Business South June 2021

54 | Boxman Group INDUSTRY Container warehouse an industry leader T Richard Loader Proud to support Boxman Group Proudly supporting Boxman Alpha Phone: 03 983 5500 waterfordpress.co.nz Your Business, Your Industry, Your News. DO OUR READERS KNOW YOU EXIST? Boxman Group’s new warehouse has capacity to store a total of 2800 6-metre and 3-metre shipping containers, stacked five high. B uilt upon a tradition of innovation, Boxman Group’s recently constructed self-storage container warehouse in Christchurch International Airport’s Dakota Park delivers a level of end user control that is a world first for the industry. Using proprietary Boxman software, the warehouse offers end-users the world’s first fully automated container stacking system. “We’re considered innovators within the in- dustry and this warehouse is the next level in that innovation,” says Mat Charles, Boxman’s founder and Managing Director. “The software is almost at AI level with the capability to stack containers 100mm apart, which is very unu- sual. For us, it’s about maximum utilisation of density within the facility.” Stretching 200 metres in length, the equiv- alent of two rugby fields, and 25 metres high, Boxman Group’s new self-storage warehouse boasts capacity to store a total of 2800 6-me- tre and 3-metre shipping containers, stacked five high. A ‘dark warehouse’, absent of humans within, the client has full control of the storage process through an App on their phone or tablet. “The whole process is controlled by the client. The client’s use of the App feeds into the crane systems operating within the giant warehouse. Essentially the client books the time-slot they would like to access their unit and at that time-slot the container is made available to them behind a designated roller door.” Mat says part of the software’s artificial intelligence allows frequently accessed units to be stacked towards the top and the front, while less frequently accessed units are staked towards the rear. As well as introducing a high level of auto- mation and end-user convenience, Boxman’s new Dakota Park facility delivers substantial storage capacity that is in high demand but short supply. “We’re operating our traditional business of selling and leasing containers and contain- er modifications from the facility in Dakota Park, but from a public view perspective the warehouse is the dominant feature of the business. “We plan to set up around eight of these highly automated warehouses around the country on different scales, depending in the location. For example, the Auckland ware- house will be a little larger. We have certain clients who would prefer a national network they can tap into.” While 80% of Boxman’s self-storage clients are currently private customers storing household items, Mat expects the new highly automated warehouses to have significant appeal to business-to-business clients. “Our main goal is the business-to-business market with stock that has a long turn-time and easily managed within containers, or small importer/distributors looking to expand their businesses but don’t have the capital to build or upscale their own premises. We can provide the overflow facility for them. While the big 3PL logistic companies business model works on quick turnaround they also have slow-turn clients and we’re also looking to work with them to provide storage space for their slow-turn clients, freeing up their own valuable warehouse space.” Currently operating in Auckland, Wellington Nelson and Christchurch with smaller satellite operations in Blenheim and Napier, Boxman prides itself on providing customers with the ‘Boxman Experience’. “That’s about finding the right solution for the client as opposed to selling something off the shelf. We’re not just order takers and do our best to be proactive with our clients.”