Has automation enabled e-commerce growth, or has e-commerce growth enabled further automation in the warehouse? It’s an unanswerable question, as one factor indelibly impacts the performance of the other. Michelle Mooney investigates.
What has changed is the retail landscape that automation is feeding. E-commerce has accelerated by five years in the past five months, according to John Lewis – which is pushing £1 billion of investment into its operations in order to generate 70% of its revenues online.
Eddy de Jong, supply chain consultant at Logistics UK, says: “Covid-19 is now part of the operational landscape, and the emphasis is changing to managing the Christmas peak, Brexit, and longer-term capacity planning.”
I had to tell my pregnant wife and daughters I won t be home : Thousands of lorry drivers stranded in Kent face Christmas heartbreak as testing stops overnight - amid clashes with police and fears of food shortages
Truckers try to force their way past police guarding Port of Dover as hundreds leave cabs and walk along road
Jeering and whistling with some shouting: Open the border , We just want to go home and F you, Boris!
France announced travel ban on all traffic from UK on Sunday night after emergence of new Covid-19 strain
Decision meant Port of Dover was dramatically closed to all freight vehicles leaving the UK for next 48 hours
More areas of England could be put into Tier 4 from Boxing Day while a mass testing programme was due to get under way to alleviate congestion at the border between France and the UK.
Reports suggested ministers would meet on Wednesday to decide whether more parts of the country would be put under the toughest restrictions amid fears over the spread of a new mutant strain of coronavirus.
It came as France lifted its travel ban and allowed journeys from the UK to resume, but said those seeking to travel must have a negative coronavirus test result.
The Daily Telegraph reported local leaders and health officials in Birmingham met on Tuesday night to discuss the possibility of the city being moved into Tier 4, while areas in lower tiers could be moved up to Tier 3.
UK heads for January lockdown with stricter measures expected after Christmas thenationalnews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thenationalnews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Covid-19: Truckers who tested negative board ferries for France
Published
media captionSome drivers complained about unsanitary conditions and a lack of food
Lorry drivers who have tested negative for coronavirus have begun boarding ferries at the port of Dover after France reopened its border with the UK.
Some 3,800 lorries have been parked up in Kent after France closed its UK border on Sunday amid concern over a fast-spreading variant of the virus.
France ended its ban on UK arrivals on Wednesday, on the condition that people were tested before travelling.
Earlier, police clashed with drivers who have spent days in their cabs.