Inside Wincanton: Royal Holloway MSc Logistics & Supply Chain Students visit the Wincanton Innovation Centre in Corby
As part of industry engagement module, Postgraduate students on the MSc Logistics and Supply Chain Management recently had the opportunity to see theory put into action, during a visit to the Wincanton Innovation Centre in Corby. Touring the facility, they were able to interact with current employees and gain insight into how Wincanton uses research and innovation alongside cutting-edge technology to increase productivity and drive sustainable business success.
Wincanton is a British logistics and supply chain management company working primarily in the UK and Ireland with an annual revenue of £1.4bn. It offers warehousing, transportation and distribution solutions to customers, working across industries from retail to manufacturing, construction to defence. The company can also provide customised solutions services, including across fulfilment for e-commerce and supply chain optimisation. The company has worked with many high-profile recognisable businesses including Ikea, Primark, Tata Chemicals Ltd, Asda, Segen and BAE Systems.
As part of their visit the students were shown around the warehouse, witnessing how advanced technology has been incorporated into the business’ operations to improve productivity, as well as conditions and safety for workers. Some of the standout technology they saw during the visit included:
- Interactive Chatbot: An interactive conversational chatbot that assists customers in locating products on supermarket shelves, which is currently in beta testing.
- Robotic Arm: The purpose of this is to twist tins to ensure that product labels always face forwards, thereby saving significant time in supermarkets.
- Autonomous mobile robots: a mobile robot that can move between locations by itself, collecting items from different staff members and delivering elsewhere to fulfil orders.
- Wearable technology: Devices worn by Warehouse staff that monitor the posture of staff, alerting them when an incorrect posture needs adjusting to enable safe lifting.
- Telematics and predictive AI: A tool that enables the company to track trucks in real-time, incorporating AI tools into the process to be able to respond rapidly to changing customer requirements.
- Wearable pick scanners: Product scanners that have been designed to be worn by their employees when working in the warehouse which help to reduce the number of wrist injuries.
- Digital Twins: A tool that allows decision makers to simulate changes in capacity and stress test their systems.
Students were also shown Wincanton’s ‘real-time performance dashboard’ which allows them to monitor and immediately respond to operational deviations. However, throughout the visit what shone through was the human-centric approach Wincanton takes while incorporating all this advanced technology. Their commitment to building great teams allows them to effectively handle the diverse and complex needs of multiple customers.
Dr Lakshminarasimhan Vedanthachari (Chari), who is a Lecturer in Operations Management and teaches on the course, said of the visit: "It was thrilling to witness warehouse automation in action! We observed a seamless process where two totes arrived simultaneously – the red tote carrying the stock and blue tote for dispatch. A warehouse colleague swiftly transferred the item after checking against the order quantity, supported by multiple scanners ensuring error-free processing. Additionally, when a red tote becomes empty, the system prompts the operative to verify it, enhancing inventory accuracy. The sheer scale of their operations, managing hundreds of thousands of SKUs across numerous storage locations, was truly impressive."
Thanks go to everyone at Wincanton for welcoming and enthusiastically sharing information and expertise with our Postgraduate students, who have really felt the benefit of seeing the practical application of the knowledge they are gaining in our classrooms.
