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OPERATORS INSIDE Dawsongroup ................................................ p3 Denby Transport ............................................ p3 DHL Supply Chain .......................................... p8 Hexagon Leasing ........................................... p6 Palletways...................................................p10 Pall-Ex.......................................................... p4 Prestons of Potto........................................... p4 Rase Distribution..........................................p12 Reason Transport UK ....................................p10 WH Malcolm ................................................. p3 Wincanton .................................................... p8
S-WAY to get a virtual UK launch Iveco is set to give its right-handdrive S-WAY a virtual launch on Wednesday (25 November), some 18 months after the Stralis replacement was first unveiled. Two online reveals will take place at 11am and 3pm focusing on the new vehicle’s aerodynamic performance, technology, connectivity and cab interior. The event will also include a live Q&A session with Iveco representatives. Operators can submit questions in advance (email: support@ivecoeventsteam.com), head to the events pages or ask them during the launch. To view the event, which will be broadcast from the UK HQ in Basildon, Essex, go to https:// na.eventscloud.com/ website/18023/.
Couriers key to ‘massive’ temperature-controlled logistics operation
‘Militarised’ distribution plan for virus vaccine By Chris Tindall
The “massive challenge” of distributing millions of Covid-19 vaccines in the UK and across the world will largely rely on courier firms like UPS, DHL and FedEx, according to logistics experts. Following an announcement by Pfizer and BioNTech that their vaccine has become the first to clear interim clinical trials, courier giants are now mobilising their assets to fulfil one of the largest logistics operations in history. However, there remain immense challenges in delivering the medicine, which must be kept at ultra-low temperatures, with supply chain experts questioning how it can be achieved at the necessary scale and speed. Francesco Incalza, president at Thermo King Europe, Middle East and Africa, said: “Imagine devising a logistics plan to deliver 15 billion vaccines globally as fast as possible, not knowing where the manufacturing points will be and how cold the vaccine will need to be kept. These are some of the challenges for cold-chain vaccine distribution.” Thermo King said it is in “direct contact” with the refrigerated fleet owners of FedEx, UPS and DHL to respond to their capacity needs. “Our team, with our partners, has been engaged with pharmaceutical companies, 3PLs, transporters, policymakers and other industry leaders,” added Incalza. But according to Shane Brennan, chief executive of the Cold Chain Federation, the ambient temperature is not the biggest issue: “The vaccines will be loaded
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into containers, packed in with ice and kept at -70 degrees in those boxes,” he said. “They are building a massive courier operation, effectively bypassing the economies of scale of cold chain operations. More than the temperature variable in the logistics element is the management over the distance part of it.” Mach 2 Shipping, a Heathrowbased transporter for the pharmaceutical industry, questioned whether there were enough containers and dry ice to achieve vaccine distribution: “But packaging companies are adamant they can handle the extra demand,” said commercial director Andy Hughes. “Their modelling is based on the vaccine not all coming at once. At the moment, there’s a scramble to upscale the dry ice packaging solutions.” Hughes said distribution would need to be “militarised”, adding that the big courier firms have experience in this field: “If this is going to happen by the end of this year
and the start of next, then [Pfizer] will use FedEx, DHL and UPS. UPS has UPS Healthcare, DHL has DHL Life Sciences, and FedEx has a history of doing lab shipments.” A UPS spokesman said it was working “to deliver increased package volume as a result of the pandemic”.
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Court of Session rejects truck makers’ move to block price-fixing claim
Scottish cartel ruling to trigger UK action?
Haulage operators in Scotland now have until next summer to lodge a claim for damages in relation to a cartel among truck manufacturers, following a decision in the country’s Supreme Court. The Court of Session rejected an argument by Europe’s largest truck manufacturers that it was too late for companies to pursue compensation, after the European Commission found they had fixed the prices of trucks over a 14-year period between 1997 and 2011. The ruling is not binding in England, but legal experts said it could be adopted south of the border too. The Scottish case was brought by a group of local authorities, which suspected they might have a claim for damages as they had purchased trucks during the time
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By Chris Tindall
of the cartel’s operation. Volvo Group, Renault, MAN, Daimler, Iveco and DAF Trucks attempted to block the claim by arguing that a five-year limitation in Scotland had now passed, but this was rejected by Lord Tyre. Julia Dodds, director of litigation at London-based solicitors Fieldfisher, said the decision opens the door for other lorry operators to lodge a claim – in England as well as in Scotland. “What the Court of Session found is these kinds of cases only
start to run from when the decision is made: July 2016. So those claims can continue,” she said. “It’s not binding in England, but it is persuasive if it’s brought in court. “It’s not 100% certain, but the Scottish court was looking at issues relating to a European decision. An English court would hesitate before disagreeing.” Phil James, a partner at Weightmans LLP, which is backing a class action on behalf of the group UK Trucks Claim, said the Scottish ruling was only in relation to individual claims, not collective ones. “Limitation concerning individual claims brought in the English High Court is governed by the six-year period laid down in the Limitation Act,” he said. “The general view is that the Scottish decision is likely to be appealed.”
Malcolm warns on virus impact
Dawsongroup signs £15m grocery deal Dawsongroup Finance has won a leasing contract worth £15m to supply trucks and trailers to an undisclosed supermarket chain, allowing it to expand its delivery capacity over the Christmas period. The Ringwood-based company is looking to assist logistics and materials handling companies prepare for what commercial director Kevin Wills (pictured) expects to be an “unprecedented peak” in Christmas shopping by enabling them to temporarily expand their fleets. 23.11.20
WH Malcolm saw pre-tax profit rise by more than half last year but warned that the Covid-19 pandemic will have an adverse impact on the company’s performance this year, despite a strong performance from its logistics division in the food and drink sector during lockdown. Reporting its annual results to 31 January 2020, the Linwoodbased firm, which specialises in construction and logistics services, revealed a marginal rise in turno-
ver to £209.3m (2019: £206.1m). However pre-tax profit rose by over 58% in the period to £8.4m (2019: £5.3m).
MAN-SIZED: MAN’s new TGX has been crowned International Truck of the Year 2021. The German manufacturer’s flagship truck, which was launched earlier this year, fought off a strong challenge from the new Volvo FH to scoop the title.
DfT considers longer heavier vehicle trial The government is considering a trial of 25-metre double-artics on Britain’s roads as part of a wider multimodal transport strategy. The move follows the recent launch of a DfT consultation into the use of longer semi-trailers on the UK’s roads, following a successful seven-year trial which showed they delivered significant cuts to mileage and CO2 emissions. Results from the trial to date (2012-2019), show the 2,600 longer semi-trailers have cut mileage by 33.5 million miles and CO2 by 48,000 tonnes, which is equivalent to taking over 20,000 cars off the road. Denby Transport chairman Dick Denby recently met with DfT minister Baroness Vere (pictured) to argue the merits of the 25.25m 60-tonne B-double road train. Denby has been lobbying the government to trial the vehicle for over 20 years. In a letter to Denby following the meeting, Baroness Vere said: “I am willing to consider further proposals for the use of 25-metre combinations, but only if there is a good demonstration that there would be a significant demand for these vehicles.” She added that as part of the DfT’s work on developing a multimodal freight strategy for the UK “we may be able to consider whether further work on the viability of high capacity vehicles is warranted”. Denby is working with the RHA to garner industry support for a trial of the vehicle. MotorTransport 3
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Group returns to profit blaming last year’s loss on ‘unpredictable’ events
Pall-Ex rebounds after 2019 ‘blip’ Pall-Ex Group said last year’s pretax loss was “a momentary blip” and it has achieved a turnaround in 2020 with profits of over £2m. The group’s financial results for the year ended 31 July 2019 showed that although it increased revenues by 3%, it also reported a pre-tax loss of £1.8m. Kevin Buchanan, Pall-Ex Group chief executive, said: “We experienced an unpredictable period in 2019 due to a number of factors; we have seen uncertainty in the market due to Brexit and the political unrest at the time. “We also underwent the process of the sale of the business, which was a lengthy and complicated procedure that took the UK board away from our core operation. “While we have faced several challenges, it was a momentary blip within the business, the main contributing factor being the most profitable company within the group incurred a rare loss.
“Despite all the challenges the business has faced over the last two years the board of directors are very confident of our future success in 2021 and beyond.” Pall-Ex also reported a 20% increase in shareholder membership enquiries this year. October also saw the network move its 20 millionth domestic pallet through its central Ellistown hub.
n Volumes in UK pallet networks held up well in the third quarter, falling just 0.3% year on year, despite the impact of the viral pandemic. Latest f igures from the Association of Pallet Networks also showed that economy volumes were up 18% to the end of September and total volumes during the month increased by 16%.
Covid-19 killed off Cartwright Group, says administrator The profitability of the Cartwright Group was already on a “downward trajectory” before Covid-19, according to administrators. Deloitte said the closure, breakup and sell-off was precipitated by losses in its largest business, S Cartwright & Sons (Coachbuilders) (SCSC). During the three months ending June 2020, SCSC’s EBITDA made a pre-tax loss of £7.8m, partially offset by profit in Cartwright’s other group divisions. Covid-19 then resulted in the full closure of the group’s manufacturing facility for several weeks from March this year, which placed it under increasing pressure. The group collapsed in September and Deloitte said refinancing or a solvent sale of the business were not viable. “Interested parties declined the opportunity, citing the existing debt, potential inaccuracies with financial information, significant creditor arrears and lack of forecasts as key reasons,” it said. An interim probe identified “certain development costs that appear to have been incorrectly capitalised”, and unverified stock figures.
Trailer drought threatens peak season operations Trailer manufacturers and dealers are warning of a “trailer drought” in the UK ahead of the Black Friday and Christmas peaks, with prices for second-hand trailers reaching unprecedented levels. Industry experts say the shortage is driven by the recent demise of trailer manufacturer The Cartwright Group, ongoing Brexit uncertainty, the boom in internet shopping as a result of the pandemic and the temporary closure of trailer manufacturing facilities during the first lockdown. Paul Bratton, president of trailer manufacturer SDC Trailers, told MT: “There is a huge trailer shortage in the UK currently. “The loss of Cartwrights and increased demand due to many operators' reluctance to invest in their fleets over recent years because of Brexit has led to inflated prices in the used trailer market both at auction and dealer level and seen trailer manufacturers being full until the New Year and unable to feed the immediate demand.” He added: “Rental and leasing companies do not have the ‘spot rental’ trailers available and are at full utilisation with a clamour for trailers to service the traditional ‘peak’ in the run-up to the festive season. With Black Friday imminent it looks crazy, with most of the population on lockdown and clicking away on shopping sites.” 4 MotorTransport
British Steel collapse hits Prestons The collapse of British Steel stopped Prestons of Potto making a profit last year, but its owner said the Northallerton company was now back in the black. Its latest set of results, for the year ended 31 December 2019, showed that turnover at the haulage and warehousing company was £16.4m, down 1.4% from the year before. It also made a pre-tax loss of £97,000, although this was a significant improvement compared to
its loss of £427,000 in 2018. The company, which now employs its fourth generation of Prestons, said a £116,000 bad debt caused by British Steel entering liquidation in May 2019 pushed it into the red. It added: “Despite the challenges faced as a result of Covid-19, trading during 2020 shows continued improvement for the company and the directors expect the results for the year ended 31 December 2020 to show a profit.” 23.11.20
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Network Rail highlights delays with list of Britain’s most-bashed bridges
On top of the hit parade Network Rail has released a list of the most battered bridges in Britain in a bid to raise HGV driver awareness ahead of the Black Friday and Christmas rush. The list reveals that the Watling Street bridge on the A5 in Hinckley, Leicestershire, has the unenviable title of Britain’s mostbashed bridge after being struck 25 times in the last year. The second most-struck bridge, the Bromford Road bridge in Dudley, West Midlands, also saw the most rail passenger delays attributed to bridge strikes. Strikes on the bridge saw 4,300 minutes – almost 72 hours – of disruption. Network Rail figures show railway bridges are struck five times every day on average across Britain, causing almost 500,000 minutes of delays for rail passengers. Senior traffic commissioner
Strikes on Bromford Road bridge in Dudley caused delays totalling 72 hours
Richard Turfitt warned hauliers that regulatory action which could result in the loss of an operator’s licence is a possibility should they fail to take appropriate control measures to prevent bridge strikes.
Making up the top five moststruck bridges were St John’s Street Lichfield, Staffordshire (23 strikes), followed by Stuntney Road, Ely, Cambridgeshire (19) and Abbey Farm Thetford, Norfolk (16).
Hexagon Leasing expands into South West Hexagon Leasing has begun operating from new sites in Avonmouth, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire as it continues to expand across the UK after feedback from customers suggested gaps in the support service from competitors. The company offers rental, contract hire, fleet management and commercial vehicle sales and said the move will improve customer reach and support in the area as well as developing new business leads and clients. To support the growth, Hexagon is also recruiting for a number of key roles including business development managers, a de-hire co-ordinator and a rental, sales and operations co-ordinator. Mark Fletcher, Hexagon Leasing MD said:
6 MotorTransport
Electric and hydrogen truck startup Nikola and owner Trevor Milton (pictured) have been issued with grand jury subpoenas from the US attorney’s office amid allegations of fraud. Milton quit as chief executive in September after a report from hedge fund firm Hindenburg Research claimed the company’s success was “an intricate fraud” based on “an ocean of lies”. The report referred to a video of a truck rolling downhill to give the impression it was cruising on a highway, and the stencilling of the words ‘hydrogen electric’ on the side of a vehicle that was actually powered by natural gas. Nikola has a joint venture with Iveco to produce heavy-duty electric trucks by late 2021. Iveco pumped $250m into the deal in September 2019. The subpoenas relate to “a factfinding inquiry related to aspects of the company’s business” as well as the allegations contained in the Hindenburg report.
LSN blasts test and training ban “This is a strategic move to further extend our presence across the UK. We will be better able to support our existing customers in the area and secure new business and clients.”
CDS software delay threatens NI trade post-Brexit A customs software provider for freight forwarders has told the government there is “a totally unacceptable level of risk” in mandating its Customs Declaration Service (CDS) for shipments to and out of Northern Ireland. In a letter to HMRC, Agency Sector Management (ASM) said it had “no realistic chance” of releasing a CDS-compliant solution and training its users and helpdesk staff before the end of March 2021. It said it also still had significant reservations over
Nikola and its owner facing fraud probe
the level of technical support that HMRC can provide and urged it to “look at viable alternatives”. Responding, Rod McKenzie, RHA MD of policy & public affairs, said: “Many traders and international hauliers will despair at the latest hitch. There have been serious question-marks over the CDS system, which the RHA has brought to the government’s attention over many months. The logistics industry needs clarity which, despite much bluster, the government has absolutely failed to do.”
The Logistics Skills Network (LSN) has slammed the DVSA’s decision to suspend HGV driver testing and training in the latest four-week lockdown in England. The LSN, whose members train around 40% of HGV drivers each year, has warned the decision will add thousands more delayed tests to the existing backlog of 20,000 delayed HGV tests created by the previous lockdown, and exacerbate the HGV driver shortage in the middle of the logistics industry’s peak period. LSN chairman David Coombes has called for the suspension of testing and training to be reversed “immediately”, claiming there is nothing in the Statutory Instrument (SI) regulations enabling the latest lockdown that requires HGV driver training and testing to cease. 23.11.20
The Low Emission Zone standards are getting tougher across most of Greater London for heavy goods vehicles, vans and specialist vehicles over 3.5 tonnes and buses, coaches and minibuses over 5 tonnes. So you have even longer to prepare, the new Euro VI standard won’t come into effect until 1 March 2021. This is part of the commitment by the Mayor, Sadiq Khan, and TfL to help Londoners breathe cleaner air.
Check your vehicle, search LEZ.
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Wincanton sells service arm as profits slide
CAPITAL INVESTMENT: DHL Supply Chain has begun operating what it describes as the first purpose-built fully electric 16-tonne vehicle in the UK. The Volvo FL Electric 4x2 rigid is now part of DHL Supply Chain’s fleet in London, making last mile deliveries into the West End shopping district. The vehicle is powered by four 200kWh batteries which can run for 120 miles, carrying a maximum of 12 pallets weighing up to 6 tonnes. The announcement comes only six days after Volvo confirmed it will offer hauliers fully electric heavy duty trucks from next year.
Driver and guard tied up in M1 robbery targeting iPhones and tablets
Bridge joins eStar Truck & Van Mercedes-Benz Vans UK MD Steve Bridge is joining Warringtonbased eStar Truck & Van as MD on 1 February 2021. Bridge joined Mercedes-Benz as a regional fleet manager in 2000 and took up his current role in 2014. eStar Truck & Van is headquartered in Warrington and operates branches in Deeside, Liverpool, Manchester and Stoke-on-Trent. Bridge said: “I’m passionate about the Mercedes-Benz brand and delighted that, although I’m leaving the company with which I’ve spent the last two very happy decades, in my new position I’ll still be representing the world’s number one truck and van business.” 8 MotorTransport
Eldon Close in Crick, where the offenders transferred the trailer on to a waiting truck, and drove off leaving the lorry driver and security guard behind.
The truck was later found across the county border in Lutterworth, Leicestershire, where police believe the thieves transferred the 48 pallets of Apple products into a third vehicle. The police have not identified the logistics company that was delivering the consignment. A police spokesman said the stolen consignment included iPhone 11s, AirPods, Apple Watches, a variety of iPads and charging devices.
RHA condemns ‘outrageous’ Felixstowe delays Hauliers are calling on the Port of Felixstowe to get its house in order and tackle “outrageously long delays” at the port before the Christmas rush. Shipping lines cannot offload containers at the port because of lack of space and are having to re-route to other ports, including those based in mainland Europe, while hauliers are reporting long queues at the port as goods are delayed. The RHA said these delays and congestion at the port are having a knock-on effect at other ports and increasing costs for hauliers. Rod McKenzie, RHA MD for policy and public affairs, said: “Since the implementation of nGen, Felixstowe’s own terminal-management platform back in 2018, productivity has dropped considerably. Not because it’s a bad system but because it was given insufficient time to ‘bed in’. “The port’s behaviour is monopolistic with a
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Police are appealing for witnesses after £5m of Apple products were stolen from a lorry during a robbery on the M1 motorway in Northamptonshire. The raid happened on the southbound slip road at Junction 18 of the M1, between 7.45pm and 8pm on Tuesday November 10. Police said the lorry driver and the security guard, who was travelling in a second vehicle, were “targeted and tied up”. The lorry was then driven to
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Cor blimey! Raiders grab £5m of Apples
Wincanton has sold off its UK commercial vehicle repair and maintenance company, Pullman Fleet Services (PFS) to asset management firm Aurelius to focus on its profitable core markets. In a statement, the company said the market in which PFS operates “is such that contracts are smaller and carry demand risk, meaning it is not aligned with Wincanton’s core business model. “As with Containers, PFS would require further investment in the near term and the sale allows Wincanton to focus on investing in areas offering higher returns.” It added that the move would reduce annual revenue by approximately £30m but lead to a small benefit in underlying pre-tax profit. The sale leaves the group structured around four core markets: digital and e-fulfilment; grocery and consumer; general merchandise; and public and industrial. Half-year results for the six months to 30 September showed a 15.7% growth in digital and e-fulfilment as online demand increased. Revenues were £578.7m, down 2.4% compared with the first half of 2019 and pretax profit was £19.1m (£28.5m), which the group said was “delivered in the face of unprecedented disruption caused by Covid-19”.
focus on its own interests not its customers. Some lorries are facing outrageously long delays accessing the port.” Felixstowe Port owner Hutchison Ports UK blamed pre-Brexit stockpiling and the pandemic for the situation. 23.11.20
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The weight of evidence Is the HSE doing enough to protect tail-lift delivery drivers from serious injuries caused by handling heavy pallets? The family of HGV driver Petru Pop, who was crushed to death by a pallet of tiles on 23 November 2016, during a residential delivery, argue it is not. On 16 October 2020, following a lengthy HSE investigation into Pop’s death, Reason Transport UK (RTUK) was fined just £5,000 after pleading guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 at High Wycombe Magistrates’ Court. The HSE investigation found that Pop, an agency driver, had worked for the company for two weeks and had not received any formal training in the safe delivery of pallets using a tail-lift. The HSE also found that the equipment provided – a manual pump truck with no power assistance or brake that was not designed for kerbside deliveries
Four years after HGV driver Petru Pop was crushed to death by a 1,405kg pallet of tiles, Reason Transport UK was last month fined £5,000 for its role in his death. Carol Millett asks if HSE could do more to ensure this terrible fate does not befall another tail-lift delivery driver – was inadequate for handling heavy pallets. Investigators concluded that RTUK “did not have a suitable safe system of work in place for delivery drivers”. The Oxfordshire-based company, owned by Alan Reason, whose Coventry-based company Reason Transport continues to trade, was in the process of being liquidated – another factor in the size of the fine, according to the HSE. After the hearing, HSE inspector Stephen Faulkner said: “This was a tragic and wholly avoidable incident, caused by the failure of the host company to provide training
to this agency worker on the safe delivery of pallets from a vehicle with a tail-lift. “Transport companies should be aware of the importance of identifying and managing the risks involved with delivering heavy loads and the need to adequately train new staff before undertaking such deliveries.” While the family welcomed the prosecution of RTUK, they were shocked at the size of the fine, which they argue cannot act as any meaningful deterrent. They are even more concerned that HSE failed to take any action against Palletways for consigning
a pallet the HSE estimated weighed around 1,405kg for tail-lift delivery by RTUK, which was at the time a member of Palletways.
Broke the code
So how did such a heavy pallet find its way onto Pop’s 18-tonne tail-lift delivery truck? According to the HSE’s evidence, Palletways inputted the load on behalf of the supplier. Under Palletways’ own code of practice no pallet heavier than 1,000kg should be sent for tail-lift delivery. Instead its automated system would either indicate the pallet be split into two loads of no more than
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the pallet onto the pallet truck, the resident remained in the lorry while Pop pulled the consignment onto the tail-lift. The CCTV shows Pop losing control of the pallet truck and jumping to the floor in a desperate attempt to stop the pallet falling from the tail-lift, resulting in him being crushed to death. Subsequent HSE tests carried out using the same truck, parked on a similar gradient and carrying the same payload, found that the maximum force needed to move the pallet was 1.7kN – eight times more than the HSE guidance for safe manual pushing and pulling.
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Escaping blame
1,000kg or be sent for delivery by curtainsider and fork lift. But the evidence showed that Palletways, when inputting the consignment into its system, entered the weight as 1,200kg and then overrode its own safety system to manually assign the consignment to RTUK as a tail-lift delivery.
And so by the time Pop arrived for work on the morning of 23 November 2016 the die was cast, with the over-weight pallet already loaded onto his tail-lift truck, ready to be delivered to a residential address in High Wycombe. The HSE report makes grim reading. CCTV footage recorded
at the scene shows Pop unloading another pallet that was in the way of the one to be delivered. After successfully removing the first pallet, the video shows Pop struggling to move the second pallet with the help of the resident, who joined Pop at the rear of the lorry. Once they had managed to get
However, despite the crucial role the overweight pallet played in causing the death of Pop, the HSE, following its investigation, chose to prosecute RTUK alone, ignoring the role played by the rest of the supply chain. There is, after all,no official guidance – let alone a law – against sending a 1,400kg pallet for delivery on a tail-lift. The HSE places full responsibility for choosing whether or not to deliver heavy pallets onto the driver and his or employer after a risk assessment. ➜ 12
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News extra Failed by the system
But Pop’s daughter Iulia questions the HSE’s decision not to prosecute Palletways. She told MT: “HSE has invested heavily in this case and done lab work and used experts to basically reconstruct the whole incident and proved that the delivery could not be done safely using a tail-lift truck. But in my opinion they then dropped the ball. “How can you prosecute a company for not training a driver correctly but ignore a major contributing factor, which is the weight of the load? “Reason Transport UK deserved to be prosecuted but the whole supply chain failed my father. Even the judge asked why only Reason Transport UK was in court. They were not responsible for checking the weight of the load. It was not to their advantage to have such a load. They would have made more money if the load had been split.” Reason Transport takes the same view. In a statement after the trial the company said: “This tragic accident was due to the industrywide issue of inaccurate labelling of pallet weights, leading to the handling of an overweight pallet.” Asked why HSE had only prosecuted RTUK in connection with Petru Pop’s death, a HSE spokesperson told MT: “After looking in great detail at the systems at Palletways, HSE concluded that there was not a material breach and so no action will be taken. The key control failure in this case was inadequate training.” Palletways declined to comment when MT asked why its system had been overridden when it had inputted the 1,400kg pallet that killed Petru Pop and if the network had made any changes to ensure this would not happen again. While the HSE argues that inad-
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Family man: Petru Pop in happier times. His daughter Iulia, pictured right at her graduation, says current rules leave drivers like her father exposed to risk
equate training and unsuitable equipment were the key factors in Pop’s death, there have long been moves within the sector to place limits on the weight of pallets delivered with pump trucks and tail-lifts. These have gathered momentum as the volume of residential pallet network deliveries grows.
Changing the game
Since 2015 an industry working group, in partnership with the HSE, has been attempting to create voluntary guidance on pallet weights for tail-lift delivery. Until 2018 the group was hopeful that HSE would back a limit of somewhere between 500kg to 750kg. However, following a series of push and pull tests, much to the surprise of the industry HSE concluded that there should be no limit set on pallet weights. Working within these parameters the working group set about putting together its own guidelines. In August 2019 a leaked copy of the draft guidance, seen by MT, revealed that, while an optimum pallet weight for tail-lift deliveries
was not recommended, the guidance does highlight HSE tests which established that recommended safety limits for starting and stopping a load were breached by 50% when attempting to move pallets in excess of 750kg. The draft guidance says this figure increases “considerably” in real-world conditions and suggests the need for a dynamic risk assessment when transporting pallets weighing 500kg or more. The guidance also stresses pallet weight is only one element and highlights other key factors such as communication throughout the chain, use of the right equipment, conditions at the point of delivery, the stability of the pallet, that the pallet is correctly manifested and the empowerment of drivers within the culture of a business to make a dynamic assessment at point of delivery. The draft guidance was sent for final approval to HSE late last year but has yet to be approved. Numerous requests made to HSE by MT across the course of this year as to when the guidance will
be approved and why approval is taking so long have yet to receive a response. Certainly Iulia Pop is sceptical that plans to empower drivers at point of delivery to make a risk assessment will translate into any meaningful action on the ground. In her father’s case she points out that Pop was an agency driver working a probationary period of 12 weeks with RTUK, after which, if he made the grade, he would be taken on permanently. Iulia Pop recalls that her father was desperate to secure a permanent post at RTUK and so was in no position to make a judgement call that day. She recalls: “My dad really wanted that job. He was frightened he would not get the job if he called in. He wanted to do a good job. He didn’t call because he didn’t want to make a problem. “My dad was under a lot of pressure. His phone showed he was being called all the time. Putting the emphasis on the driver is just not realistic. “How can you expect a driver to make a risk assessment? How can a driver take that responsibility knowing it may cost him his job? Many drivers will not want to be seen as creating a problem. They will be scared for their jobs.”
Better regulation
She says the HSE must regulate the entire supply chain and set clear limits on pallet weights. “What my dad was trying to unload was heavier than some cars. That should never be able to happen again.” Nor was RTUK in any position to make that call. According to the company it had no way of weighing the pallets sent to it by Palletways, something it claims Palletways was aware of. ■
HSE ‘sitting on its hands’ as drivers and operators await guidance Rase Distribution chairman Geoff Hill has long campaigned for a limit on pallet weights for tail-lift deliveries. In November 2018 Lincolnshire-based Rase, then a Palletways member, went head to head with Palletways by introducing a ban on pallets above 750kg for tail-lift delivery. This followed a risk assessment carried out by the firm that led it to conclude that tail-lift deliveries of pallets above 750kg to residential addresses posed an unacceptable risk to drivers. However, Palletways refused to acknowledge the limit, which left the haulier shouldering thousands of pounds of courier costs for the delivery 12 MotorTransport
of pallet loads above 750kg, which it refused to handle under its safety policy. Rase Distribution quit Palletways in January this year. Hill condemned the size of the fine levelled against RTUK, calling it “an insult” to Pop and his family. “All I can say is that life must be very cheap and Petru Pop’s family must be very, very aggrieved. That is a paltry amount and an insult to the family. “However that is not to put the entire blame on Reason Transport. The whole supply chain let down Petru Pop. Reason Transport was to an extent, the sacrificial lamb in this case and there have been no consequences whatsoever
for the rest of the supply chain.” Hill is also unhappy with the lack of progress on an industry-wide set of guidelines on tail-lift pallet weights. “The lack of action from HSE after all this time is extremely disappointing,” he says. “Why on earth have they not followed through to finalise the guidance and release it – particularly as it would provide a very strong document for both operators and drivers? “Why have they sat on their hands all this time on such an important issue? “HSE’s silence is deafening. This much-needed guidance has the HSE’s stamp on it and at the end of the day only the HSE can make this happen.” 23.11.20
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Focus: warehousing
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Online retailing drives record demand for buildings over 100,000sq ft
Q3 surge for space Mountpark starts work on Bristol 360 Industrial and logistics property developer Mountpark Logistics has begun construction of a 359,500sq ft speculative warehouse in Central Park, Avonmouth. The new cross-docked unit, to be known as Bristol 360, is due for completion in July 2021. It is close to the new Junction 1 of the M49 and to intermodal facilities such as the Central Park rail freight terminal, Bristol airport and Avonmouth and Royal Portbury docks. The building includes rooftop solar panels and battery storage to help maximise operational efficiency – it hopes to achieve BREEAM Excellent environmental status and an EPC A energy rating. It is also designed to enhance employee wellbeing by using natural daylight in the warehouse and a rooftop terrace for the office section. David Carvey, Mountpark’s development director for UK & Ireland, commented: “There is a shortage of Grade A stock in the region and rising demand. Central Park is an established distribution location and we believe this new development provides one of the best logistics property opportunities on the market.” Mountpark also announced recently that it had let a warehouse of 185,000sq ft at its Warrington Omega distribution park to intra-logistics supplier Jungheinrich, completing the first phase of the 1 million sq ft development. The second phase of the park is now underway with three units totalling 736,000sq ft due for completion next year. 14 MotorTransport
A huge increase in demand for warehousing from online retailing led to a record take-up in space during Q3, according to research from BNP Paribas Real Estate. The company’s Industrial & Logistics Insider Report found that there was 13.5 million sq ft of buildings over 100,000sq ft taken up in Q3. This followed the previous highest figure in Q2. Overall take-up so far this year has been 34.6 million sq ft, already outstripping the whole-year record set in 2016. BNP has predicted that the total for the whole of 2020 will hit 45 million sq ft. Online retailers accounted for over a third of take-up as they responded to growing consumer demand, which has been accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Amazon has led the way, signing up for five warehouses totalling 11.2 million sq ft so far this year. The report found that supply has struggled to keep up with
demand, with 9 million sq ft of space delivered during the first nine months of the year. Around 40% of this was let prior to or within six months of completion. A further 2.6 million sq ft is under construction with 5 million sq ft due to complete next year.
TOP SECTORS IN Q3 Online retailing 3PLs Parcels firms
34.9% 26.2% 10.4%
Source: BNP Paribas Real Estate
Spike in demand puts paid to Midlands glut The spike in warehousing demand has put pressure on supply in both the East and West Midlands, with a series of deals for space in key areas. Cushman & Wakefield partner Simon Lloyd commented: “At the start of the year there was a glut of buildings from 400,000sq ft to 500,000sq ft in the East Midlands and from 100,000sq ft to 200,000sq ft in the West Midlands. That has largely now gone.” A significant amount of this was close to the M1/M6 and M1/M69 interchanges. Those taking space include Armstrong Logistics, which took a 375,000sq ft building in Magna Park Lutterworth for a contract with Aldi, while Amazon took 532,000sq ft from IM Properties in Hinckley. Amazon also took 550,000sq ft
at Panattoni Park in Nottingham, where smaller units of 89,000sq ft and 75,400sq ft were leased to baking products firm Food Innovations and Hermes. Other significant deals this year include DHL signing up for 886,000sq ft in two buildings at Segro’s East Midlands Gateway, close to East Midlands Airport, and Cygnia Logistics taking on 211,300sq ft from Prologis at Pineham in Northampton. The level of activity resulted in a strong take-up figure of 4.5 million sq ft in the Midlands during Q3, according to research from Knight Frank. This was 51% above the long-term average. Franco Capella, a director of Burbage Realty, believes this situation will continue. “I can’t see the level of demand abating at the moment, while there is structural
change in shopping habits,” he said. The deals that have taken place have removed much of the available supply and developers are keen to build where they can. Tritax Symmetry, for example, has been granted planning consent for 2 million sq ft in Rugby, including a single building of up to 1 million sq ft, while GLP is building four units totalling 1.3 million sq ft at Magna Park Lutterworth. On a slightly smaller scale, St Francis Group has recently been granted planning consent for a 113,000sq ft warehouse in Darlaston, near Wednesbury. Burbage Realty’s Capella believes that such buildings will be soaked up, which could stimulate further development. “Greater supply is going to be needed to meet the demand but there is no shortage of confidence among landlords and developers,” he commented. The fragile nature of many businesses could also result in some quality second-hand buildings becoming available, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s Simon Lloyd. “Business failures could result in more product coming back to the market,” he said. 23.11.20
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Viewpoint
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Winners lead us to normality A fter a bit of a bleak year, it is good to be able to highlight some of the transport industry’s fantastic achievements in our 42-page coverage of the 2020 Motor Transport Awards in this issue. Steve Hobson Although the awards had to be presented Editor online for the first time in 34 years, by the Motor magic of Photoshop we have managed to Transport recreate the atmosphere of a more typical awards evening at the Grosvenor House – rest assured no social distancing rules were broken in the creation of these special images! The 2021 awards will be open early next year and while 2020 has been a mixed bag, we are confident that there will be some great stories of outstanding achievement to enter the 20 awards next year. Rather than our usual July date, the presentation itself is scheduled to take place at the Grosvenor House on 2 September
2021, by when we all fervently hope life will be back to something like normal. The news of good progress on at least two possible vaccines against Covid-19 is very welcome and by next year the government should have come up with a coherent plan to enable us to live with the virus without regular lockdowns. Our first planned event next year is actually Tip-ex and Tank-ex, which takes place 3-5 June at its usual delightful venue in Harrogate, the week before a rescheduled CV Show, which is now planned for 8-10 June at the NEC. And if things go as planned, Freight in the City should should complete the return to normal at Alexandra Palace on 28 September. The second half of next year promises to be a busy period and all of us here at MT are looking forward to getting out and meeting the industry once again.
Training is key to success of logistics A David Coombes CEO, The Skills Group
s someone who has spent their whole career in the transport and logistics industry, I would be the first to admit that I didn’t always relish being pulled away from my day job to do a training course that I perhaps felt was about ticking boxes, leaving me with an outstanding workload to catch up on. Now more than ever, professional training that recognises future skills requirements is paramount for our sector, yet the training profession that supports this industry is not effectively recognised and consulted with by government. Transport minister Baroness Vere made clear recently how critical logistics and transport has been to the UK economy and to our everyday lives, yet without consultation the DVSA suspended all HGV driver training and tests for four weeks despite a clear exemption being made by government for education and training. This further lockdown will not only add another 6,000 or so test slots to the 20,000 backlog but also adds more financial pressure on our struggling training sector and results in the loss of 40,000 tonnes of daily freight capacity. The Logistics Skills Network was created as a not-for-profit membership body to finally represent the training profession as one collective voice and stakeholder working effectively and proactively with the
16 MotorTransport
regulatory bodies and government to avoid the issues we are now dealing with. We are pleased to have played a part in obtaining a U-turn by the DVSA and JAUPT allowing Driver CPC training to take place in a Covid-safe classroom. Our current priorities are: ■ Securing agreement from the DVSA that training providers will be able to claim the Local Restrictions Support Grant Fund, after its decision to stop HGV driver training ■ Allowing delegated examiners to deal with the backlog of Module 3 testing ■ Increasing capacity to deal with Module 1 and 2 tests ■ Continuing with the virtual Driver CPC after January 21 ■ Improving the booking system for Module 3 ■ Agreeing on separate artic and urban HGV apprenticeship standards. Government recognises the hardworking people who make up the transport and logistics sector, so let’s not forget that the education and learning profession is very much part of this and fundamental to its future success and sustainability.
The newspaper for transport operators
To contact us: Tel: 020 8912 +4 digits or email: name.surname@roadtransport.com Editor Steve Hobson 2161 Head of content Tim Wallace 2158 Events and projects editor Hayley Pink 2165 Group production manager Isabel Burton Senior display sales executive Barnaby Goodman-Smith 2128 Event sales Tim George 0755 7677758 Classified and recruitment advertising rtmclassified@roadtransport.com Sales director Emma Tyrer 07900 691137 Divisional director Vic Bunby 2121 Head of marketing Jane Casling 2133 MT Awards Katy Matthews 2152 Managing director Andy Salter 2171 Editorial office Road Transport Media, First Floor, Chancery House, St Nicholas Way, Sutton, Surrey SM1 1JB 020 8912 2170 Free copies MT is available free to specified licensed operators under the publisher’s terms of control. For details, email mtsccqueries@roadtransport.com, or call 01772 426705 Subscriptions Email:customercare@dvvsubs.com Quadrant Subscription Services, Rockwood House, Perrymount Road, Haywards Heath, West Sussex RH16 3DH Rates UK £135/year. Europe £163/year. RoW £163/year. Cheques made payable to Motor Transport. Apply online at mtssubs.com Registered at the Post Office as a newspaper Published by DVV Media International Ltd © 2020 DVV Media International Ltd ISSN 0027-206 X
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If you would like to contribute to MT’s Viewpoint, email steve.hobson@roadtransport.com 23.11.20
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Hall of Fame
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Spotlight shines
John Harvey CBE, chairman, Keswick Enterprises and former chairman, Tibbett & Britten
John Harvey CBE has worked in the logistics industry for 60 years – someone who knows him well called him “Old Father Time”! Robbie Burns, the chief executive of Exel Logistics when it was created in 1986, said of Harvey: “Most of our lives were in competition as leaders of Exel and Tibbett & Britten and we later worked together as colleagues. An incredible guy.” Nikki King CBE, who led a management buyout of Isuzu Truck UK in 2004, said of Harvey: “John was my mentor for 20 years and I couldn't have done the MBO without him.” A Cambridge graduate, Harvey joined Anglo-Dutch conglomerate Unilever in 1957 and 11 years later led its investment in one of the pioneers of contract distribution, Tibbett & Britten, which was founded in 1958 by John Tibbett and Frank Britten. After 18 years of diversification and growth, in 1984 Harvey led the management buy-out of Tibbett & Britten and masterminded its global development across 34 countries, winning a Queen’s Award for Export Achievement along the way. In 1986 the company was listed on the London Stock Exchange, when it was described as “one of the world’s leading logistics companies offering warehousing, distribution, and logistical support services, including “pre-retailing” services”. Market leader in the United Kingdom, Canada, and South Africa, Tibbett & Britten was also strong in the US, Europe, Africa, Middle East and Far East, focusing on the FMCG sector as well as its speciality as a clothing distributor. Its fleet of more than 8,500 vehicles ran mainly in the livery of its clients which included Asda, C&A, Marks & Spencer, Black & Decker, Colgate-Palmolive, Next, Nestlé and Sainsbury’s. By 2003 the company was turning over £1.6bn and employed nearly 40,000 people and in 2004 it was sold to Exel for £328m, a year before Exel was acquired by
18 MotorTransport
We’re proud to induct three more of the industry’s most influential figures into the prestigious Motor Transport Hall of Fame Deutsche Post to create what is now DHL Supply Chain. In 2004 Harvey co-founded The Keswick Enterprises Group with Geoff Gillo and became chairman of this UK-based international private equity investor. In 2011 Harvey revived the Tibbett brand in Romania after Keswick acquired Romanian firm Delamode Logistics and its joint venture with DHL, DHL Delamode, in December 2010. Both were rebranded as Tibbett Logistics and Tibbett Retail Services a year later. While Harvey remains closely associated with Tibbett & Britten he has wide-ranging interests. He was chairman of international freight forwarder Unique Logistics from 1992 to 2005 and from 2000 to 2005 was an advisor to the environment department. He has been a non-executive director of Dawsongroup, New Covent Garden Market and the Institute of Grocery Distribution, a vice-president of the Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport and chairman of the Cranfield Centre for Logistics & Transport. Harvey has been a long-standing supporter of international transport development charity Transaid, for which he remains an ambassador. He chaired Transaid for over 10 years and is now described as a “great ambassador for the industry”.
ALUMNI Ray Ashworth David Batty Robbie Burns Peter Carroll Glyn Davies Paul Day Dick Denby Andy Downton John Downton Richard Downton Theo de Pencier Des Evans OBE Ray Grocott Chris Hansen-Abbott Ken Irlam (deceased) Nikki King CBE Graeme McFaull Harold Montgomery Stewart Oades John Parry Derek Potter Anne Preston OBE John Ratcliff CBE William Stobart Thomas van Mourik John Williams Michael Williams
Peter Acton, chairman, Logistics Leaders Network and former editor, Motor Transport
Peter Acton became the youngest editor of Motor Transport when he was appointed in 1984 at the age of 32. Two years later he launched the Motor Transport Awards, which ran every year – even in 2005 when the London bombings on 7 July meant the awards had to be postponed until later in the year. Acton’s passion for championing transport and logistics causes for over 40 years remains undimmed. Initially, he used his MSc in traffic engineering and transport planning to be part of the team designing the M25 motorway in north and west London. He then embarked on an interdisciplinary higher degrees scheme PhD in marketing innovative transport solutions with Dunlop. Abandoning the academic life, he turned to journalism, writing about “what he knew about” first as editor of Transport, the journal of the Chartered Institute of Transport and Surveyor, the local authority publication, before moving to Motor Transport, where he also created the Top 100 operator listing survey and revamped the Motor Transport cost tables, which became the industry standard for haulage operating costs. Under Acton’s editorship, Motor Transport won the Brewery Transport Advisory Committee’s journal of the year title. In 1988, Acton launched Distribution Business, the first magazine dedicated to the emerging contract logistics sector in the UK. At the same time he developed a very successful logistics and transport PR and marketing business working for clients including TDG, Parceline, United Transport, Russell Davies, Paragon Software Systems and DTS Logistics. He also set up the Logistics 23.11.20
motortransport.co.uk
on leading lights
Consultants Forum, the Logistics Directors Forum with the CIT and HR Directors Forum and managed the Youth Transport Challenge with the CILT UK. In 1999, Acton was appointed secretary of the Transport Association, a position he held for nine years championing the cause of the family-owned, medium-sized haulier. He was also a trustee of Transaid for six years and has since been an ambassador for the organisation. Acton was elected to the Court of the Worshipful Company of Carmen, the City of London livery company for the transport industry in 2015 having been a liveryman and freeman of the City of London for 25 years. He has also been a member of the council of the CIT for three years and was on the marketing committee of CILT UK for 10 years as well as a judge in its transport journalist of the year competition. Recently, Acton has been elected to the Board of the Humanitarian Logistics Association. In 2010 Acton launched the Logistics Leaders Network to provide a platform for emerging logistics leaders to share best practice, meet like-minded professionals and be exposed to the latest innovations. The Logistics Leaders Network is currently celebrating its 10th birthday by running: a series of focus group practical workshops; an annual lunch; the Logistics Leadership Awards and dinner, attended by over 500 logistics professionals; and an annual publication Logistics Leaders. The CILT UK recognised Acton’s contribution to transport and logistics, presenting him with his 40 year Fellow certificate and badge in May 2020, a badge he wears with pride.
company but it goes beyond that to the dealers and ultimately the customers,” he says. “I can’t think of many industries where we would regard customers as friends. It isn’t that big an industry and by and large they are a nice bunch of people.” If you accept that today no one builds a really bad truck, he says the key differentiator has to be after sales service – an area where Dafaid has come to be recognised as the gold standard. “A lot of it is down to trust and relationships,” he says. “What makes people come back and buy another one is because you delivered on what said you were going to do. It is all about the dealer network and the service side – everyone accepts that trucks break down and it is what you do when it happens that matters.” Like many in the haulage industry, Tony Pain originally had a strong connection with farming. Brought up on the family farm, he was more interested in things with four wheels than four legs. “At that time in the 1960s there were really only two companies that did both tractors and trucks – one was Ford and the other was Leyland,” he says. “Leyland was in its heyday and the year I joined – 1968 – was the year it had merged with what was BMC, so it was this huge empire exporting all over the world.” Pain started off on a conventional apprenticeship but quickly got onto a university mechanical engineering degree course. “I got my degree and haven’t done a day’s engineering since,” he says. “So in that sense I am a failed engineer. But I did engineering because ever since I was a kid I wanted to design trucks.” In 1987, DAF took over Leyland Trucks, and Pain had the difficult job of merging the two product ranges in the UK before spending several years travelling the world on the export side of the business. In 1992 Pain returned to HQ in Thame to become marketing director of what by then was DAF Trucks, which at the time was vying for market leadership with Iveco Ford, a battle it would win for the following 17 years. On his retirement in 2013 Pain had no plans to completely leave the industry he loves, saying: “If anyone would pay me to beat up the government and tell them how efficient trucks are I would love to do that. I also wouldn’t mind getting more involved in my local village community or charity work. After being in business with so many people for so long, just to drop into nothing isn’t for me.” n
Tony Pain, business consultant and former marketing director, DAF Trucks
One of the best known figures in the UK transport industry, former DAF Trucks marketing director Tony Pain retired on 4 October 2013 at the age of 63 – 45 years to the day since he started work at Leyland. Since then on his LinkedIn page he has described himself as a “semi-retired marketing consultant” and is often to be spotted meeting old friends at road transport industry events. Pain got into the job because he always wanted to design trucks, but says he stayed because of the people. “Anybody can be close to the people in their own 23.11.20
MotorTransport 19
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Sweet smell of success! Due to the coronavirus, this year’s Motor Transport Awards had to be held online for the first time in their 34 year history. But thanks to the fantastic support of all our sponsors and winners we are able to bring you full coverage of the event almost as if we had all assembled at the Grosvenor House. We plan to be back next year bigger and better than ever so keep an eye on the website for the 2021 dates
Safety in Operation Award Bibby Distribution Winner profile sponsored by
As part of its CSR strategy ‘Road to Zero’— an ambition to achieve zero harm, zero waste and zero emissions – Bibby Distribution set itself some challenging safety targets last year. It did far more than meet those targets; it surpassed them easily. And now the firm wants to do better
MT editor Steve Hobson, Bibby Distribution fleet and procurement director Adam Purshall, and European sales director of sponsor VisionTrack Vernon Bonser In 2019 Bibby Distribution had its safest year on record as a result of the cultural shift that has instilled ‘safety first’. Bibby’s 2019 achievements included reducing accidents by a third and recording its lowest-ever number of lost-time and reportable incidents. While the target reduction was 10%, reportable incidents were actually reduced by 36% and lost-time accidents by 39%. A manual handling training course was completed by 70 trainers and incidents were down 10%. Slips, trips and falls have reduced by 17%. On the road, ‘at fault’ vehicle accidents dropped by more than a fifth. The company’s approach to safety places a heavy emphasis on openness and team empowerment. It also held its fourth annual health and safety conference and the second annual driver of the year awards, recognising safe driving. The importance the company places on health and safety is shown by the fact that head of SHEQ Andrew Mawson reports directly into CEO Richard Morson. Mawson’s team includes four dedicated safety, health,
environment and quality (SHEQ) managers, a driver training manager and five driver trainers. It has invested £1m on in-cab cameras as well as telematics across the fleet, and has its own bespoke software, accident incident recording system (AIRS). Bibby introduced a cultural drive across the entire business called ‘Come home safe’. This campaign was designed to “instil a proactive safety focus among all staff by highlighting the importance of families, pets and outside work interests”, and underline that every team member has a responsibility to protect their colleagues on a daily basis. Our judges were particularly impressed by the excellent results delivered by Bibby’s approach to safety and praised the “full commitment from top-level management”. Another called Bibby’s entry “a very strong submission based on a long-term strategy driving along a road to zero in a number of areas, including safety”. Judges commented on the amount of evidence backing up the results. “There appears to be no desire to rest on their laurels,” said one.
“I’m delighted to receive the award. I put it down to collaboration, team work and everybody working together towards a common goal” Adam Purshall 22 MotorTransport
23.11.20
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Innovation Award Electra Commercial Vehicles Winner profile sponsored by
Electra’s 100% electric vehicle conversions have already proved their worth in refuse collection and refrigerated distribution applications, helping their users to reduce fleet expenditure on diesel and meet increasingly stringent air quality regulations with zero emissions vehicles
Steve Hobson with Russell Markstein, group commercial director of Electra, and Kate Norton, sales general manager, commercial, UK & Ireland at sponsor Goodyear Tyres UK Electra Commercial Vehicles works with chassis and body manufacturers to make new HGVs 100% electric powered. Its all-electric trucks are aimed at operators needing a zeroemission solution to comply with increasingly stringent air quality regulations. The Blackburn-based business works with glider platforms and full systems including canbus from major truck makers. This means features such as automatic braking and lane assist are not impacted by the chassis being electrified. It can build 100% electric versions of popular refuse truck models based on approved gliders for the Mercedes-Benz Econic, Iveco Eurocargo and Dennis Eagle Elite. Each one has small series type approval and uses its own electric power take-off (e-PTO) to operate refuse bodies, fridges, cranes and other engine-driven applications. City of Manchester Council, through its waste contractor Biffa, has been operating an Electra 26-tonne refuse collection vehicle for more than a year with a 200kWh battery. It’s charged overnight at the council’s depot, goes out and collects 10 tonnes of waste, discharges
the load and then collects another 10 tonnes (an average of 1,600 bins per day), discharges the second load and returns to the depot – all on a single charge and with the same payloads as its diesel equivalent. The average fuel cost for diesel is around £100 per day; it’s now £12 per day for electricity, with the benefit of zero emissions. In April, the City of London Corporation will be taking delivery of seven Electra RCVs as the first local authority to operate a full fleet of zero-emission bin lorries. Reynolds Catering has been operating the Electra refrigerated trailer for a number of months. The 60kWh battery uses approximately 17kWh to get to -22C and then operates at 3kWh excluding the power generated from the fabric solar panels. A trailer of this nature would previously have operated with a diesel auxiliary engine, whether it was stationary or being driven. The judges said: “Looks an exciting business with great potential, and has great supplier partnerships in place. An accessible electric solution is a welcome step forward.”
“We’ve won the award because we produced something that’s deliverable. It’s reflected in the orders we’ve now got – about 130 trucks” Russell Markstein 24 MotorTransport
23.11.20
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Fleet Truck of the Year DAF XF Winner profile sponsored by
UK market leader DAF has scooped the Fleet Truck of the Year trophy an amazing 18 times so far, with its impressive XF taking the title three times in the last five years alone. Despite dating back to the late 1990s, however, the XF continues to provide an excellent all-round package
Steve Hobson, DAF Trucks’ business planning director Nigel Beckett and MD Laurence Drake, and James Welchman, manager marketing EMEA – Chevron at sponsor Texaco Lubricants In a closely fought contest, the DAF XF narrowly beat off its challengers to take the Fleet Truck of the Year title for the third time in the last five years, marking the 18th time DAF Trucks has picked up the trophy. What makes the XF such a good fleet truck? One of our panel of operators summed it up: “Best purchase price, best back-up, good driver appeal, fuel performance consistent with its competitors, good parts availability and conservative development over a long period of time meaning that in-house maintenance is still an option, as well as exceptional value for money which suits our policy of buy at least cost, sell at best possible value whatever the market conditions.” The XF goes back to 1997 when it replaced the 95 series. But that’s not to say the XF is outdated – the latest generation launched in 2017 set new standards in efficiency, using 7% less fuel than its predecessor, while maximum power was increased to 530hp and it was fitted with the new ZF TraXon gearbox. The 6x2 tractors are also 130kg lighter and can run for up to 200,000km between services.
Another judge commented: “The cab has been around for a while but through improvements and enhancements remains an excellent place to overnight in.” The MX-11 engine is available in a ‘Silent’ version that uses special engine software and an encapsulated gearbox to keep noise levels below 71 dB(A), making the vehicle ideal for out-of-hours deliveries. A host of safety features includes: adaptive cruise control, predictive cruise control, forward collision warning system, advanced emergency braking system, and lane departure warning system. Also helping to keep DAF in front of the opposition is the quality of its dealer support network, DAFaid. “The DAF dealership network is the most extensive of all the manufacturers and provides an industry best response time to breakdowns,” said one judge. Another added: “DAF is the ultimate fleet truck for me. It’s affordable, reliable and the DAFaid network is second to none. For a corporate fleet, this is the best truck out there.”
“I put it down to a great product, an excellent dealer network and a really good relationship with our customers” Laurence Drake 26 MotorTransport
23.11.20
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Urban Delivery Operator of the Year DPD UK Small is beautiful at parcel firm DPD, which has established a network of micro-depots for
Winner profile delivering packages those last few miles into urban areas. It has matched this with a strong sponsored by and broad focus on electric vehicles to improve air quality and the environment in general
Robert Goldwater, sales director of sponsor MyTransport Planner, DPD UK CEO Dwain McDonald and Steve Hobson Parcel firm DPD is redefining the way it operates in an urban environment to ensure its 8,000 delivery vehicles reduce their impact on air quality, noise levels and road safety. With 46% of parcels now destined for city centres, DPD’s Urban Delivery Strategy has seen the launch of a network of micro-depots with all-electric trunking, alongside a wider expansion of its electric fleet to 600 vehicles by the end of 2020. Its first two micro depots opened in Westminster and Shoreditch in London during 2019, cutting emissions by 95.8 tonnes of CO2 per annum. Before Westminster and Shoreditch, the firm’s London City and Barking depots were sending a combined total of 35 diesel vehicles into central London every day, clocking up 1,387 miles. Thanks to DPD’s all-electric vehicles and micro-depot strategy, its miles travelled per parcel have been almost halved and this more efficient operation produces just 0.138 tonnes of CO2 per month, versus 8.67 tonnes of CO2
previously. A third micro depot is now running, with a total of eight planned across the capital. A pioneering approach to its fleet has also seen DPD source all-electric Paxster micro vehicles from Norway, while developing an eCargo bike with UK start-up EAV. It has also ordered 100 of the new 3.5-tonne MAN eTGE. Outside the capital, the business has been rolling out its urban strategy with 55 electric vans located at 16 depots nationally. In the last six weeks of 2019 it delivered 368,000 parcels using 139 EVs, up from zero parcels in Q3 2018. In a 12-month period it reduced nationwide CO2 emissions by 293.4 tonnes. DPD has also rolled out driver training for new electric technology, as well as supporting drivers to adopt home charging. It also continues to focus on driver safety training, ensuring full compliance with London’s incoming Direct Vision Standard. Judges said: “This was... a great use of technology and different operating models to protect the urban environment.”
“It’s not just about electric vehicles, it’s about changing the network infrastructure to get closer to the customer” Dwain McDonald 28 MotorTransport
23.11.20
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Low Carbon Award John Lewis Partnership Winner profile sponsored by
Lots of companies talk the talk about carbon reductions but John Lewis Partnership has shown how to walk the walk, too, with a combination of short, medium and long-term measures that should see it leave fossil fuels behind in 2030 and achieve a zero-carbon fleet by 2045
Steve Hobson, JLP fleet engineer David Wake, and Colin Melvin, sales director of sponsor Fraikin John Lewis Partnership (JLP) has committed to a carbon-zero commercial vehicle fleet by 2045. To deliver reductions in CO2 emissions in the interim, it is working towards moving away from fossil fuels and aims to make the entire fleet fossil fuel-free by the early 2030s. The fleet currently includes 600 heavy trucks, 750 refrigerated trailers, 1,750 home delivery vans and light trucks, and 20 farm vehicles. JLP began trials of two Waitrose-branded, biomethane-fuelled Scania 4x2 tractors in 2016, followed by a further 83 biomethane vehicles from 2017 to 2019. Another 143 biomethane trucks are scheduled to enter service in 2020 and by 2028, all 600 JLP heavy trucks will be biomethane. JLP has also taken steps to reduce CO2 emissions by using telematics and aerodynamically optimised trailers to lower fuel consumption. It is also working on a plan to eliminate fossil fuels from its home delivery fleet by the early 2030s, based on electric vehicle manufacturer Arrival's Generation 2 concept and other vehicles. The first of these was due to begin trials in
the summer, with four bespoke JLP-owned vehicles being delivered in January 2021 on a three-year evaluation. A seven year roll-out is targeted in which the entire home delivery fleet will be electrified. JLP is trialling an additional alternator on its biomethane vehicles to provide electrical power for its refrigerated trailer units, too. Thirteen tractor units are currently trialling this equipment. By 2030, all refrigeration units could be electrically powered. JLP intends to begin the transition to electrically powered trucks in 2035, with full electrification completed by 2045, at which point carbon-zero operation will be achieved. The transition is likely to take place in stages, beginning with batteries and range extenders through to full electrification via e-highways, and overnight and opportunity charging facilities. The judges said the retail business was showing “truly exceptional commitment to road freight decarbonisation and innovation, and that it had clear, well researched longterm plans and options for continuous improvement”.
“Putting the John Lewis plan in place is going to be fast paced and exciting. We’ve always been at the forefront of this kind of thing” David Wake 30 MotorTransport
23.11.20
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Training Award Fowler Welch Winner profile sponsored by
Faced with a need to reduce its collision rates and raise fuel efficiency , Fowler Welch embarked on a comprehensive staff training programme based on telematics data and introduced a driver incentive scheme that seeks to recognise and reward good behaviour
Steve Hobson, John Kerrigan, CEO of Fowler Welch, and David Breeze, commercial and international director of sponsor Palletforce Action was needed to address an increase in collision rates at Fowler Welch and improve the fleet’s fuel consumption. In response, the company turned its focus towards its people, its fleet and its technology. This led to an investment in both the size and scope of its driver development team; its replacement programme and procurement strategy; and an upgrade of its telematics. It chose to concentrate on three aspects of its business: environmental social responsibility; staying safe on the roads; and demonstrating good driver behaviour, as well as legal compliance. Individual, targeted training replaced a one-size-fits-all system and encompassed in-house Driver CPC courses, user-specific post-collision training, targeted remedial training, one-to-one practical training, plus safety campaigns and roadshows. This wasn’t just aimed at Fowler Welch’s driving staff either – agency drivers as well as non-driving employees also completed training. In the month following the campaign it
saw a 28% reduction in collisions year-onyear, reducing its annual costs by more than £416,000. Fowler Welch introduced state-of-the-art technology to monitor and report on individual driver styles and from this designed a training programme that got the best out of its equipment and its drivers. Introducing a Driver of the Year award helped get drivers on board and it became a “hotly contested battle”. Its driver incentive scheme focused on individual performance, making payments for achieving measured KPIs. Drivers classed as “exemplary” receive additional payments and recognition; a benchmark that 118 Fowler Welch drivers reached, compared to just eight when the scheme began. The result? Fuel consumption rose to 9.8mpg from 9.43mpg, and CO2 emissions were reduced by 10,000 tonnes. Our judges particularly commended Fowler Welch’s comprehensive training programme, which spanned mobile phone distractions, bridge strikes and driver fatigue.
“I’m delighted to collect the award. It was a big team event for our fleet, driver development and risk management teams” John Kerrigan 32 MotorTransport
23.11.20
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Clean Fleet Van Operator of the Year DPD UK Winner profile sponsored by
Clean van operators just don’t come any cleaner than parcels firm DPD. From its electric 3.5-tonners and 7.5-tonners and its programme to help drivers install home charging systems to its cargo bikes and thorough customer reporting, it truly leads the field in CO2 reduction
Steve Hobson, Dwain McDonald, CEO of DPD UK, and Carlos Oliveira Rodrigues, MD of sponsor Renault Trucks In line with its wider urban delivery strategy, parcels firm DPD is aiming to build an allelectric fleet in “double-quick” time. By the end of 2020 it plans for more than 600 vehicles, around 10% of its fleet, to be fully electric. The business has been innovative in its approach to securing new vehicles, with six key models now in operation or on order. Largest of these is a pair of 7.5-tonne all-electric FUSO eCanters, which carry out 200 vehicle movements a week, transporting goods into DPD’s city centre micro-depots. They are joined by more than 300 zeroemission vans, including Nissan e-NV200s, Peugeot ePartners, Mercedes eVitos and DPD’s “workhorse” 3.5-tonners in the guise of the new MAN eTGE due to roll off the production line this summer. So keen was DPD to transition its 3.5-tonne models that it even decided it would order lefthand-drive variants for conversion in the UK rather than wait for right-hand-drive ones. For last-mile drops in congested areas, it has begun using two UK-first options: Norwegian-
built Paxster micro-vehicles and a bespoke electric cargo bike developed in partnership with British start-up EAV. The Paxsters travel 7-8 miles per day delivering up to 137 parcels on a single charge; while DPD’s venture with EAV saw it unveil a new electric quadracycle suitable for pedestrian zones as well as roads and cycle lanes. DPD also focused on helping its driver workforce install home charging technology, providing them with £250 and helping them access a further £500 from the government. DPD has kept customers well informed about its clean fleet strategy, creating a live website feed to show real-time CO2 savings from electric vehicle deliveries, and sending each customer an annual carbon savings statement for deliveries made on their behalf. The judges said the firm’s record was “outstanding”, adding: “They are not just leading the way, they are driving government and vehicle manufacturers to change and step up to delivering the results for our planet. They are pioneers.”
“We’ve revolutionised our operation in terms of investing in emissions-free vehicles. We’ve gone from zero to over 700 in the past 18 months” Dwain McDonald 34 MotorTransport
23.11.20
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Home Delivery Operator of the Year DPD A commitment to constant improvement in the level of service it provides has seen parcels
Winner profile operator DPD achieve record highs in on-time deliveries and substantial reductions in its carbon sponsored by footprint. Little wonder, then, that it has again been named Home Delivery Operator of the Year
Steve Hobson, DPD UK CEO Dwain McDonald, and Kevin Buchanan, group chief executive officer of sponsor Pall-Ex For DPD to have won the Home Delivery Operator of the Year award for the fourth year running is no mean feat but according to the judges, DPD’s ‘X factor’ lay in its ability to communicate with customers, consumers and its supply chain and its commitment to use this to improve its services. DPD’s campaign to make its delivery service more personal, launched last year after feedback from customers and consumers, is a key example. Dubbed ‘tiny noticeable things’ the campaign was inspired by regular customer feedback sessions and involved DPD using its DPD customer app to create a 45,000-strong focus group with which it worked to formulate and launch six new consumer offerings. The six solutions include Message the Driver, which allows consumers to send drivers useful information such as accessibility or precise location; You’re Next, which alerts consumers when the driver is five minutes away; In-flight, which allows recipients to make changes to their delivery once it’s out on the road; and Rate My Driver, which customers can use to give doorstep experience feedback.
The results were rapid, with DPD achieving its best ever service level for on-time delivery of 98.95% in 2019, with 2.75m more parcels delivered right first-time than in 2018. DPD has also made great progress in cutting its carbon footprint. Since 2017 it has grown its electric vehicle fleet from just five to 622. It has also created the first network of allelectric micro depots in London, producing an emissions reduction of 95.8 tonnes of CO2 per annum, and invented its own zero emissions e-cargo bike in partnership with British startup EAV, dubbed the P1. Suitable for pedestrian zones, roads and cycle lanes, this will save DPD 30 tonnes of CO2 a year and also lower costs, once fully deployed. Our judges were blown away by DPD’s “outstanding customer service levels and innovative introduction of electric vehicles”, one commenting: “DPD displayed significant innovation in two key areas. First, improved end recipient engagement, and second, innovating in its vehicle fleet, not just through procuring cleaner vehicles but by working with the supply chain to develop new products.”
“We’ve made the doorstep experience as good as it can be and are continually looking for ways to make it better. This award recognises that commitment” Dwain McDonald 36 MotorTransport
23.11.20
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Team of the Year Abbey Logistics and British Sugar Winner profile sponsored by
A tie-up between client and contractor has turned into a special relationship that puts a big emphasis on customer service, safety, and better management information. The results show in greater efficiency, cost savings and a huge improvement in safe working practices
Steve Hobson, Matthew Parsons, general manager British Sugar contract, Abbey Logistics Group, Stewart Dickson, head of logistics, British Sugar, and Ian Mitchell, MD of sponsor Hiab UK In 2016, Abbey Logistics took over the British Sugar transport contract, an operation that sees 400,000 tonnes of bulk sugar delivered every year and 300 deliveries across the UK each week. This involves a fleet of 61 bespoke trucks and 94 dedicated tank trailers covering 4.5 million miles a year, driven by 90 drivers managed by a team of 19 full-time staff. The joint Abbey Logistics and British Sugar team has developed a fully integrated, costeffective and secure business alliance, which “practises, shares and promotes teamwork in every aspect of the contract”. Abbey has become an extension of British Sugar Logistics and the joint awards submission covered the combined Abbey Logistics and British Sugar team. This joined-up approach has led to dramatic improvements in customer service, safety, cost, and management information. These results included 99% on-time delivery in 2018/19, up from 97.5% the previous year and consistently above the contractual target, transport cost per tonne reduced by 13%, generating a cost saving of nearly £3m, and
an 80% reduction in personal injuries as a result of safer loading and unloading, better reporting and a workforce encouraged to report anything unsafe. This testimonial from Mark Haslam, head of logistics at British Sugar, shows the depth of the relationship between the client and contractor. “We have been very pleased with the way Abbey Logistics has integrated its contract team into our wider logistics operation. The commitment, time, resource and operational knowledge they have provided has been highly effective in helping us achieve our objectives,” Haslam wrote. British Sugar’s customers order sugar in different ways, with some collecting their own loads and others taking deliveries. This needs advance planning, visibility of orders and complete transparency from both teams to ensure everyone pulls in the same direction. Our judges were impressed with the seamless integration of the joint team. “Abbey Logistics and British Sugar are a great example of mutually beneficial and successful open book collaboration,” said one.
“This award is emblematic of us working together as one team and one supply chain to achieve the results we’re after” Matthew Parsons 38 MotorTransport
23.11.20
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Haulier of the Year Expect Distribution Winner profile sponsored by
With its enviable financial performance, its genuine focus on delivering high levels of customer service, and its willingness to develop skills and provide genuine career progression for its staff, Expect Distribution is this year’s very worthy winner of the most coveted award in logistics
Steve Hobson, Neil Rushworth, MD of Expect Distribution, and Christian Coolsaet, MD of sponsor Volvo Trucks UK Expect Distribution is a family-owned 3PL based in Bradford employing 296 staff at four sites and running 110 vehicles. Now in its 32nd year, the firm is consistently improving its financial performance and is on track to achieve turnover of £34.9m in 2020. It constantly reinvests in its business and in 2019 added a new 215,000sq ft site near its head office overlooking the M606. Expect describes itself as a “solutions-based business” that takes a proactive approach to delivering value and building trust with its clients. Customer delivery performance was 98.8% in 2019 compared with 97.1% the previous year, and last year it developed a customer facing dashboard, providing clients with live tracking of their deliveries. Expect is the largest inputting and outputting member of the Palletline network, representing 9.1% of the total network volume in 2019, and its network delivery performance was 98.2% in 2019, up from 97.2% in 2018. Last year it invested £18,000 to equip all drivers operating tail-lift vehicles with electric pump trucks. Expect improved consignment
traceability by introducing scanning from collection point and started providing ETAs for all deliveries through the pallet network and its own fleet. Staff development is key to Expect’s success. In 2019 it progressed five drivers from Category C to C+E, employed six new apprentices, and moved two warehouse operatives through its ‘warehouse to wheels’ scheme. Four of its management team started off in apprentice or first-line roles. In partnership with Huddersfield University and the Novus Trust it takes students on placement and in 2019 two returned to work full-time there. The company holds four driver open days per year and has successfully employed 18 new drivers in 2019 as a result. Our judges were impressed with Expect’s financial performance, commenting on its “excellent growth with increased profitability” and “good all-round customer service levels”. One judge said: “Having operated in this sector for more than 50 years I consider, in judging this category, ‘would I like to own this business?’ And here it is a resounding ‘yes’!”
“There’s a real family ethic running through the business so this award means a lot to everybody. We’re delighted, it’s a real accolade” Neil Rushworth 40 MotorTransport
23.11.20
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Operational Excellence Award Wincanton for Screwfix Winner profile sponsored by
Having a major customer expand rapidly can bring big challenges for logistic suppliers. But Wincanton took the growth of its client Screwfix in its stride, making best use of the latest transport management technology to drive efficiencies and improve performance
Steve Hobson, Rachid Salbi, logistics operations manager, Screwfix, Steve Fitton, network general manager, Wincanton, and Dan Mowbray, commercial director of sponsor EV Cargo Solutions How does an operator drive service and safety levels ever higher and keep costs down in a logistics contract where the client’s volumes are growing exponentially? This was Wincanton’s challenge as the logistics partner of retailer Screwfix, which has launched around 50 new Trade Counter (TC) stores a year since 2011. No small task, since this rapid expansion meant every peak period was bigger than the last with more units picked, more trailers despatched, and more miles travelled to a network of over 690 Screwfix TCs. At the same time the team had to ensure delivery targets were met, without driving up costs or hitting safety – a Herculean task considering the fleet made 35,846 journeys in 2019, equating to 110,802 TC deliveries. Technology to plan routes and driver training was key. The company achieved an increase in routes of just 6% last year, despite a 20% rise in the number of TCs it delivered to. At the same time Wincanton’s on-time delivery targets were met and exceeded, up from 99.65% in 2018 to 99.89% in 2019.
This more efficient delivery model also meant Wincanton needed fewer trailers, with the number being used falling from 367 trailers in February 2018 to 308 in February 2020. With its cheapest hire trailer costing £95 per week, over the past two years the saving in trailer hire alone has been over £290,000. Driver behaviour also plays a significant role in cutting costs. With the Dynafleet telematics system installed in all its vehicles the team is able to monitor driving styles to ensure optimal performance and cut fuel consumption. Underpinning these achievements is Wincanton’s exemplary safety record. As its Blue “Earned Operator” rating shows, Wincanton has demonstrated consistently high levels of compliance, with no lost-time incidents in the whole of 2019. Judges were understandably impressed. One said: “With over 35,000 journeys and a 99% delivery success, transport management technology has proved invaluable for this distributor and the added earned recognition status has meant the compliance of this company is unquestionable.”
“When you consider the growth and development we’ve been through together with Screwfix over recent years it’s an excellent award to receive” Steve Fitton 42 MotorTransport
23.11.20
Managing supply chains for the world’s leading brands
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Technical Excellence Award Bibby Distribution Winner profile sponsored by
It’s not easy cutting your carbon emissions when your fleet does 90 million km a year. But Bibby Distribution also managed to raise its vehicle uptime, improve driver performance, slash reportable incident levels, and prepare itself for the DVSA’s Earned Recognition scheme last year
Steve Hobson, Bibby Distribution fleet and procurement director Adam Purshall, and Paul Emery, sales director of sponsor Hankook Tyre UK Bibby Distribution has been providing logistics and supply chain services for over 30 years and its fleet reached unprecedented levels of efficiency, reliability and safety in 2019. The company operates from 50 UK locations, employing 1,400 staff in sectors including consumer, paper and packaging, industrial and food & drink. Despite its fleet travelling 90 million km last year, it still managed to reduce its C02 emissions by 5%. In fact it has reduced its net carbon emissions by 10% in just five years. Other achievements in 2019 included an average 99.9% uptime, consistent Green OCRS scores in eight different traffic regions, and a reduction in RIDDORs and lost time accidents by almost a third (30%). Bibby can also boast annual test pass rates well above the national average. Trailers have been at 99% for four consecutive years and the time taken for safety inspections and annual tests has been reduced by 75% in 18 months. The company has also seen what it describes as a “meteoric rise” in driver performance standards, from 1.3% to 57.7% grade A.
Tachograph infringements are monitored through Convey software, and the company provides tailored driver coaching. The Bibby Distribution fleet comprises 450 vehicles and 1,250 trailers. The company has a “cradle-to-grave” approach to its fleet that covers sourcing and procurement through to life management and maintenance, finishing with asset disposal. Ahead of its plans to join the DVSA Earned Recognition scheme by the end of 2020, the company has activated a tachograph Earned Recognition module, consistently beating the DVSA’s targets by a strong margin. New initiatives include a £1m investment in in-cab cameras combined with Microlise telematics. All are core tenets of the company’s Road to Zero strategy. Our judges were impressed by Bibby Distribution’s strong determination and commitment to reliability, efficiency and safety. “The submission demonstrates very high levels of legal compliance, roadworthiness and excellent annual test first time pass rates,” said one.
“To win this award against such worthy finalists is an incredible honour, and welcome recognition for our hard-working and dedicated team” Adam Purshall 44 MotorTransport
23.11.20
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Customer Care Award DPD UK Winner profile sponsored by
It’s the little things in life that often make the difference and by concentrating on these, DPD UK has ratcheted up what was already a market-leading level of customer care to even greater heights, leaving its heavyweight clients, their consumers and our judges all highly impressed
Steve Hobson, DPD UK CEO Dwain McDonald, and Glenn Baker, network director of sponsor Palletline DPD is the UK’s leading domestic parcels carrier, with 10 consecutive years of profit growth. It has more than doubled turnover since 2013 and 2019 was another successful year, with turnover up £72m to £1.38bn. Its 15,000-strong team delivers 263 million parcels a year from 65 depots for 7,500 customers, including ASOS, John Lewis, Selfridges and Next. Around 70% of its top 100 customers have been with it for five years or more, and a survey in January 2019 found that 92% of its largest customers were ‘very satisfied’ or ‘satisfied’, 93% were likely to remain a customer, and 68% would recommend DPD to others. Regular meetings with customers yielded requests to ‘put some cherries on the cake’ and ‘make the consumer experience more personalised’. One customer noted: “It’s the ‘tiny noticeable things’ (TNTs) that separate the truly great companies from the rest”. So DPD took customer closeness to a new level in 2019, with a series of small but significant initiatives, using 45,000 users of its app (now downloaded by 6 million people) to
help it design new services, six of which were launched in 2019, with 10 more on the way. Those launched include: Prove Yourself, which makes it easier for a consumer to prove who they are when collecting a high value parcel from a DPD site; Partner Rewards, which gives consumers discounts at companies DPD delivers for; Message the Driver, allowing consumers to contact their driver; You’re Next, which alerts a consumer when the driver is five minutes away; In-Flight, allowing consumers to make changes to their delivery once it’s on the road; and Rate My Driver, which lets them provide quick feedback on their driver and doorstep experience. This approach to customer care produced DPD’s best-ever service level of 98.95%. DPD has been a serial winner of the Customer Care Award in recent years and our judges were again blown away by this year’s entry. Comments included: “A fantastic entry with a strong focus on customer service,” and “by listening to their customers they have made small changes to what is already a great service offering.”
“Customer care is one of the greatest awards you can win because the customer is at the heart of everything we do” Dwain McDonald 46 MotorTransport
23.11.20
Business Excellence Award Wren Kitchens Winner profile sponsored by
Delivering over 90,000 kitchens and raising customer service quality while generating almost £3m in efficiency savings and a 20% rise in turnover is no mean feat – and that’s exactly why Wren Kitchens walked off with the trophy for business excellence in this year’s awards
Steve Hobson, Wren Kitchens’ SHEQ manager Tim Pearson, national transport compliance and training manager Dave Cooper, and Pete Smith, director of sponsor Hireco Wren Kitchens celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2019, reporting an annual turnover of £643m – up 20% on the year before. The company‘s logistics team delivered over 91,000 kitchens direct to customers’ homes using an in-house fleet of 214 commercial vehicles. Recent highlights include an impressive £2.91m in efficiency savings, including a 33% reduction in road miles following the launch of its new ‘TripleTrunking’ delivery strategy, which involves the use of demountable box bodies transported on one 18-tonner rather than three separate vans. It also saw a 14% improvement in fuel consumption and a 3,330kg reduction in CO2 emissions after the introduction of a more efficient Mercedes-Benz truck range, while its new Xena Quartz facility, with double-deck trunking trailers, has reduced delivery times by up to eight weeks. Over 80% of Wren’s managers have been promoted from within and its training and personal development courses include the launch of a driver apprenticeship programme. Last year also saw the launch of ‘My Journey’, featuring customer-personalised
animated videos illustrating the whole orderto-delivery process. These are emailed to customers at key stages and are available via the My Account App. Feeding into My Account is FlexiPod – a handheld tool used by drivers and warehouse personnel providing single lines of communication between drivers, the delivery team, customer services and the customer. Delivery windows are logged on FlexiPod and advised to the customer via a call or SMS, which automatically updates the delivery team. Wren employs 586 people in transport and logistics and has set up quarterly driver meetings attended by directors and managers, as well as introducing weekly and quarterly bulletins and newsletters dedicated to the delivery team. “This company recognises the power in taking control of the whole of its supply chain, then adding excellent customer service on top,” said one of our judges. “It clearly demonstrates the power of good training and internal promotion to help drive the company forward.”
“We’ve won this award by pushing the boundaries of what’s achievable, thinking outside the box and trying to be the best at everything we do” Tim Pearson 48 MotorTransport
23.11.20
Congratulations! Wren Kitchens winners of the
‘Business Excellence Award 2020’ At Hireco Group, we pride ourselves on excellence, which is why we’re proud sponsors of the ‘Motor Transport Business Excellence Award’. Just as Wren Kitchens are at the heart of a home, Hireco Group are at the heart of the motor transport industry, helping to keep it moving, whatever your business, whatever you’re delivering. We understand that having a partner you can trust, every mile, every day is critical. Therefore we provide excellence in all round support, finance and quality vehicles, from trucks and trailers, to electric vehicles. Hireco Group - helping to keep the nation moving. To find out more about how we can help keep your fleet moving visit: hireco.co.uk or call: 0330 124 5651.
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Apprenticeship of the Year XPO Logistics UK Winner profile sponsored by
Finding and retaining the right skills is a long-standing problem in logistics but XPO Logistics UK has made great progress in targeting 16-24 year-olds and providing them with the training and support they need to develop professionally and provide a measurable return for the company
Steve Hobson, Lauren Edwards, XPO talent development co-ordinator, Chris Dolby, XPO director of learning and development, Annee Hnatyszyn, XPO talent and development manager, and Jason Ashby, OEM/key account manager of sponsor Total Lubricants With a target to fill 60% of all vacancies from within the business, XPO has used its training schemes to strengthen its talent pool. The company’s apprenticeship levy contribution is close to £3m and it also identified four core strategic objectives for reinvesting levy funds. Existing programmes were enhanced and realigned to ensure standards were being met and the return on its contribution was being maximised; development opportunities were offered to XPO colleagues at all levels and in all functions; spending was focused on strategic priorities; and funds were used specifically to recruit entry-level talent by targeting schools. Its entry-level apprenticeship is aimed at 16- to 24-year-olds; candidates are chosen on character and fit, irrespective of background, qualifications or experience. Its apprenticeships are not just offered in HGV driving, but also in storage and warehousing, business administration and traffic office. Each apprentice is matched with a mentor, as well as an ‘apprentice buddy’, to provide guidance and support. One-to-one reviews
and tracker meetings are scheduled to chart progress and identify any extra support needed, and development days bring apprentices together to share experiences. XPO also offers a Leadership and Management Level 3 apprenticeship, aimed at enhancing first line management knowledge and skills through classroom-based and distance learning activities. On completion, learners become associate members with the Chartered Management Institute. Judges praised the clear, positive ROI impact apprenticeships had. A cost-saving task undertaken by 17 Leadership and Management apprentices delivered combined savings in excess of £500,000; delegates effectively generated a return of over five times the investment made in each of them. XPO Logistics now has over 30 programmes from GCSE to Masters level, with more than 600 apprentices in its UK business. The judges said its entry showed an admirable focus on attracting young people and very high retention and pass rates.
“We’re a business that actively promotes internal progression and development, and this award is recognition for all of that” Chris Dolby 50 MotorTransport
23.11.20
It’s time to trust your engine oil
Total Lubricants, as an integral part of the UK Motor Transport industry are proud to be associated with this presitigious award. Apprenticeships play a vital part in recruiting and retaining the best talent, so this award is to recognise the most successful schemes in the last 12 months. APPRENTICESHIP OF THE YEAR
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For more information about Total, please visit our website: www.total.co.uk
31/03/2020 18:23
Partnership Award Think Logistics and Career Ready Winner profile sponsored by
Pioneering a culture of constructive interaction lends itself to top marks in this category. Over the last seven years, development programme Think Logistics, in partnership with Career Ready, has highlighted and addressed the skills shortage in logistics in a spectacularly successful way
Steve Hobson, Think Logistics founder and Abbey Logistics Group CEO Steve Granite, and Thomas Hemmerich, MD of sponsor MAN Truck & Bus Although the sector’s growing skills shortage remains a concern, one organisation that is continuing to successfully raise its profile is Think Logistics. The brainchild of Abbey Logistics chief executive Steve Granite, it has been promoting the industry to young people, teachers and parents for the last seven years via a partnership with social mobility charity Career Ready, dedicated to connecting young people aged 11 to 18 with employers and volunteers from the world of work. Think Logistics has highlighted to the sector the skills shortage it faced, not only driving positions but planners, fitters, operations and support staff, and called upon companies to form a partnership to tell young people about the many fantastic and rewarding career opportunities. Think Logistics is now the UK’s largest talent development initiative in the sector. In partnership with Career Ready, it has succeeded in bringing together competing organisations to promote the growing range of careers the industry offers.
Over 40 partner organisations support its many initiatives including the FTA, the RHA, the British International Freight Association, Abbey Logistics, PD Ports, Royal Mail, Wincanton, DHL, Kuehne + Nagel, Longs of Leeds, Microlise, the National Logistics Academy, Volvo Trucks, DAF, Freightliner, Manpower, Brighthouse, AO Logistics, Clipper and Europa Worldwide. In 2018/19 it engaged with over 2,000 young people by delivering workshops to 1,400 students, providing over 50 paid internships and placing others with over 70 mentors. Steve Granite took 40 of the best logistics organisations and turned them into a phenomenal success, bringing in fresh ideas and developing a charter to rethink the process of introducing youth to logistics. Its successes are clearly measurable and can be evaluated by all 40 organisations who have contributed. “It’s a superb initiative,” one judge said. “I applaud the generosity of the idea from Steve Granite. Think Logistics and Career Ready are promoting the logistics world to the next generation.”
“We’re delighted to win it again. We won it four years ago so it’s nice to see that the recognition of the initiative is still strong” Steve Granite 52 MotorTransport
23.11.20
The New MAN TGX
A Winning Combination. MAN Truck & Bus UK proud sponsors of the Motor Transport Awards, Partnership Award congratulates this year’s winners Think Logistics and Career Ready. To find out more about the MAN TGX visit: truck.man.eu/man.tg
Service to Industry Award Thomas van Mourik Winner profile sponsored by
Culina Group CEO Thomas van Mourik is a man who believes in his staff and his willingness over the last quarter-century to trust and invest in the firm’s many employees has been a key factor in it becoming one of the UK’s top 12 logistics companies with a turnover in excess of £650m
Mark Johnston, customer service director of sponsor Aquarius IT, Culina Group CEO Thomas van Mourik, and Steve Hobson Thomas van Mourik has served Culina Group for over 25 years, developing it into a market leading organisation. With the acquisition of companies like Dairy Crest, Wiseman Dairies, Great Bear and most recently Fowler Welch, Culina Group covers a comprehensive range of logistics sectors and has shown how to manage corporate integration, innovation and growth in a period of tremendous volatility. Throughout this, van Mourik has demonstrated great leadership, developing a business model and management team capable of significant and sustainable success. Culina Group continues to gain in strength and the work it has done to ensure supermarket shelves are replenished in the pandemic is remarkable. “Without doubt they are going more than the extra mile,” said one of our judging panel. In more normal times, the company has a track record of comprehensive training and apprenticeship schemes, which are very successful and engaged in supporting community projects. Culina Group celebrated its 25th anniversary
by collecting the Haulier of the Year trophy at last year’s Motor Transport Awards. Van Mourik set the firm up and has navigated it from small beginnings as Müller Dairies’ distribution arm into a £650m a year temperature controlled and ambient logistics giant that sat at number 12 in the 2019 Motor Transport Top 100 league table. One of van Mourik’s great strengths is the faith he places in his staff, even when they have just joined the business via one of his numerous acquisitions. He understands that the secret to successful acquisitions is to buy good, well-run companies and keep the management team intact as far as possible. On the careers section of Culina’s website, he says: “None of Culina Group’s successes would have been possible without one key driver: our employees. The great people who work at Culina Group are absolutely integral to the continued success of the business and the retention and development of existing employees, plus the recruitment of the very best external candidates, are key aspects of our growth strategy.”
“It was a total surprise. I was watching this year’s awards ceremony online and suddenly said, ‘that’s me!’ It was lovely. I feel very honoured” Thomas van Mourik 54 MotorTransport
23.11.20
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Livery of the Year KNP Logistics Winner profile
Knights of Old had two issues – a growing portfolio with other brands and a traditional name that didn’t quite work for a 21st century logistics operation. Its rebranding, and new-look livery, certainly hit the mark
Steve Hobson with Malcolm Gibson, MD, Steve Porter Transport, Ian Beattie, MD, Knights of Old, Simon Nelson, MD, Nelson Distribution, and Vic Bunby, divisional director of Road Transport Media, who presented the award With the addition of Nelson Distribution and Steve Porter Transport to the Knights of Old portfolio, the larger brand was becoming increasingly diluted. The organisation therefore decided to move to a new three-letter name – KNP – to offer a more international appeal while maintaining each individual brand’s distribution identity. The group realised it needed to move with the times, but the new brand needed to feel familiar, as if it had evolved from Knights of Old. It also needed to stand strong among the other threeletter logistics brands, own its colours and reflect KNP’s personality and target customer traits. The new livery is slanted in the same way as the existing Knights of Old logo and uses the same colours. But the increased size of the logo was recognised as a way to uniquely position the new KNP brand among its three-letter competitors. The aim was to introduce something simple, bold and easily identifiable with a timeless feel. It was also decided the existing strapline – ‘Service with honour’ – was restricting and reinforced its ‘traditional’ image, particularly in the EU. Instead, a descriptive and aspirational strapline was needed. The result? A new KNP strapline: ‘Logistics for life’.
The whole rebranding exercise was conducted in-house to maintain full control, and many variants of the new brand were trialled. But ultimately KNP – signifying Knights/Nelsons/ Porters – won out and KNP Logistics Group was purchased as the name for the holding company. The group admitted it had previously lacked a core identity. However, the rebranding has united the entire portfolio, bringing internal and external brand clarity. It had previously proved difficult to explain to potential customers that Knights of Old, Nelson Distribution and Steve Porter Transport had shared directors. But the new livery has succeeded in positioning the brand beyond local to UK/EU audiences and creates a portfolio that won’t be perceived as traditional. Our judges were impressed by the clarity of thinking behind the livery which they say fits perfectly with the wider rebranding exercise. “The actual livery is simple, yet effective. I'm sure these vehicles will be easily recognised on the road,” said one judge. “I like the transition and evolution from old to new, which will make it easier for customers to assimilate and recognise. The livery is clean, crisp and distinctive.”
“It’s perfect timing. To form the new group, which is the formation of the three companies, and win at the same time is absolutely fantastic – it’s excellent!” Simon Nelson 56 MotorTransport
23.11.20
Clean Fleet Van of the Year Maxus EV80 Maxus UK & Ireland’s EV80 provides a 120-mile range on a single charge and is already in service in a host of well-known fleets. Together with its smaller sibling the eDELIVER 3, it demonstrates a commitment to electric vehicles that made Maxus the obvious winner in this award category
Winner profile
Steve Hobson, Bill Laidlaw, UK sales manager, Saic Maxus (LDV), and Andy Salter, MD of DVV Media International who presented the award Maxus UK & Ireland’s commitment to developing game-changing zero emission electric vehicles (EVs) with the payload and driveability of diesel equivalents makes it a worthy winner of this award. Judges praised the way it continues to push the boundaries following the success of the EV80 last year with the Maxus eDELIVER 3, aimed at the smaller van market. The Maxus eDELIVER 3 is the first vehicle in the EV range that will only come as a zero-emission fully electric vehicle. The Maxus range is manufactured by SAIC, the largest automotive company in China, and distributed by the Harris Group in the UK and Ireland. The EV80 boasts a 120-mile range on a single charge, with a high-capacity lithium battery that can be fully charged in just over an hour. It also sports one of the most advanced ‘pure electric power’ systems in the world and features digital intelligent CVT which adjusts torque and power output under different conditions for a smooth driving experience. The OEM’s client list reflects its success in the green market and includes such names
as IKEA, Royal Mail, Northern Gas Networks, National Grid, Nottingham City Council and Wilson James. Last year, doorstep delivery service Milk & More became one of the largest operators of electric vehicles in the UK following a significant investment in Maxus’ flagship EV, the EV80 milk float, of which there are almost 160 on the roads with more on order. Maxus offers finance over six years and will work with customers to conduct a feasibility study on the whole-life cost of their EV fleet to help them make the switch to EV with confidence. Rated as one of the top five best-selling EVs of 2019 in the UK, by the end of this year Maxus is confident it will be in the top two, following the eDELIVER 3. Judges sang the praises of the Maxus range. One commented: “Maxus has been a serious player in this market now for some years, and broadening the range emphasises its commitment to this sector. New product introductions are allowing it to look fresh and up for market challenges.”
“We’re the people with a real life 3.5 tonne panel van and chassis cab that will do 100 miles in any weather. That’s why we won the award – because the van does what it says” Bill Laidlaw 23.11.20
MotorTransport 57
Best Use of Technology DPD Winner profile
Faced with a clogged-up process for parcel allocation at its 65 depots that was creating a massive bottleneck every day, DPD decided to redevelop its routing and route optimsation approach, achieving a 10% rise in driver productivity and a £12m saving in external courier costs
DPD UK CEO Dwain McDonald with Steve Hobson By 2018 DPD’s 65-strong depot network was stretched to its limits following rapid growth over seven years. With volumes up around 10% a year, it was taking longer and longer to tip around 750,000 parcels every morning and sort them into 1.7 million postcodes. The result was increasingly delayed deliveries. The problem lay within DPD’s automated system for allocating parcels to routes, which only allowed drivers to leave their depots once all inbound trailers had been tipped to ensure all parcels were loaded on designated routes. This was producing severe bottlenecks, with up to 80 3.5-tonne vans attempting to leave depots during rush hour traffic, delaying deliveries and limiting the daily earnings of 7,000 drivers paid on a ‘per stop’ basis, as well as leaving DPD increasingly reliant on expensive agency drivers, particularly in the Christmas peak. Rather than just building more depots, CEO Dwain McDonald challenged the company to develop a scaleable technological solution that would sweat DPD’s existing assets, increase driver productivity, pay and retention, and return service quality to a 98.5% rating.
The solution also had to reduce costs and carbon emissions and protect the company’s profit margins. Project Quantum was launched in early 2018 with a team of 40, including DPD’s most experienced delivery drivers. The team developed new route optimisation software to speed up parcel loading and a more efficient and accurate routeing system, running on new handheld devices. Drivers on the team played a key role in refining the postcode system, which was failing to give precise delivery points in some locations, with a different algorithm that gets the driver to the exact delivery point via the most efficient route and stores each delivery’s precise latitude-longitude data. DPD’s 7,000 drivers are now out on the road 45 minutes earlier than before with a 56% rise in the number of parcels loaded per day. They are also routed more efficiently, resulting in a 10.4% rise in driver productivity. In addition, CO2 emissions per parcel have fallen by 3.4%, while right-first-time deliveries have risen by 4 million per year and external courier costs have fallen by £12m.
“Technology allows us to have solutions for the huge volumes we have. It also gives us the ability to introduce customer-facing innovations” Dwain McDonald, CEO, DPD UK 58 MotorTransport
23.11.20
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