UK Warehousing and 3PL Logistics

Storage is rarely the reason a business goes looking for a warehouse. The real reason is usually that goods are arriving faster than they can be sold, or a customer wants delivery in small drops rather than a full container, or a shipment has landed and there is nowhere to put it for six weeks. Nostrac Shipping handles UK warehousing and third party logistics as an extension of the freight, so the container that arrives on Tuesday is stripped, counted, put away and reportable by Wednesday, and the stock stays visible for as long as you hold it.

What Our Warehousing Covers

We take goods from the quay or the vehicle and manage them through to onward delivery:

• Container devanning — Unloading FCL and LCL containers on arrival, with a piece count and condition check against the packing list, and photographs of anything that looks wrong before it goes into stock.
• Palletised and loose storage — Racked pallet locations for regular stock and floor storage for oversized, loose or awkward consignments that will not sit on a standard pallet.
• Customs bonded and warehousing regimes — Storage of non UK goods under a customs warehousing authorisation, so duty and import VAT are suspended until the goods are released to free circulation or re-exported.
• Cross docking — Goods received, sorted and reloaded for outbound movement without going into long term storage, for volumes that are already committed to a customer.
• Pick, pack and order fulfilment — Order picking, repacking, labelling, palletising and shrink wrapping to a specification that suits your customer's goods in process.
• Stock reporting — Regular stock reports by product line, batch and location, so your figures and ours agree before a shortage becomes an argument.
• Onward distribution — Full load, part load and pallet network delivery across the UK, and groupage or full trailer movements into Europe.

Why Importers Move Storage to a Logistics Partner

The arithmetic tends to be the deciding factor rather than the service level:

• Container demurrage and detention stop — Once a container is stripped and the box is returned, the shipping line clock stops. Holding stock in a warehouse is almost always cheaper per week than holding it in a container, and a container that sits at a terminal accrues both terminal storage and line detention.
• Fixed cost becomes variable cost — A leased unit is a five year commitment sized for your busiest month. Third party space is charged on what you occupy, which suits seasonal ranges, launch stock and businesses whose volumes are still moving.
• Duty is deferred, not avoided but delayed — Under a customs warehousing arrangement, duty and import VAT become payable when goods leave the warehouse for the UK market rather than when they arrive. For slow moving or re-exported stock that is a real cash flow difference.
• Small drops become possible — Retail and trade customers increasingly want two pallets a week, not a container once a quarter. Breaking bulk close to the customer is how that is served without paying for repeated long distance part loads.
• Labour flexes with the season — Handling peaks are covered by the warehouse operation rather than by hiring, training and then carrying staff through a quiet quarter.

Where Warehousing Arrangements Go Wrong

Most disputes we are asked to unpick come from the same small set of causes:

• Nobody agreed the receiving standard — If the piece count on arrival is not checked against the packing list and recorded, a later shortage cannot be traced to the supplier, the line or the warehouse. Count on receipt and the argument never starts.
• Pallet configuration was never defined — Goods that arrive floor loaded have to be palletised before they can be racked, and that is chargeable handling. Agreeing pallet build and height with the supplier at origin removes a cost that otherwise appears every shipment.
• Stock rotation was assumed rather than specified — First in first out does not happen unless the system enforces it. For dated or batch controlled goods, rotation has to be a written requirement, not a preference.
• Insurance cover was assumed — Warehouse liability is not the same as insurance of the goods at their value. Cover for the stock itself is normally the owner's responsibility, and the sums involved deserve a look before the first container lands.
• Customs status was mixed — Goods under duty suspension and goods in free circulation cannot be managed casually in the same stock record. The authorisation depends on the records being clean.

Sectors We Store For

• Food and drink importers needing ambient storage, batch traceability and short lead time drops to distributors
• Construction and building products, including long lengths and heavy palletised goods that need floor space rather than racking
• Steel, metals and industrial components arriving in bundles, crates and coils
• Automotive and machinery parts requiring secure storage and accurate pick accuracy on small line items
• Retail and consumer goods stock arriving ahead of a season and released against orders
• Project equipment held between arrival and a site date that has not been confirmed

How We Work

• One provider from quay to shelf — When the same team clears the goods, moves the container and receives the stock, there is nobody to blame and nobody to chase. Discrepancies are found at devanning, not three weeks later.
• Costs quoted as they will be invoiced — Handling in, storage per pallet per week, handling out and any value added work, set out separately so you can model the cost per unit sold rather than reading a single rate.
• Reporting you can reconcile — Stock reports by line and location on an agreed frequency, and a straight answer when the numbers do not match rather than a recount weeks later.
• Capacity confirmed before you commit — We tell you what space is genuinely available for your volumes and dates before you place the purchase order, not after the vessel sails.

Related Services

• Import and export declarations, duty deferment and special procedures through our UK customs clearance and brokerage team
• Container movements on FCL sea freight and consolidated LCL sea freight
• Temperature controlled handling and storage for food and drink logistics
• Additional handling, repacking and labelling under value added services

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a customs bonded warehouse and would it help my business?

A customs warehouse is a facility authorised by HMRC to store goods that have not been released into free circulation, which means customs duty and import VAT are suspended while the goods remain there. It helps most when stock turns slowly, when a proportion of it will be re-exported rather than sold in the UK, or when duty rates are high enough that the cash flow benefit is meaningful. It adds record keeping obligations, so it is worth the extra discipline only where the numbers support it.

How is warehousing charged?

Normally in three parts. A handling in charge for receiving and putting away, a storage charge per pallet or per square metre per week or month, and a handling out charge for picking and loading. Value added work such as labelling, repacking or palletising loose cargo is quoted separately. We set these out individually so you can see the true landed and stored cost per unit.

Can you devan my container and store the contents?

Yes, and this is the most common way we start with an importer. We collect the container from the port, strip it at the warehouse, check the count and condition against the packing list, put the goods into stock and return the empty box to the line so demurrage and detention stop. You get a receiving report the same day.

Do you handle pick and pack for online or trade orders?

We do. Orders are picked to your specification, packed, labelled and despatched, with the packing standard and carrier arrangement agreed in advance. What matters is defining pick accuracy expectations and cut off times up front, because those two things determine how the operation is staffed.

How quickly can stock be released for delivery?

For stock already received and in a known location, same day or next day release is normal when the instruction arrives before the daily cut off. Where a customs release is needed first, the timing depends on the declaration and any duty payment rather than the warehouse.

Is my stock insured while it is with you?

Warehouse liability and insurance of the goods at full value are two different things, and the distinction catches people out. Cover for the goods themselves is normally arranged by the owner of the stock. We will tell you plainly what our liability covers so you can insure the gap rather than discover it after a loss.

Can you hold stock and deliver small drops to my customers?

Yes. Breaking a container into pallet or part load drops is one of the main reasons importers use third party space. We can deliver on a pallet network for one to six pallet consignments and on dedicated vehicles where volumes or timings justify it.

Do you offer storage outside the UK?

We arrange storage and handling in the United Arab Emirates and Kazakhstan alongside our UK operations, which suits traders holding stock closer to a regional customer base or consolidating before onward movement.

Talk to Nostrac about your requirements and we will tell you what is realistic before you commit to it.

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