< PreviousSimon Fenley-Lamb, Chief Operating Officer for the Skills and Education Group 30 East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk ROUND TABLE and processes. Bringing more staff back, there’s a danger that you suddenly have two teams, one which has adapted to new conditions and one returning off furlough and integrating those two teams is a new challenge. Helping them understand why certain things have changed or were done during lockdown.” Gary Headland, Chief Executive of the Lincoln College Group: “I think a big challenge is working around the assumptions we have all made. For us, cost of delivery has gone through the roof because we have a lot of people still not in who need material, so we have to backfill those posts. We’ve been trialling a scheme where our staff not front of office can work from home, hoping for economies of scale and more productivity. And the assumptions we make about human behaviours – like that it’ll all be fine, they’ll all enjoy working from home, improved mental health of staff – these are assumptions, and it didn’t take very long in our first trials of this for the human behaviours to start to appear. Behaviours where people have built a home life, and that work is second place to home life.” Richard Wills, Policy Voice Ambassador for the Lincolnshire Region, IoD: “I think it needs to be kept in mind that it’s not only those placed on furlough who are suffering from mental health anxieties. Our transport business deals with vulnerable children, some with learning difficulties, and I’ve had a case of spitting at some of our PA’s the other day, and that causes a lot more health anxiety. So, while there are certainly plenty of mental health anxieties around those who have been furloughed and feel isolated from everything, I don’t think we should forget that there are anxieties about those still on the front line and facing potential exposure to COVID-19.” Tom Blount, Director of Lincoln Science and Innovation Park: “I wanted to talk about assumptions as well. We obviously run a number of facilities for multiple occupancy users, so we have 22 units, a dozen odd tenants, and when we were bringing in our COVID-19 restrictions and code of conduct, we also took the opportunity to do a little research on the prevalence of the disease amongst our population. None of our tenants have come to us and said one of their team has been infected, but we have microbiology labs here so we did a test of most users of the centre, over 100 people, and we found a prevalence of about 17% exposure across our building. We have a wide range of staff, some national and some international, but I think we’ll find when this is all over that the disease has had a much wider prevalence among the overall population than we initially believed.” Michelle Allison, Chief Executive of the Education and Business Partnership, Chair of the Greater Lincolnshire and Rutland Branch of the IoD: “Picking up on the points that have been said, I think we do have to be incredibly flexible. We make assumptions that employers aren’t prepared to take on young people, and we know that there’s one in eight young people are unemployed at the moment and that will get higher, we know that, but what we’ve found within the EBP is there are employers out there who are still prepared to take young people on but in different and more flexible ways. An example of that Ruth Carver, Chief Executive of the Greater Lincolnshire LEP 29-33.qxp_Layout 1 09/10/2020 12:51 Page 2www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 31 ROUND TABLE is we’re just launching a scholarship programme in partnership with the university and we’re working with a small number – but hopefully a growing number – of local employers who are prepared to take undergraduates on, give them meaningful work experience through the duration of their university degrees and then a paid job at the end of it. That’s obviously not something that we would ordinarily look for, but we need to be flexible to meet our needs. So, I think we do need to look at more creative and agile approaches.” James Pinchbeck, Streets Chartered Accountants and IoD East Midlands Policy Voice Ambassador: “What do members of this discussion group feel are the biggest concerns or challenges as we get to grips with the impact of the pandemic, and approach the end of the transition period as we leave the EU, and do people on this discussion feel that businesses are more bothered about one or the other.” Sam Kirk, Managing Director of J- Flex: “To reference the webinar I was on about a month ago, there was a great phrase that was used; “control the controllable”. I think in both instances, we can’t really impact the pandemic as businesses, and we can’t impact Brexit. What we can impact is making sure that staff are safe as we’ve talked about at work, make sure that work/life balance at the moment, in particular with the issue of schools, we can do all we can to help accommodate their needs. Flexible working is going to be vital going forward, especially if we have this second lockdown as has been referenced. In relation to Brexit, again, we can all have our opinions on Brexit and what’s going to happen at the end of the year, but at the end of the day, we can only control certain things.” Ruth Carver, Chief Executive of the Greater Lincolnshire LEP: “For us it’s about really clear, consistent communication. I’m heavily involved in the Lead the Economy Group for the Local Resilience Forum, which is the group locally that’s responsible for interpreting this and communicating. So we do a lot of communicating with businesses and do that with all of our partners – IoD, Chambers etc. We’re also feeding back constantly – as you do with the IoD – the gaps sometimes in the guidance.” “We, and probably all businesses, would like certainty on this or that point around Brexit or COVID-19, and so we play an active role in asking, lobbying and influencing for support to certain sectors. We’ve been doing a lot on support to the visitor economy, I know we’ll talk about the impact on certain sectors later on. I think, going back to the original question, if I may James, which was around the impact around Brexit, businesses are telling us that, as they were a few years ago, thinking about the impact to supply chains and goods, particularly in manufacturing, and been looking at reshoring activity wherever possible that’s still uncertain about what that will look like in a few months’ time.” Cameron Ford, Director of Reflect Recruitment Group: “Ruth mentioned culture and communication, and one of the most difficult things that, I think, as directors, we have a responsibility for, is the maintenance of the culture in the organisation, and our managers are often not as skilled as we think Tom Blount, Director of Lincoln Science and Innovation Park Sam Kirk, Managing Director of J-Flex 32 Á 29-33.qxp_Layout 1 09/10/2020 12:51 Page 332 East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk ROUND TABLE they are in managing remotely and retaining that culture and communication. They’re making presumptions or assumptions that people are being communicated to effectively, and I can tell you from the other side where we’re seeing all the candidates that are actually currently employed who are looking for work that they are not feeling they are communicated to effectively. And I think that is a challenge for directors as a whole, and for the IoD to make sure that directors are addressing.” Shane Chowen, Area Director for the East and West Midlands Association of Colleges: “I think in a good year, we’d see about 45,000 apprenticeships being delivered between businesses and colleges in the East Midlands and we’re already starting to see when all the stats come out that new starts of apprenticeships in the last quarter or so is through the floor. We’re going to have to start looking at things at a sector to sector level. Some of the demand that is forecast for the drop in apprenticeship earlier in the year are actually beating expectations, so we are starting to see some healthy signs in sectors like construction, for example, whereby, in the future, in areas sectors that we deem recoverable, we can start to overtrain in those areas in anticipation of demand starting to increase.” Ruchi Aggarwal, Director of Business Development for the Lincoln International Business School: “There is not one brush stroke that paints on this canvas the same way. There are some organisations that have done exceptionally well in these times, and there are some that have been exceptionally hurt as far as their business is concerned. I think it’s important to be aware of those differences that lie across our own county and reach out accordingly. So, just as an example, the programmes or the skills that are needed in every region I’m finding are slightly different. Lowering the barrier of getting into those skills, and giving people the skills they need, becomes a key combination.” I think if you cut across sectors, if you look at the general skills recruitment, a very clear call out is there for things like complex problem solving, things like creative problem solving, how do we empower our leaders in Lincolnshire to get those skills, which are irrespective of sector, allow them to learn to be able to transcend complex problem solving because not everyone is trained for that intricacy.” James Pinchbeck, Streets Chartered Accountants and IoD East Midlands Policy Voice Ambassador: “I’m now going to move on to acknowledge that it’s nearly £300 billion being spent on interventions to support the economy and society since March. Obviously, that’s come at a significant cost to the treasury. So the costs of measures and support for businesses introduced by the government throughout the pandemic is in-questionable and will unquestionably lead to tax hikes and changes. What are panellists’ viewpoints on tax changes and the timing of their possible introduction and potential impact on growth?” Luke Prout, Tax Partner from Streets Chartered Accountants: It is very rare that a chancellor has a free mandate to increase taxes without going through any political unrest. If we go back to just a few years ago, the chancellor Phillip Hammond tried to Cameron Ford, Director of Reflect Recruitment Group Shane Chowen, Area Director for the East and West Midlands Association of College 29-33.qxp_Layout 1 09/10/2020 12:52 Page 4www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 33 ROUND TABLE increase national insurance and he had to then do a U-turn as politically it was a car crash for him, but for the first time I can remember the chancellor now has the ability to increase taxes. It’s widely expected, and politically he’s not going to, or the conservative party won’t, suffer. There are taxes he can’t touch as they are enshrined by law, so VAT for example won’t be increased as they would have to change the law for that. Income tax won’t go up as they would have to change the law for that, and some national insurances will not change. What we’re hearing that will be changed is corporation tax, a tax for businesses, and that could increase. Jennie Brown, Tax Partner at Streets Chartered Accountants: “People who have property they had planned to sell in the short to medium term are looking at bringing these disposals forward and paying tax at the current Capital Gains Tax (CGT) rates of 18/28 per cent in light of the potential for these rates to be increased in line with the Income Tax rates of 20/40/45 per cent. Additionally with the current Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) Holiday, this has given a boost to the housing market and therefore landlords are in a perhaps more favourable market at the moment to make sales and purchases. What this has also meant is that many home owners are now also trying to move house to take advantage of the SDLT when they potentially weren’t planning to, but see this as a good opportunity for them to move up the property ladder with reduced SDLT.” “The Capital Gains Tax and Inheritance Tax regimes are both under review at the moment so many are looking to take stock of their plans now, ahead of the tax regimes becoming less favourable.” Ruth Carver, Chief Executive of the Greater Lincolnshire LEP: “I think it is a question of timing isn’t it, and I think your colleague kind of talked about giving us notice, but it’s well known that we are entering a recession, so additional kind of tax measures on top of that will be a double whammy for the business community. Thinking across the East Midlands, I think there are different impacts that have been felt on different sectors and introducing tax measures that are global might not be…it’s a tricky balance for the chancellor.” Gary Headland, Chief Executive of the Lincoln College Group, and regional chair for the IoD in the East Midlands: “I think it’s been well publicised, but I’m not really sure we fully understand the impact on the arts and culture sector. I think we’re probably going to see some investment there. But what is the real impact? We’re talking about a very human aspect of our lives here, they are an important part of what it is to be human and they’re getting damaged quite considerably right now.” Richard Wills, Policy Voice Ambassador for Lincolnshire IoD Branch: “I think that the interest is what do we think is sustainable in the long term? One place to go for that is what do pension funds think about investment, and I happen to be a trustee of a pension fund. One of the pension fund managers is saying in the longer term the leisure and hospitality industry is likely to be successful actually, because as human beings we will want to socialise and do that sort of thing. So I think we’ve got to be honest about which sectors are going to survive this in a healthy way and make sure that they don’t fall during this very difficult period.” Ruchi Aggarwal, Director of Business Development for the Lincoln International Business School Jennie Brown, Tax Partner at Streets Chartered Accountants 29-33.qxp_Layout 1 09/10/2020 12:52 Page 534 East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk WAREHOUSING AND DISTRIBUTION The coronavirus crisis has led to a spike in consumer demand for everything from food, drink and consumer goods to home appliances. Not only has this placed greater stress on retailers, but also on the entire supply. Growers and producers have been forced to turn in longer hours and bolster production and capacity to keep up with demand. One of the industries that has keenly felt this rise is warehousing and distribution. Now, in the run up to Christmas and with no signs of the COVID-19 pandemic abating, there will likely be a severe lack of resource availability, leading to a spike in storage costs. As retailers and supermarkets significantly expand their storage and warehousing footprints, operators can take measures now to improve warehouse and distribution efficiencies, leading to time and cost savings. It’s critical for operators to regularly undertake warehouse assessments. This is a means of assessing whether one’s warehouse operation is productive and efficient in meeting both its operator’s needs and those of its customers. It’s a crucial step to identifying and instigating efficiencies as it’s almost impossible to improve something without first being able to measure it. There are five basic parts to any assessment. The first, and perhaps most obvious, is the walkthrough and observation of the operation. It’s a look- before-you-leap step, walking the facility floor right through to loading bays in order to identify inefficacies and where best to focus improvements. This is then followed by the second step of gathering data of necessary information and metrics, and the third of interviewing key staff members. This step is particularly prudent for an operator to gain valuable insight into individual processes and operations. They might be the overseer, but a staff member who, for the sake of argument operates a forklift all day, will have a more acute awareness of hindrances when it comes to using said forklift. Combined with other interviews and the data gathered in the previous steps, this will create a valuable web of information where patterns can be seen, and action can be taken. The fourth step is to report the analysis to determine current productivity and service levels, Identifying efficiency gains 36 Á With increased pressure placed on the industry by the pandemic, and in the run up to the Christmas trading period, warehousing and distribution operators can act now to improve efficiencies to save both cost and time. 34-37.qxp_Layout 1 07/10/2020 10:52 Page 1www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 35 WAREHOUSING AND DISTRIBUTION © Shutterstock /Halfpoint 34-37.qxp_Layout 1 07/10/2020 10:52 Page 236 East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk WAREHOUSING AND DISTRIBUTION while the fifth and final stage is external benchmarking to look for areas of potential improvement. Once the assessment is complete, it’s then time to take steps to address and improve on the areas of inefficiency discovered. But what exactly can warehouse operators do to boost efficiency and create a leaner, more streamlined site? A warehouse management system has become indispensable for modern warehouses and distribution centres. Basically, this is a software application that helps to control and manage day-to-day operations in a warehouse. It guides inventory receiving and put-away as well as advising on inventory replenishment and can also optimise picking and shipping of orders. Not all warehouse management systems are created equally, however, so it’s important to buy from reputable providers. Some of the best ways to boost operational efficiency aren’t software related, in fact they’re downright low-tech. Expanding one’s warehouse can provide more storage space, which has becoming an increasingly important topic as we © Shutterstock /Siwakorn1933 34-37.qxp_Layout 1 07/10/2020 10:52 Page 3www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 37 WAREHOUSING AND DISTRIBUTION © Shutterstock /panuwat phimpha Carter Synergy – a business built on engineering excellence Carter Synergy is a national provider of refrigeration, mechanical, electrical and core building services. They company are rightly proud of its long group history serving some of Britain’s best-known businesses across a wide range of environments for over 75 years. It is a business built on engineering excellence. Through its group, Carter Synergy offer a wide range of solutions to the logistics and warehousing market through its Coldstores, engineering and service teams. From the initial surveys through to design, installation, commissioning and after service, it continues to supply some of the world’s biggest logistics companies with critical support for their temperature- controlled stock and distribution. One of its most recent projects has been the conversion of a large distribution centres refrigeration systems from Ammonia to Co2. This project was delivered on a live site without any downtime or disruption to the day to day operations of the facility. As specialists in the supply of Co2 refrigeration systems, Carter Synergy has many years’ experience in designing, installing, and maintaining these systems. Companies can trust in Carters as it is accredited with the British Refrigeration Association, Safe Contractor Approved, ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and Altius accredited, and are ROSPA Gold Award winners for the last ten years consecutively. To find out more, visit www.cartersynergy.com or call 0121 250 1000. approach Brexit, but this can incur considerable expense. It’s better to first make more efficient use of existing space. By adding taller units and investing in high-reach forklifts, a warehouse operator can utilise its vertical space and keep more inventory in the same space. Yes, there is some cost in this approach, but it is significantly less than a whole site expansion – or opening another warehouse altogether. Similarly, it’s important to pay attention to warehouse layout in order to make navigation for staff and forklift operators easier. Of course, this makes navigation easier, but it also helps to minimise potential health and safety hazards. This isn’t a one-off issue, but rather part of continuous improvements where managers and site operators regularly check and assess their warehouses to see if and where improvements can be made. However, it isn’t only site operators that need to be cognizant of these issues, but all staff and managers so it’s therefore important to make sure all staff are properly trained. All of these improvements in the warehouse or distribution centre will have a cumulative effect and these efficiency gains are passed along to logistics and freight forwarders. Coupled with improvements made by logistics operators, the supply chain becomes leaner, more streamlined and much more efficient. As we approach the Christmas trading period, the end of the Brexit transitionary period and continue to deal with increased demand during the pandemic, this will matter now more than ever. 34-37.qxp_Layout 1 07/10/2020 10:53 Page 4I recently visited an art gallery located in the Mailbox in Birmingham and came across a beautiful six-foot-tall bronzed sculpture with a ladder being at the centre focus; a woman balanced precariously at the top, passionately reaching out into nothingness and at the foot of the ladder a man, seemingly attempting to hold the ladder steady for her. The piece, aptly named ‘Reach’, really resonated with me. Let’s say the sculpture is a metaphor for aiming high and reaching for your goals, which is what the artist actually intended and what many of us would interpret it as being. Art is very often subjective, allowing the viewer to interpret as they wish, and what’s more how you may view a piece of art on one occasion, may not be viewed in the same way by yourself one year, one month, or even one day later, allowing you to really use art as a way of translating your current emotions, feelings, challenges and goals into something tangible, real and personal to you. Therefore, going back to this particular piece, the ladder which is unsteady, let’s say representing life’s challenges, being steadied by the man, could translate to that one person in your life who has supported you, who is ‘your rock’; a friend, partner, ladder By Fiona Duncan-Steer, founder of RSViP Business Networking Agency. To explore this further contact me for a free discovery call: fiona@rsvipnetwork.co.uk Fiona Duncan-Steer - www.fionaduncan-steer.co.uk www.rsvipnetwork.co.uk 38 East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk NETWORKING family member, mentor, even someone you don’t personally know but who happens to be an inspiration to you. Going one step further, the person steadying your ladder could even represent an organisation, group of people over a period of time, a book you’ve read, a film you’ve watched or a workshop you’ve attended that has really helped support and motivate you. Taking the time to reflect upon your journey once in a while; the good the bad and the ugly is a great way of fuelling your next steps and smashing those next goals – you have done it before and you can do it again. In addition, recognising the tools you accessed and the techniques you applied to assist you in achieving your goals is also a really smart form of reflection. Reflect – Recognise – Re-apply I found myself staring at this sculpture for quite some time, getting lost in the possibilities of what it represented for me. If this is not something you have thought about before in depth, or for a while, then perhaps it is time to reflect upon who and what in your life has and is that constant support of your ladder. Your 38-39.qxp_Layout 1 07/10/2020 10:54 Page 138-39.qxp_Layout 1 07/10/2020 10:54 Page 2Next >