Case Study: Developing Competitive Warehouse Solutions for a Leading UK 3PL Provider

Turning tender requirements into competitive warehouse solutions

A leading third-party logistics provider required additional engineering capacity to respond to multiple customer tenders across the UK.

The tender opportunities covered different customer requirements, product profiles and warehouse environments. Some solutions involved existing buildings, while others considered build-to-suit facilities. The operational concepts ranged from manual warehouse operations to highly automated distribution centres.

Each tender required a tailored response, taking account of order profiles, storage requirements, material flows, site constraints and expected future growth. The 3PL also needed to develop commercially competitive proposals within tight and varying timescales, ranging from just two days to approximately one month.

Miebach supported the 3PL with clear warehouse concepts for tender opportunities

Miebach supported the 3PL as an integrated warehouse design and engineering partner, helping to convert tender information into practical and clearly presented warehouse concepts.

Across seven to eight tender opportunities, Miebach developed approximately ten warehouse concepts, layouts and 3D models. The work covered a broad range of operational requirements and included:

• Data analysis and validation
• Order profile analysis
• ABC analysis
• Process definition
• Material flow development
• Storage strategy and capacity assessment
• Manual and automated warehouse design
• Site feasibility assessment
• Labour calculations
• CAPEX estimation
• Implementation timelines for selected opportunities

The proposed solutions ranged from manual warehouse operations and VNA storage through to highly automated AS/RS concepts. The appropriate solution was assessed based on the individual customer requirements, site characteristics, operational performance, investment and potential for future growth.

Where future demand assumptions were available, these were extrapolated over the following years to ensure that the proposed concepts could support changing operational needs.

Flexible support across different tender requirements

The engagement covered a variety of customer operations without relying on a single warehouse model or technology solution.

Miebach supported the development of concepts for consumer product distribution, retail fulfilment, specialist goods and seasonal operations. Some tenders focused on improving manual warehouse layouts and storage strategies, while others required the assessment of highly automated distribution centre concepts.

The solutions considered the full operational flow, from goods receipt and storage through to picking, value-added activities and dispatch. This enabled the 3PL to present complete warehouse concepts rather than isolated equipment proposals.

Miebach also participated in selected customer presentations and clarification meetings, helping to explain the operational logic, design assumptions and proposed solutions.

Scalable, integrated solutions supporting the 3PL’s growth journey

The collaboration provided the 3PL with flexible, responsive and data-led engineering support across multiple customer opportunities.

Key benefits included:

• Support for seven to eight customer tender opportunities
• Development of approximately ten warehouse concepts, layouts and 3D models
• Response times ranging from two days to one month, depending on the tender requirements
• Technically robust and commercially competitive warehouse solutions
• Concepts tailored to different customer operations, sites and growth assumptions
• Improved understanding of manual, semi-automated and automated warehouse solutions
• Quantified labour and storage-density improvements in selected projects
• CAPEX estimates to support commercial decision-making
• Implementation timelines for selected opportunities
• Clearer communication of complex warehouse concepts through 2D layouts and 3D visualisations

The support contributed to tender opportunities progressing into customer contracts and detailed design activities. It also established an ongoing working relationship in which Miebach can respond quickly to new opportunities and provide the appropriate level of engineering input for each tender.

By combining data analysis, warehouse engineering and visual communication, Miebach helped the 3PL develop practical and scalable solutions across a broad range of customer requirements.

Whether you need additional engineering capacity, support with warehouse design and tender, or an independent assessment of automation options, Miebach can help you develop practical, scalable and commercially competitive solutions. 

Contact us to discuss your next opportunity.