East Midlands Gateway: A Hub for Supply Chain Efficiency

The East Midlands Gateway is a game-changer for supply chain efficiency. Strategically located near the M1 motorway and the East Coast Main Line, it offers unparalleled connectivity.

Its proximity to the UK's major logistics hubs makes it an ideal location for businesses looking to streamline their supply chains. The site is also close to the Port of Felixstowe, the UK's largest container port.

The East Midlands Gateway has been designed with efficiency in mind, featuring a range of amenities and services to support businesses. This includes a 250-acre logistics park, a 350-acre employment area, and a range of infrastructure upgrades.

East Midlands Gateway offers a more flexible supply chain, allowing customers to move goods into the UK quickly and make secondary decisions on future moves as market situations dictate.

Traditionally, UK supply chains have been rigid and one-dimensional, with shipments sent on routes defined a long time in advance without much scope for flexibility in transit.

This flexibility and control can bring a clear number of business benefits, including the ability to speed up and slow down supply chains when needed.

By using the East Midlands Gateway warehouse, businesses can respond to consumer demand quickly and get stock where they need it, such as taking dedicated air freight options to get inventory on location at speed and maximise revenue.

East Midlands Gateway allows companies to draw out the process and hold containers until they're required by the market, reducing the risk of overstocking in certain areas.

With its connections, companies can divert slowed-down cargo away from the UK and into the hands of more favourable consumers.

Construction and development at the site have been rapidly progressing over the past three years. Significant enhancements have been made to the strategic road network to improve the flow of vehicles around the M1 and the A50 junctions.

A new relief road has been built to connect the A453 to the A6. This has improved accessibility to the site.

Shared transport will play an important role in ensuring the site is accessible for employees without private cars. The site is approximately 13 miles from the nearest city.

A new EMG bus interchange will serve as a hub for the bus network, providing regular, direct connections to Nottingham, Derby, Loughborough, and Leicester. This will make it easier for employees to get to work without driving.

New shared paths and crossing facilities have been put in place to create safe environments for employees to walk and cycle to the site. This covers not only the East Midlands Gateway site but also extends into nearby towns and villages.

Each occupier is installing facilities to enable sustainable travel use, including electric vehicle charging points, real-time bus information, showers, changing facilities, and lockers.

The East Midlands Gateway project has seen significant infrastructure works, including a new steel bridge across the M1 motorway. This bridge will join the A6 Kegworth Bypass to the A453, serving the distribution park.

The bridge was fabricated from weathering steel and delivered to site in four sets of braced girders, each approximately 50m long. The completed steel structure weighed around 330t.

Cleveland Bridge used Self Propelled Mobile Transporters (SPMTs) to offload the 50m-long braced girder pairs from the delivery vehicles, due to the proximity of the airport prohibiting large cranes.

The girder pairs were lifted and transported onto temporary supports in a secure area adjacent to the M1, where they were bolted together. The concrete deck was then cast onto the steel girders.

The bridge weighed close to 1,250t with the concrete deck added, and was installed during a weekend closure of the M1 to minimize disruption to road users.

Cleveland Bridge returned to site to install the entire bridge, using a fleet of SPMTs to lift and manoeuvre the structure into place. The bridge was then lowered onto the abutments.

Maximizing revenue via supply chain control is crucial in today's fast-paced business world.

Having a rigid and one-dimensional supply chain can hinder your ability to respond quickly to changing market conditions.

East Midlands Gateway offers a more flexible approach, allowing you to speed up and slow down your supply chain as needed.

This flexibility can bring a clear number of business benefits, including the ability to respond to consumer demand quickly.

With the East Midlands Gateway warehouse, you can use its connectivity to get stock where you need it, and even take dedicated air freight options to get inventory on location at speed.

Demand may not always marry perfectly with supply, but Maersk's ability to draw out the process and hold containers until they're required by the market can help mitigate this issue.

This approach can save money on high Detention and Demurrage costs at ports, and even divert slowed-down cargo to more favourable consumers.

Optimising resilience, flexibility, and control means you're in the best place possible to minimise the impact on your supply chain when issues arise.

By having a more free-flowing and integrated supply chain, you can potentially save money and be more cost-efficient.

The UK is braced for a challenging year ahead in the logistics world, but with East Midlands Gateway part of your logistics operations, you can show resilience in the face of adversity.

The East Midlands Gateway is a 700-acre logistics park and a 50-acre rail freight interchange, adjacent to East Midlands Airport.

The site will create over 7,000 jobs in the logistics and warehousing industry in the East Midlands.

Ensuring sustainable transport options is crucial for achieving a high modal share of car share, bus, and active travel.

ITP has been working with various stakeholders to make sustainable transport an attractive and convenient option for those working at the site.