Pre-Site Storage for a Conveyor Sortation System - Held for a Year While a Logistics Hub Was Built
The Situation
A logistics hub was being built in Kent. The project involved the construction of a new sortation facility, a significant infrastructure build with a complex programme, and a long lead time between groundbreak and operational readiness.
The conveyor sortation system, the core operational equipment for the new facility, was ready before the building was. Equipment manufacturers and suppliers work to their own production and delivery timelines. The construction programme was running on its own. The two did not align.
The machinery needed somewhere to go. It could not be delivered to the building site as the facility was not yet at a stage where it could receive, protect, or secure specialist sortation equipment. It needed to be held off-site, in a secure warehouse, until the building was ready.
We held it for approximately one year.
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The Challenge
Specialist machinery cannot wait at the supplier. Once a conveyor sortation system is manufactured and ready for delivery, it leaves the supplier’s facility. Holding it there indefinitely is not an option as it occupies production space and ties up the supplier’s resources. The machinery needed to move, and it needed somewhere appropriate to go.
The construction site was not ready to receive it. A construction site mid-build is not a suitable location for operational equipment. There is no secure storage, no protection from the elements or from other trades, and no way to guarantee the equipment will not be damaged, moved, or interfered with during the build. Delivering too early creates real risk of damage to expensive, specialist machinery and potential delay to the whole commissioning process.
The storage period was uncertain at the outset. Construction programmes shift. The one-year storage duration was not known precisely at the start. The equipment arrived and the site was not yet ready, and the build continued on its own timeline. The warehouse partner needed to be able to hold the machinery for however long the build took, without creating pressure on the client to take delivery before the site was genuinely ready.
Size and handling requirements. A conveyor sortation system is not standard warehouse cargo. It is large, specialist, and requires careful handling and storage. It needed a warehouse with the space, the forklift capability, and the operational competence to receive, hold, and release equipment of this type without damage.
What We Did
Received the Machinery at Our Grays Site
When the conveyor sortation system was ready for delivery, it came to our warehouse in Grays, Essex. We received it, unloaded it, and allocated it to a dedicated area of the warehouse. It was kept separate, clearly identified, and accessible for inspection or partial release if needed. Our site has the forklift capability and the physical space to receive large, specialist equipment. Loading bay access, a labour team, and a fenced, monitored yard meant the machinery was secure from the moment it arrived.
Held Securely for Approximately One Year
The machinery remained at our site for approximately one year while the logistics hub in Kent was completed. During that time it was held securely at our alarmed site, CCTV, fenced yard, 24/7 surveillance. No deterioration, no damage, no interference. The client’s programme evolved as construction progressed. We did not create pressure on them to take delivery before the site was ready. When the build reached the point of readiness, the instruction came and we prepared for release.
Released to Site on Instruction
When the Kent facility reached the point where it could receive the sortation equipment, the client instructed us. We arranged delivery to the site via our haulage partner network. We planned the vehicle type and route to match the access requirements of a construction site receiving specialist equipment. The machinery arrived at site in the same condition it had left the supplier. The commissioning process could begin without delay caused by storage damage or handling issues.
The Result
One year of secure pre-site storage without disruption. The conveyor sortation system was held at our site for approximately one year, from manufacturer readiness to site readiness without damage, without deterioration, and without pressure on the client to take delivery before the facility was ready.
Construction programme protected. By holding the machinery off-site until the building was genuinely ready, the client avoided the risk of delivering specialist equipment to an unready site. The commissioning team received machinery in full working condition, on their timeline and not on the supplier’s.
Cost of delays avoided. Delays in commissioning a new logistics hub are expensive. A sortation system that cannot be installed because it was damaged in pre-site storage, or that cannot be accessed because it was delivered to the wrong location at the wrong time, creates cascading delays across the whole project. None of those costs materialised here.
A single point of accountability between supplier and site. Between the machinery leaving the manufacturer and arriving at the Kent facility, there was one warehouse, one team, and one point of contact. The client did not need to coordinate between multiple storage facilities or manage a complex handover chain. We held it, we released it, we delivered it.
What This Demonstrates
This case study is relevant to any project involving:
- Specialist machinery or equipment that is ready before the receiving site is
- A construction or fit-out programme with a long lead time between groundbreak and operational readiness
- Equipment that is too valuable, too large, or too specialist to leave at a supplier's facility or deliver to an unready site
- A storage period that is uncertain at the outset and may extend as the build progresses
- A requirement for secure, competent off-site holding with reliable release to site on instruction
Construction project managers, logistics developers, plant and equipment suppliers, and operations directors overseeing facility builds will recognise this situation. It is more common than most warehouse operators are set up to handle because most warehouse operators are not built for large, specialist, long-duration pre-site storage.
We are.
Related Services
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