Ryan FowlerApril’s rise in the minimum wage and employer National Insurance contributions is intensifying financial pressure on UK manufacturers, contract packers and logistics firms, prompting many to accelerate their digital transformation efforts.
According to Nulogy, a specialist provider of software for external manufacturing and co-packing operations, interest in its digital platforms has surged in recent weeks as companies seek to mitigate rising employment costs through efficiency gains.
“Certainly, there are some headwinds for all employers at the moment,” said Michael Briggs, managing director of Marsden Packaging. “Those that trade on very tight margins are going to struggle if they can’t recover the extra cost through price increases or efficiency gains via automation or digitalisation. With Nulogy’s software for contract packing operations, we had a good year last year, and I am forecasting, despite the cost increases, another one this year.”
With many unable to pass on higher labour costs through pricing, the focus has shifted to better workflow visibility, tighter labour planning and data-driven performance improvements. Tools such as Nulogy’s Shop Floor and Smart Factory platforms are being used to monitor manual production and machine-based operations in real time, enabling faster identification of bottlenecks and more accurate resource allocation.
Ian Wright, managing director at Prism eLogistics, said: “Labour cost increases hit logistics and fulfilment operations in a particularly hard way because they impact many points in the process, from goods receiving to packing and dispatch. With wage and NI rises, we need to be more precise in how we plan and allocate our teams. Without greater visibility across the workflow, it’s easy for labour costs to creep up.”
Nulogy’s chief commercial officer for Europe, Josephine Coombe, added: “As the cost of employing people continues to rise, companies are looking for practical, data-driven ways to stay competitive without compromising on quality or service. The demand we’re seeing is a direct reflection of how urgent this need has become.”
The company said digitalisation is gaining ground among labour-intensive sectors, particularly those operating on tight margins, as a route to greater resilience and scalability amid an increasingly challenging cost environment.
This story was first published on The Haulier.
