Team Choosing the right approach and finding ways to improve your processes can take a lot of research, but it can be quicker if you talk to your employees. If you’re unsure about the best approach, then talk to your warehouse staff, who do the work and will understand how your processes can be streamlined. Your employees might have unique ideas that you hadn’t considered, and could help you to narrow down your choices. Making the most of your warehouse space and current resources can save money for your business, while also improving the service you offer to your customers. These tips are designed to help you find inspiration and make the process of optimising your warehouse space straightforward.

Colleges and training providers in Greater Lincolnshire are being asked to submit proposals for Skills Bootcamps to reflect future training needs.

Ahead of English Tourism Week 2023 (17 – 23 March), Chesterfield has announced its bold ambition to increase the value of its visitor economy by 20% by 2030.

A 20% increase in tourism will bring an additional £32 million into the economy annually helping create jobs for local people and opportunities for existing and new businesses.

The town will build on its heritage, retail and leisure offering as well as its proximity to the Peak District National Park, to increase the number of overnight stays in the town.

As part of its drive to attract people to visit and stay in the town, the town’s inward investment marketing campaign Destination Chesterfield has appealed to businesses and residents to ‘talk up the town’ within their networks and help attract visitors.

Peter Swallow, chair of Destination Chesterfield, said: “Chesterfield has an excellent offer for visitors, as well as the town’s close proximity to one of the most visited National Parks in the world. There is an opportunity for us to attract more people to visit and stay overnight in Chesterfield using the town as a base rather than just passing through on their way to the Peak District.”

The Peak District currently welcomes more than 13 million visitors annually with 83% of these arriving by car. Attracting some of these visitors to stay in Chesterfield and using its bus and rail links to visit surrounding areas, including major attractions like Chatsworth House, will not only benefit the borough’s economy but also support the Park Authority’s Sustainable Transport Action Plan.

Additionally, there are cycle paths into the Peak District, the border of which is just five miles from the town centre.

Jo Dilley, Managing Director of Visit Peak District & Derbyshire praised Chesterfield’s ambitions, saying: “Tourism already plays a vital role in making the area such a brilliant place to live, work and visit, and we strongly support Chesterfield’s ambition to grow the value of its visitor economy even further.

“The tourism sector generates billions of pounds for the local economy each year, supporting thousands of local jobs and displaying huge potential for future growth, particularly in areas such as sustainable and active travel, which Chesterfield can really capitalise on.

“Growing and developing the town’s tourism offer will not only benefit local businesses, it will also have a positive and lasting effect on local residents and communities. We look forward to working with partners in Chesterfield to support them in achieving this goal and ensuring the visitor economy’s long-term success.”

Mark Thurman, Managing Director of Casa Hotels which owns and operates two four-star hotels in the borough, urged people to ‘celebrate what we’ve already got,’ saying: “We don’t need to reinvent the wheel. We have wonderful accommodation, great restaurants and fantastic transport links to bring people to Chesterfield to then go and explore the surrounding area. We don’t need to do anything other than celebrate what we’ve already got.”

The town’s proximity to the Peak District has already attracted major investment to the borough including the £300 million PEAK, an all-year-round round leisure education, wellness and entertainment destination. PEAK’s masterplan has been developed around a transport and mobility system connected to the National Park. Phase one of the development, Gateway at PEAK, which is being developed by Milligan is expected to be completed in 2025.

The town is already home to the award-winning Casa Hotel and further hotel accommodation is planned within the £320 million Chesterfield Waterside scheme located close to the town’s mainline train station. The developer, Bolsterstone Group Plc, is in talks with major hotel brands to operate the proposed 120-bed hotel within Phase 1 of the scheme. The new hotel will be a further addition to the popular 92-bed Premier Inn Hotel which was opened within the Elder Way development in the town centre in 2019.

Increasing the visitor economy of the town is one of the key targets in the 2023-27 Chesterfield Growth Strategy which was launched by Chesterfield Borough Council on 23 February. In addition to growing the visitor economy, key headline targets, include: 

·        Increasing the number of employee jobs in the borough by 4% (2,000 jobs)

·        Increasing the number of businesses by 12% (400 businesses)

·        Increasing the number of higher value businesses by 15% (100 businesses)

·        Increasing the share of Chesterfield residents in knowledge-based occupations by 15% (baseline Census 21 – 18,000)

·        Increasing the value of the visitor economy by 20% (baseline £163m)

Councillor Kate Sarvent, Chesterfield Borough Council’s cabinet member for town centres and visitor economy, said: “We are already a fantastic visitor destination but growing our visitor economy strengthens growth across the borough, it leads to more people supporting our local businesses and town centre.

“This will in turn create new jobs and opportunities for our residents. To do this we need to work closely with our partners to promote our town, we have excellent transport connections, fantastic accommodation choices and our proximity to the Peak District puts us in a very strong position to bring more people to our town.”

Peter added: “The lasting and far reaching change we are striving for in Chesterfield cannot be done by one organisation alone; it must be a collaborative effort. By doing this, there is a real opportunity to build a thriving visitor economy in the town.”