Consolidation promises efficiencies for healthcare provider

THE 280,000 sq ft development is the European provider’s UK flagship warehouse and Jungheinrich has fitted out the facility with 76 runs of racking and 55 pieces of MHE.

Mediq UK is the result of unification by acquisition of H&R Healthcare, Bunzl Healthcare and 365 Healthcare. Formerly operating from several sites around the UK, the new 280,000 sq ft site has enabled Mediq UK to centralise its medical healthcare distribution supply with smaller distribution sites remaining as regional transport hubs.

Before the distribution centre could launch, it needed the racking and MHE to operate efficiently. The company launched a tendering exercise. 

Mediq UK head of continuous improvement & optimisation Patrick O’Rourke, says: “We chose Jungheinrich because it was effectively a one-stop shop. There were a lot of component parts in terms of what we were trying to achieve. We had the racking, the MHE, the charging area for the new lithium-ion trucks, and the rack labelling. Working with Jungheinrich gave us the opportunity to bring all of that under one umbrella.”

The 76 runs of 60m x 15m racking are in a combination of wide and very narrow aisle (VNA) systems. To service the facility across three shifts, Mediq UK ordered 55 pieces of MHE, comprising eight reach trucks; two VNA trucks; four counterbalance trucks; four powered pallet trucks; 25 low-level order pickers; 10 medium-level order pickers; and two high-level order pickers.

To support Mediq’s drive towards sustainability, each piece of equipment is lithium-ion powered, requiring Jungheinrich’s installation of a 50-bay charging facility. 

Carl Hayes, national operations manager at Mediq UK, was impressed by the fleet management system, which is helping to protect his operators while also protecting costs: “Pre-op checks are unique to each user, ensuring each individual can only operate the equipment they’ve been trained on. 

“All the data is in the cloud and I can access that via a portal which means I can ensure everyone is doing their pre-op checks properly. Shock detection tells me if someone’s hit a bit of racking. Having run MHE fleets for years, the cost of damage can be phenomenal so knowing who’s doing what and when allows us to put plans in place to mitigate damage and prevent it occurring. It’s a real cost driver for us.”

For Patrick, the pace of the project was the most challenging aspect. “These were very, very tight timescales,” he said. “We went out to the market for tender in August-October 2023. Final discussions took place around October/November 2023 and the racking landed in February 2024, so just 12 weeks after we signed the contract. The Jungheinrich team were really responsive and had the agility to be able to deliver in the timeframes we wanted.”

Carl added: “Jungheinrich has good people. They’ve helped make it easy to get the project over the line because all those little things that as an ops manager I’m aware of but don’t really want to think about, they take all that away from me.

“It’s the team that makes it all happen. With the right plan and the right team around you — your in-house team and your partners — you can be confident in what you’re doing. Jungheinrich is an important part of that team. They deliver on their promises.”

For more information, visit www.jungheinrich.co.uk