1The Challenge
A major UK fashion retailer's distribution centre needed to rapidly increase its hanging garment processing capacity by 40% in the 8 weeks before Christmas peak, using space that was occupied by a flatpack furniture dispatch operation during the rest of the year. The challenge was creating a genuine physical boundary between the two operations during the transition period — a simple rope or tape barrier was unacceptable from a stock loss and audit perspective.
2Our Solution
Mercia Industrial designed and installed a RapidSlider retractable wall system on a 40-metre overhead track running the full width of the building at the boundary between the two operational zones. The system is manually operated and can be fully opened or closed by a single operator in under 2 minutes. During Christmas peak, the wall is closed to give the garment operation a secure, clearly bounded zone. In January and February, when garment volumes drop, the wall opens to allow the flatpack operation to expand back into the full space.
3The Outcome
The retractable wall system has been in operation for 3 Christmas peaks. The garment operation achieved its 40% capacity uplift in the first year, with the physical boundary satisfying the internal audit team's requirements. The January transition from Christmas configuration back to standard layout — which previously required a full day of team effort with temporary barriers — now takes under 10 minutes with a single operator opening the wall.
“Three peaks in and this system continues to be one of the best investments we've made in this DC. The January transition that used to take a day now takes 10 minutes. It sounds simple but the operational value is genuinely significant.”
— DC General Manager, Major UK Fashion Retailer, Milton Keynes
- Client
- Major UK Fashion Retailer
- Location
- Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire
- Industry
- Retail Distribution
- Product
- RapidSlider