Case study · Logistics
Confidential 3PL operator
Distribution centre signage rollout
New-build 350,000 sq ft distribution centre near East Midlands Airport. Full racking load notices, pedestrian segregation, forklift safety, and goods-in/out signage delivered as a single package.
1,400+
Signs delivered
4 weeks
Quote to handover
420
Bay-specific racking notices
0
Slip in customer go-live date
The challenge
A Tier 1 third-party logistics operator was opening a new distribution centre with a hard go-live date driven by a key customer launch. Signage was the last work-package on the schedule and needed to be specified, manufactured, delivered, and installed in a four-week window — across a building that was still being commissioned during the install. The operator wanted a single supplier responsible for the whole package rather than splitting between safety-sign vendor, racking-notice vendor, and dock vendor.
What we did
Single-package delivery covering BS EN ISO 7010 statutory signage, BS EN 15635 racking load notices (every bay individually specified to the rack engineer's drawings), pedestrian-walkway floor markings, forklift-zone hazard signs, dock and bay numbering, charging-bay and battery-room signage, fire safety, and external monolith. Phased manufacture and delivery aligned with the building commissioning schedule so signage arrived on site as each zone became accessible.
The customer is a Tier 1 third-party logistics operator opening a new 350,000 sq ft distribution centre near East Midlands Airport for a key UK retail client. Building commissioning, racking installation, and customer go-live were running on a tightly compressed schedule and signage was the last work-package — but with a hard go-live deadline driven by the retail client's peak season.
The brief
The operator had previously split signage across three suppliers (statutory safety, racking notices, dock numbering) and found the coordination overhead expensive. For this build they wanted one supplier responsible for the whole package, with the lead-time risk owned end-to-end. They needed: BS EN ISO 7010 statutory safety signage; BS EN 15635 bay-by-bay racking load notices; pedestrian/vehicle floor segregation; forklift-zone hazard signage; goods-in and goods-out dock numbering; battery-room and charging-bay signage; fire safety throughout; and an external monolith for site identification.
What we did
Site survey at week 1 of the project window with the rack engineer, the FLT operations manager, and the building services lead. Specification produced and approved within 5 days. Manufacture phased across weeks 2-3 to align with building commissioning so signage was on site as each zone became accessible. Install across week 4 by our team and the customer's site contractor.
The bay-specific racking notices were the highest-risk element: 420 bays, each with its own SWL, beam-level loading, and bay reference cross-referenced to the rack engineer's drawings. We built a verification spreadsheet against the rack engineer's schedule and reconciled before manufacture to eliminate the risk of bay/notice mismatches.
The result
Customer go-live hit on the original date. The operator now uses Direct Signs as their preferred supplier for new-site rollouts, with a framework specification that compresses future builds further.
"We'd done splits before with three suppliers. The coordination cost was eating the budget benefit. One supplier, one programme, one accountability — that worked."
Project Director
UK 3PL operator (confidential)
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