Scunthorpe distribution centre goes virtual
Limitations caused by lockdown across the country this year has led to Nisa’s logistics team coming up with creative solutions to ensure business can continue unhindered.
With suppliers and colleagues from partner organisations always keen to better understand how the distribution centres operate, the demand for on-site visits is constant and has not dwindled despite the pandemic.
In response the team has come up with an answer that keeps everyone safe while also saving time, money and energy.
A virtual tour of Nisa’s Scunthorpe warehouse has now been created which brings to life the experience at the vast distribution centre which is the size of eight football pitches and has a perimeter measuring three-quarters of a mile.
Kevin Mackrill, Nisa’s logistics operations manager, explained it was vital to come up with a risk-free solution that allowed for visits to be conducted whilst still considering the health and safety of individuals and adhering to Covid-19 restrictions.
“The pandemic is a long-term issue and we quickly realised we were not able to simply put to one side some of the usual offers we make to other businesses, suppliers and partners,” he said.
“As part of ongoing work looking at how we can optimise our warehouse it was important that we were still able to show off the site and so we have brought to life the Scunthorpe Distribution Centre experience through a virtual platform.”
Making use of existing footage and combining it with new material recorded by DHL colleagues wearing GoPro cameras as they did a walkthrough of a warehouse tour, Nisa can now offer a full virtual tour of the site without the need for anyone to leave their desks.
“We have footage showing everything from how orders are picked to tours of every area of the site, our track and trace operation, health and safety measures – it is all there on the screen to see,” added Kevin.
The virtual tour has been used successfully several times over recent months and has received positive feedback with plans now afoot to replicate it at other distribution centres in the network.