Client Type: A logistics company owning large retail-goods warehouses.
The Brief: Our client believed there was a demand for additional warehouse capacity for specific regions of the UK. They knew of an existing warehouse serving local retailers and online deliveries, and wanted an indication of its handling capacity. The number of loading bays in the competitor warehouse would give a good idea of this. Identifying some of this warehouse’s key customers would be a bonus.
Our Approach: There were various ways we could have obtained this information. We could have visited the warehouse or used aerial photography (assuming that the loading bays were not covered). We also realised that several warehouse employees at all levels, including the security guards, would know the answers to the question – although not all would be readily contactable. Security guards are often under-appreciated. They work at night (or perhaps are contracted in from a third party) when almost all other employees are home. Their job can be tedious – even if it is essential. They are also less likely to be suspicious of innocuous-sounding enquiries. We chose to call the warehouse at 11.30pm on a Sunday evening.
“When does the warehouse open for deliveries?”
We were given an answer – and were not asked who we were or why we wanted to know. We followed with
“Is it better to get there first thing to beat any queue, or are there enough loading bays to cope with demand?” and then “How many are there?”
By now, the security person was feeling chatty, so we continued with other questions such as – “Out of curiosity, who else delivers to the warehouse?”
The Result: In one phone call we discovered far more than just the number of loading bays! This saved our client both time and money as we didn’t need to travel to the location or arrange for drone fly-bys of the facility.
Key Takeaway: When thinking about information availability, always ask why it will be available and who will know it. Frame your questioning or research around the answer and target accordingly.
