Store loading benefits from special lift
October 1st 2010 Transdek will launch a range of
products at IMHX 2010 aimed
at revolutionising the design
and build of retail sites. Transdek
claims the V2G double deck lift has
the potential to save up to £250k on
cost and 2 weeks of store build time
with more efficient use of plots.
At the back-of-store area, a
common industry norm is to dig
ramps down to loading bays so that
goods can be transferred on a single
level from vehicles to warehouse, thus
speeding up the unloading process
and optimising vehicle turnaround
times. However, according to
Transdek MD Mark Adams, this is
based on a misconception.
"The discharge of goods vehicles
at stores operates differently to
distribution hubs," he says. "Because
of the time needed to separate and
marshal various product types before
they are moved in to the store, it
typically takes over an hour to unload
a full vehicle at retail outlets. An
efficient hydraulic lifting platform can
comfortably equal these tip times and
makes the requirement for vehicle
ramps, or raised docks, obsolete."
This has significant implications
for the design of back-of-store areas
in terms of the cost and time of build,
according to Transdek. The cost of
digging each vehicle ramp is
estimated to be between £130k and
£250k. But more notable are the
potential savings from reducing the
overall size of the build. "A vehicle
ramp is typically 15m longer than
the manoeuvring space required for
goods vehicles would otherwise be.
This is dead space, without which, an
equivalent plot area can be used with
much more flexibility," adds Adams.
A number of major retailers have
already shown interest in the new
product, including Tesco and Boots.
At one site, for example, where
Transdek has already been invited to
carry out a survey for the V2G
equipment, the area saved by
avoiding ramps meant the difference
between being able to operate
dot.com from the site or not. At
another new-build site, the absence of
ramps would provide the same
customer with an additional 8000sq ft
of store selling space – a 16% increase
over the original design layout.
Unlike other systems designed for
loading goods from vehicles to the
ground, the V2G range is surfacemounted
and comes as a drop-in,
self-contained pod unit which can be
installed and operational within a
day. All comparable products on the
market have to be dug in to pits, says
the company, which increases
installation costs as well as
introducing complications with
drainage and oil leaks.
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