{"id":3075,"date":"2021-04-23T15:35:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-23T14:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.international-logistics-group.com\/uk-en\/?p=3075"},"modified":"2026-01-12T17:42:52","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T17:42:52","slug":"brexit-and-the-road-to-poland-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.international-logistics-group.com\/uk-en\/insights\/brexit-and-the-road-to-poland-part-2-3075\/","title":{"rendered":"Brexit and the Road to Poland – Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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ILG Author Danny Ellard<\/a>Danny Ellard<\/a><\/span>23 Apr 2021<\/span><\/p>\n

Brexit and the Road to Poland – Part 2<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The twists and turns involved in establishing a warehouse within the EU.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Part 2 – Setting up shop<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our decision to open a warehouse in Wroclaw, Poland, was signed off in September 2020 and I was assigned to manage the project the following month. Up to this point, my main role as Project Manager for ILG had been overseeing the smooth opening of new accounts. Poland, I quickly learned, would be like doing all that over an assault course.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Unfamiliar hazards and obstacles cropped up frequently, not least the Covid-19 pandemic, which prevented me from visiting the site. Fortunately I had the support of Yusen Projects and Solutions in Poland, whose presence and experience on the ground was invaluable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learning the hard way<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Work began in earnest in December. We had a 5,400m2 (58,000sq.ft) warehouse to design, including racking, office layout and a mezzanine, which would prove a major learning experience all of its own. We discovered that Polish regulations require the installation of a sprinkler system, which would not have been a requirement in the UK, so we had to rethink our initial design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We had to wait nearly six weeks to get new drawings done but in the end we came up with a solution that made the sprinkler system much easier to configure while remaining fully compliant with all Polish regulatory guidance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This sort of discrepancy was a common feature of the project. Everything from forklift licenses to locker room layouts presented new rules to learn and work with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pause and restart<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The project had to pause for three or four weeks over Christmas and New Year as we all waited for details of the Brexit deal. By the second week of January, however, the picture had become clear and we were seeing a wave of client interest. My attention turned to matters like access control, the data and power layout, CCTV installation and completing the fit out and finish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new warehouse management system (WMS) gave me plenty to think about. Our IT support team wanted to send their choice of kit but the Polish team wanted to source something locally. We ended up agreeing that the majority will be sourced and installed locally, so it\u2019s easier to fix. It\u2019s up to our clients how they split stock but all they need is an EU web store and we\u2019ll be able to tap that into our WMS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By March we were picking up with the clients that Cliff Allen, our Head of Client Relationships, had brought on board. We began to work with them on decisions like how they planned to split orders and the documentation they needed. At the same time, preparing the warehouse had moved on to day-to-day concerns like cleaners, security, pest control and waste management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The final push<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

April is when I\u2019ll see light at the end of the tunnel. I\u2019ll be able to visit the site and start plotting where each account goes. The racking will be in, the data and power install will be complete and the office block and canteen will be built.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have nine Polish staff, seconded from our UK workforce (a real asset \u2013 no work permits required!), going out to get everything ready for the opening on May 3rd. They\u2019ll be assembling picking trolleys, labelling shelf locations and tote bins (8,500 in all) and taking delivery of all the packaging and consumables, carefully sourced to make sure they\u2019re consistent with the UK packaging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Come August I\u2019ll be able to breathe more freely. The team will have found their feet, there\u2019ll be a good volume of orders going out, we\u2019ll have a new WMS system up and running and the warehouse will be filling towards capacity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For our clients, the EU market will be viable again and they\u2019ll be able to focus on maximising their European sales. It\u2019s been a unique experience for me personally and I have had some steep hills to climb, but our hope is that investing the time of a collective team of eight people for the last six months will mean a much easier transition for our clients, and now we\u2019ve got here, there\u2019s no looking back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thinking of moving stock to the EU? We\u2019re ready to help you. Call ILG on 0844 264 8000<\/strong> or or submit a contact form.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Contact Us<\/h3>\n\n\n