Transport & Logistics Issue 150

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ISSUE 150

TRANSPORT &LOGISTICS T H E

I N D U S T R Y

F O R WA R D

ISSUE 150

D R I V I N G

N R EVANS TEMPERATURE CONTROLLED DISTRIBUTION TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS MAGAZINE

We talk to ROB James, Transport Manager at N R Evans Page 22

: e d i s lso in

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Auto Rescue logistics Page 32

Bakers Coaches Page 78

Coach services Page 68

PLUS: CROWN COMMERCIAL SERVICES PAGE 58

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THE STANDING START NEW LOGISTICS AND ENERGY CENTRE IS FURTHER PROOF OF ECONOMIC RECOVERY

PUBLISHER: Noah Quirke GROUP EDITOR: Daniel Stephens EDITOR: Ciaran Jarosz MAGAZINE MANAGER: Shane Kelly FEATURE MANAGERS: Stefan Drakes Eddie Hunt Daniel Duggan ART DIRECTOR: Steve Williams ART EDITOR: Stacey Brewer DESIGNER: Carla Taylor CONTRIBUTORS: Jeff Senior PRODUCTION: Vicki Lindsay Lisa Pollinger ADMINISTRAT0R: Lisa Barrans ACCOUNTS: Nick Charalambous Transport & Logistics Magazine is published by: NQ Publishing, 6th Floor, Crown House Southgate, Huddersfield HD1 1QX Tel: +44 (0)1484 437300 E-mail: noah.quirke@nqpublishing.com www.tandlonline.com Transport & Logistics Magazine is published by NQ Publishing.

Company registered in England & Wales. All material is the copyright of NQ Publishing. All rights reserved. Transport & Logistics Magazine is the property of NQ Publishing. This publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form whole or part without the written permission of a director of NQ Publishing.

Liability: while every care is taken in the preparation of this magazine, the publishers cannot be held responsible for the accuracy of information herein, or any consequence arising from it. In the case of company or product reviews or comments, these have been based upon the true and honest opinion of the Editor at the time of going to press.

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n a boost for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars’ presence in the UK, the company recently announced that it was to build a 323,000 sq ft logistics and technology centre in Bognor Regis to consolidate a number of logistics functions with a view to future endeavours and expansion. The company, which was created in 1973 during the de-merger of the Rolls-Royce car business from the nationalised Rolls-Royce Limited, has changed ownership over the years beginning with Vickers through the 1980s and much of the 1990s before Volkswagen and then BMW. The new centre only eight miles from the Rolls-Royce factory at Goodwood is the first major business to open at the new Oldlands Farm Business Park. The area is being developed as a new premier business location in West Sussex and is being tailored towards homing mixed office and industrial businesses with supporting development to sustain both newly established and growing businesses deliver through a new generation of buildings in a high quality environment.

The Rolls-Royce centre will be managed on behalf of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars by an external logistics provider. Bringing together a number of functions, the innovative new base will consolidate operations governing inbound warehousing for production parts, a distribution centre (including an inbound body store and finished car store) and a workshop for car preparation.

While the transference of jobs will make up the bulk of the 200 staff on the site, encouragingly new roles will be created when the site is fully operational in 2016. This is another pleasing sign that the economy is in recovery.

Torsten Müller-Ötvös, chief executive officer for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, said the new centre was an important investment for the company’s endeavours both in the present and in anticipation of its growth in future. “Every Rolls-Royce motor car is built at the Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood and this new facility will provide the required local logistics support for our current and future models.”

Local MP Nick Gibb, who is the Conservative MP for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton, said the centre was an encouraging sign and a major boost to the Bognor Regis enterprise zone bid. “The very fact that Rolls-Royce is investing so much money in creating a facility three quarters of the size of the Goodwood facility in our town will in the near future encourage a lot of other companies," he said.

At Rolls-Royce Motors’ BMW-owned Goodwood headquarters, where about 1,500 people work, the company will continue to build its luxury cars.

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DANIEL STEPHENS GROUP EDITOR

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CONTENTS

INSIDE SECTIONS NEWS

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HAULAGE

10

RECOVERY

26

CARBON EMISSIONS

50

THIRD PARTY LOGISTICS

56

PUBLIC SECTOR

58

BUS AND COACHES

66

COMPANY PROFILE

84

FREIGHT AND CARGO

58

FREIGHT FORWARDING

90

PALLET NETWORKS

96

NEW INVESTMENTS

90

LOOKING BACK AT...

100

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N R EVANS

FEATURES News The latest top stories

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W J Wooster & Sons Ltd Transport, storage and distribution

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A & R Haulage Experts in transport and logistics

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Trans Haul (EU) Ltd The total supply chain solution

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N R Evans Temperature controlled distribution

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Lantern Recovery Specialists PLC “Your light on the lonely road”

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Auto-Rescue Logistics Quality service is reliable service

32

Caldicot Exceeding expectations

46

Richford Motor Services Ltd A reputation for excellence

48

Tesco Cutting Carbon emissions

50

Delamode UK Forward thinking logistic solutions

56

The Crown Commercial Service Improving services and saving money

58

Britannia Coaches The personal touch

66

Coach Services First class service all the way

68

Centurian Travel The future is bright

72

Bakers Coaches First choice... first class

78

Parkeon Where innovation is driven by customers

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Xpress Garage & Tyres Quality service

84

Hallet Retail Logistics The one stop logistics shop

89

International Forwarding Limited Dependable, reliable forwarding services

90

ALPI UK Leading freight forwarder

92

Palletline Less is more with Palletline

96

Walkers Transport Delivering results for over 30 years

98

Looking Back At...

The record-breaking Mallard

50

TESCO

100

Follow us on

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CONTENTS

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LANTERN RECOVERY SPECIALISTS PLC

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AUTO-LOGISTICS LOGISTICS

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XPRESS GARAGE& TYRES

10

W J WOOSTER & SONS LTD

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NEWS

NEW RAIL FREIGHT TERMINAL GETS GO-AHEAD

THE UK’S Freight Transport Association (FTA) said the go-ahead for a rail freight terminal north of London at Radlett was a welcome boost for rail freight that would help industry meet challenging rail freight growth targets.

The long-awaited decision by Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles, to allow a Strategic Rail Freight Interchange (SRFI) at Radlett, near St Albans, was announced on 14 July.

Chris Welsh, FTA’s director for global and European policy, commented: “FTA has long campaigned for increased rail freight development, and investment in rail-connected intermodal terminals is crucial for future growth in domestic rail intermodal traffic.

Schemes such as this are vital in order to meet challenging rail freight growth targets, and any development that will improve and expand rail freight capacity is good news.”

Earlier this year, FTA published its ‘Agenda for More Rail Freight’ document, which identified areas where progress was required for UK rail freight to fully realise its potential. Within the document, 14 areas were identified by the UK’s main retailers and shippers for improvement, broken down into four key themes: costs and competiveness; service availability and flexibility; network access; and international services.

But the association this week also called on the UK government to make a decision “sooner rather

than later” on a much-needed east London river crossing. The comments were in response to the announcement this week by the Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin that the Department for Transport (DfT) is to “appraise route options in detail” at each of the proposed Lower Thames crossing solutions.

FTA said the Department was “still not providing a definitive answer” as to which of the two possible locations it is to be built at, repeating its message that “congestion needs tackling now”. FTA said the cost of queuing should be taken into account in prioritising a decision, which for a 44-tonne truck averaged £1 per minute, “outweighing the cost of the toll and ultimately the price of constructing the right crossing to relieve what are now real pinch-points at Dartford and the Blackwall Tunnel”.

Malcolm Bingham, FTA’s Head of Road Network Management Policy said: “Once again the DfT’s announcement today brings us no closer to building the much needed new Lower Thames Crossing.

Congestion needs tackling now, and this appraisal appears to add further delay to the process building of the crossing.

“There is absolutely no doubt that improving capacity and easing congestion at Dartford is essential in the longer term and while the introduction of free flow tolling in October will bring FTA members recognise the need for a longer term solution.

RHA URGES FUNDING FOR HGV LICENCES THE ROAD Haulage Association has said that it will be renewing its longstanding call for the UK government to start making a “substantial” contribution towards the costs of acquiring a vocational driving licence.

“We’re going to be asking the government to get involved in funding the acquisition of HGV licences. It’s an issue not only for our members and their customers, but the economy,” RHA director of policy Jack Semple

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said. “I think there is a legitimate argument for the government getting involved, which we will be making with renewed vigour in coming weeks.”

The cost of acquiring an HGV driving licence now stands at around £3,000, said Semple. “The issue is the ageing of the current driver workforce and the key point for government is to ensure the economy is not held back by a shortage of lorry drivers,” he added.

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STEVE PORTER TRANSPORT AWARDED MAJOR CONTRACT THE ISLE of Wight’s largest independent freight carrier, Steve Porter Transport, has been awarded a major contract with European road freight giant Geodis Calberson.

The new deal will see Steve Porter Transport carrying out Geodis Calberson’s delivery and collection requirements on the South Coast from its Portsmouth depot, in addition

to trunking to their UK hub in High Wycombe.

Steve Porter Transport Managing Director, Malcolm Gibson, said: “This is a unique venture for Geodis Calberson, which may be used in other parts of the UK if successful. Strategic partnerships such as this have enabled us to offer our customers a better, more efficient and broader range of services.”

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NEWS

LAST CHANCE TO TRIAL LONGER SEMI-TRAILERS

FREIGHT transport operators have a final chance to join the UK trial using longer semi-trailers, with the Department for Transport (DfT) announcing a four-week window for applications for new licences.

The UK government’s 10-year trial examining using longer semi-trailer was launched in 2012 and enabled freight operators to bid for a share of 1,800 vehicle allocations. According to the DfT, around 1,400 longer semi-trailers are now on the road or under construction following another round of bids in 2013, but 400 allocations still available. Operators have four weeks from 28 August to apply for the remaining allocation; operators already in the trial and new hauliers can apply.

Transport Minister Claire Perry said the aim was to get the full quota of 1,800 on the road as quickly as possible. “This is the last chance for freight operators to take part in a scheme that is helping hauliers boost trade and industry,” she said.

The trial is expected to show evidence that it can contribute to cutting traffic and carbon emissions. The second annual report on the trial of longer semi-trailers published in June 2014 shows that between 600,000 and 900,000 vehicle kilometres have been saved by use of the longer semi-trailers in the trial so far, expected to save over 3,000 tonnes of CO2 and an estimated £33 million over 10 years.

CELEBRATING 15 YEARS IN PALLETWAYS NETWORK MERSEYSIDE-BASED transport and warehousing services company, Sovereign Transport, is celebrating its 15th year as part of the Palletways express distribution network, Europe’s largest and fastest growing operation for the delivery of palletised freight.

Sovereign Transport, which was established in 1984, has been a member of Palletways since 1999, enabling it to offer a range of express palletised freight delivery services locally and nationally and throughout Europe.

Rachel Forshaw, Sales Manager

at Sovereign Transport said: “We are proud to have been part of the Palletways network for 15 years. The support that the network offers has helped our company grow its business both in the UK and across Europe.”

Sovereign Transport has a 25strong vehicle fleet and employs over 40 staff. The company also operates a “green haulage” policy as part of its commitment to the conservation of the environment. The company has recently purchased some new land in order to build a bespoke depot with warehousing facilities as part of their expansion.

MEDITERRANEAN SHIPPING CO COULD OVERTAKE MAERSK LINE MEDITERRANEAN Shipping Co could overtake Maersk Line to become the world’s largest container shipping line within the next few years, according to industry analysts.

Switzerland-based MSC has been linked in recent weeks to two separate orders for three 19,000 teu vessels; one from the Monaco-

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based Scorpio Group and the other from China’s Bank of Communications.

In contrast to MSC and its busy orderbook, Maersk has been relatively quiet of late.

Its orderbook stands at just 182,000 teu and it does not expect to add capacity before 2017.

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NEWS

NEW IPHONE BOOSTS AIR CARGO MARKETS THE RECENTLY-LAUNCHED IPhone 6, the latest version of Apple’s iconic product, will boost the prospects of air cargo markets turning in a strong peak season this year, according to industry sources.

An estimated 60 million iPhones could be shipped from production plants in China to retail outlets worldwide in the coming weeks in anticipation of growing consumer demand as the festive season approaches.

“The new iPhone launch is

going to be a massive boost to air cargo. Last year, in November we had a boost from both the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One and that lasted for three months,” Enno Osinga, vice-chairman of the International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) , told the South China Morning Post.

Along with other market factors, the new iPhone is also likely to lead to carriers adding maindeck capacity out of China and there are expectations that rates will go up, Kuehner said.

NAVIS EMPLOYS CUTTING EDGE TECHNOLOGIES NAVIS is looking to the future to ensure container terminals are ‘big ship’ ready in advance of the arrival of 25,000 teu vessels.

Craig Halford, regional sales manager for Navis, told delegates at the 3rd Black Sea Ports and Shipping 2014 Conference, that the software specialist spends 31% of its revenue on research and development. “We have a special department at Navis that is focussed on the arrival of the 18,000 teu and 25,000 teu ships, looking at how their arrival will

affect vessel planning and practices,” he said.

Navis has employed cuttingedge technologies to aid its future planning investigations. These include working with Google Glass, a type of wearable technology with an optical head-mounted display.

“We have studied to see if that is a possibility in a container yard,” confirmed Mr Halford. “So you could potentially walk down the yard and see a ship and know how may trucks are waiting load, all through the display in the headset.”

DAWN FOODS PICKS PARTNER LOGISTICS FOR DISTRIBUTION PARTNER Logistics has signed a two-year contract with bakery supplier Dawn Foods to manage storage of frozen confectionary products at its frozen food warehouse in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire.

Partner Logistics, has worked with Dawn Foods at its Bergen op Zoom site in the Netherlands since 2004, will be partnering with transport provider Visbeen to provide distribution of Dawn Foods products to UK customers which

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include quick service restaurants, coffee shops and travel catering companies.

Dawn Foods, who were established in 1920 and have manufacturing and production facilities in eight countries across Europe, will be storing an average of 2,000 pallets of their products, which include frozen muffins, donuts and cookies, at the Wisbech warehouse with a delivery of 500 pallets every week.

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NEWS

RISE IN CONTINENTAL WORK FOR UK HAULIERS WORK AVAILABLE to UK hauliers specialising in international transport has increased this year, according to the Department for Transport (DfT), which says there was a rise in the number of UKregistered trucks travelling to the continent during the second quarter of this year.

The latest DfT ro-ro statistics show that 80,000 UK-registered trucks travelled to the continent between April and June, slightly up from 77,000 in Q1.

This follows a dip recorded at the end of 2013, when the number of UK-registered trucks leaving the country fell to 76,000, the lowest level since the DfT began recording quarterly data in 2004.

UK hauliers continue to make up just a small percentage of international haulage work: the number of non-UK-registered goods vehicles leaving the UK was up by 11,000 trucks to 464,000 in Q2, the majority of them (21%) Polish.

However, Sarah Rogers, director at Northampton-based EM Rogers Transport, said business this year had been “pretty constant” with the company sending 60 to 65 trucks to the continent every week. It had not noticed an increase in British hauliers crossing the channel because the number of foreign trucks remains high. “We have to specialise more,” said Rogers.

“We found that anyone can do general haulage or

STOBART SATISFIED WITH PROGRESS ROAD and rail haulier Stobart Group reported satisfactory progress in all its divisions, but warned of flat passenger numbers in its airport business in the second half.

Stobart, which has a 49% stake in the iconic road haulage business known for its greenliveried trucks, said biomass tonnages in its energy division

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had risen by more than half and passenger numbers in its airport business lifted by a fifth in the last six months.

However, the group said profit per biomass tonne overall was lower as margins took a hit from a higher proportion of exported products in readiness for UK plants coming on stream.

groupage, so that business has declined for us.

Instead, we are moving into more niche markets for our international work.”

Dominic Yeardley, MD at Eurovision Logistics in Hull, said the firm was not sending more trucks to the continent, but had seen an increase in business in other areas. “We are now doing intermodal and we’re increasing our use of rail instead,” he added.

Fellow Hull operator Neill & Brown Global Logistics said it had seen international business soar since signing a deal with German logistics provider Nellen & Quack The Green Line earlier this year.

The UK Pallets member said it had seen monthly rises in German business ranging from 300% to 600% from the beginning of March, particularly in palletised freight.

The agreement includes consolidating UK-bound freight from Gronau-based The Green Line, which is then delivered to the Humber port. It then makes either full- or part-load deliveries using a dedicated fleet on a daily basis.

Neill & Brown Global Logistics director Carl Andrew said: “We are currently seeing shipment increases across the board, particularly German pallet-related imports and exports.”

CABOTAGE RULES ARE NOT BEING BROKEN THE NUMBER of foreign hauliers breaking cabotage rules appears to be tiny, according to figures from the DVSA. The enforcement agency said that since April it had stopped 15,731 foreign vehicles for checks and 98 – or 0.6% – had been found to be in breach of the restriction, despite a general perception within UK road haulage

that many foreign-registered firms abuse cabotage rules.

In response to the findings, a spokeswoman for the Road Haulage Association (RHA) said: “The problem is that it's based on the number of stops they make.

Just because they are based on stops they make doesn’t mean there aren’t people out there breaking the rules.”

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LEGAL LOGISTICS

GROWING PAINS Backhouse Jones warns operators to check their compliance systems before applying for an increase on their operator’s licence. ou have finally made it out of the recession, things are picking up, orders are coming in and suddenly you need more trucks. You apply for them, not thinking that this may have consequences. Before you change anything with your Operator’s Licence, ask yourself the question: “Would I survive a DVSA investigation tomorrow?”

Any significant increase in an O-licence application triggers a DVSA query in order to check your systems. It will probably start with an online OCRS check, a prohibition hit check and prohibition first time pass rate. Any query with these will lead to a visit for the purposes of establishing compliance, where the DVSA will bring the latest views of compliance systems and documents – and will compare your current systems with these measures. This can quickly lead to a number of issues which you have not identified or because you are out of date in your organisation.

Before you know where you are, you are looking at a Public Inquiry (PI). It is important to remember that a PI will not just look at your application for the increase but will examine whether you can keep what you currently have. This process is likely to delay your application by six to nine months and might well lose your company business, rather than gain it – which was the original idea.

When growing a business cash flow is often tight. If you are called to a PI, one of the key things that must be considered is financial standing; just when you do not need it, the regulators are looking at your figures.

So, the advice is, if you are intending to get an increase, arrange an audit and check your finances carefully before making any application which will put you under the microscope.

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For all related enquiries, please contact Jonathon Backhouse on 08450 575 111 or email jonathon.backhouse@backhouses.co.uk www.tandlonline.com

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HAULAGE: W. J. WOOSTER & SONS LTD

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TRANSPORT, STORAGE AND DISTRIBUTION

W J Wooster & Sons Ltd is a professional, family-run road haulage and storage company with over 40 years of experience in the field he vastly experienced W. J. Wooster & Sons Ltd in Nazeing, Essex has operated a professional, family run distribution and storage business for customers in the UK and abroad for more than 40 years. Working with clients to develop solutions tailored to individual needs, the company has built strong, long-term relationships thanks to enduring high standards and attention to detail.

Founded in the 1970s by William Wooster, the business was originally run as a single driver-owned vehicle operation in Waltham Abbey. William’s reputation for reliability and cost effective service led to an increasing workload necessitating the need to acquire more vehicles and drivers. This also saw the business move to larger sites, firstly to a new location in Waltham Abbey before relocating to its current home on Nazeing in 1980. Purpose-built warehouses were erected (with an onsite workshop for vehicle maintenance) while the fleet continued to expand accordingly.

Dealing with both road haulage and storage, the company has access to its own diverse fleet of vehicles as well as extensive warehousing space. Within the fleet 7.5, 12 and 18 tonne lorries are complemented by 44 tonne artics and

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transit vans allowing W. J. Wooster the flexibility to transport everything from small parcels or much larger goods. A wide range of services are available including same-day and nextday delivery, economy deliveries and regular contract deliveries. The company also has the flexibility to operate outside of normal working hours if needed.

The distribution service is supported by a diverse warehousing solution with comprehensive handling and storage facilities. The company has at its disposal fork-lift trucks, hand pump up trucks and sack barrows, and electronic scales that can handle goods up to 6,000 kilos in weight. W. J. Wooster can handle and store not only palletised goods but anything from loose small boxes and cartons to industrial machinery and oversized goods.

Clients use Wooster’s storage service for a range of needs such as a secure place to leave possessions during house or office moves, regular storage of business goods or facilities to store hardware during a site move. In addition to normal storage, a pick and pack delivery service is available alongside stock rotation, labelling and sorting.

W. J. Wooster’s services also encompass re-packing and restacking for clients who have goods which are unsuitable for

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HAULAGE: W. J. WOOSTER & SONS LTD

point of sale while transhipment services are available for customers in need of quick solutions.

All this is managed within highly secure facilities and via permanent, fully trained warehouse staff. Clients can be safe in the knowledge that their goods are protected by way of CCTV cameras and a National Security Inspectorate EU approved alarm system. The site is also manned 24 hours a day and protected by a number of other security measures such as a razor wired perimeter wall and guard dogs.

You can see W.J. Wooster’s commitment to quality, flexibility and personal service in all facets of the business. For example, the company recognises that its drivers are not only ambassadors for the business but for the client as well, meaning stringent training programmes and ongoing assessment to ensure vehicle operators understand and can carry out their role to a very high standard. The company is also a member of the FORS scheme to help it further improve fleet activity and safety while reducing the environmental impact of it operations.

Equally, W. J. Wooster acknowledges that it has a commitment to the wider community. This has seen

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“WE LIKE TO THINK WHAT SETS US APART FROM OTHER HAULAGE COMPANIES IS THAT OUR CUSTOMERS AND CLIENTS ARE ALL TREATED AS IF THEY ARE PART OF OUR FAMILY AND PARTNERS WITHIN THE BUSINESS,” the company look at ways it can reduce both its carbon footprint and noise pollution. For example, all its vehicles are fitted with exhaust and break silencers and the exhaust systems are fitted with specialist filters that minimise emissions and are Euro compliant.

W.J. Wooster also works closely with London Councils and is a member of the London Lorry Scheme which looks closely at routes and times of travel. In addition, the company’s drivers are trained on methods of driving using Department for Transport freight best practice on fuel efficiency which also greatly cuts down fuel emissions while it holds a waste licence to enable it to carry various waste produce for disposal to the proper and correct waste disposal sites.

Barry Street, Traffic Manager, feels this family-run company stands out because it has moved with the times, adapting to varying client needs while maintaining that all important personal touch.

“We like to think what sets us apart from other haulage companies is that our customers and clients are all treated as if they are part of our family and partners within the business,” he says. “Our customers are treated not just as account numbers or data like in large corporate organisations, but real people and are treated and respected as so. Every job is looked on with the utmost importunacy whether it is one carton or box, one pallet or a full articulated vehicle load.”

Meadgate Farm Depot Sedge Green, Nazeing Essex EN9 2PA www.woosterhaulage.co.uk Tel: 01992 465 421

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HAULAGE: A & R HAULAGE

EXPERTS IN TRANSPORT AND LOGISTICS Based in Suffolk, A & R Haulage specialise in the transportation of hazardous chemicals and temperature controlled goods

roud of its consistent track record A & R Haulage provides a personal, reliable and flexible service, tailoring solutions to the individual needs of its customers. The company operates its own fleet of highly maintained, branded trucks 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year and delivers both to the UK and mainland Europe, specialising in the transportation of hazardous chemicals and temperature controlled goods.

Conveniently situated just off the A14 in Suffolk, with excellent links to the ports of Ipswich, Felixstowe and Harwich and strong road links to the London docks of Dartford, Tilbury and Purfleet, A & R Haulage is ideally placed to handle all freight, logistics and warehousing needs.

The company was established in 2007 when business partners Roger Arnold and Richard Reynolds, each of whom boasted strong haulage backgrounds having learned the trade on the job, decided to set up their own venture.

They blended this experience with enthusiasm and a strong commitment to customer service.The result was a business that has quickly become known as one of the most reliable haulage firms in East Anglia, working with one of the biggest trailer operators in Europe.

Based in Suffolk, A & R Haulage run a team of 10 fulltime drivers and also work with sub-contractors when needed to move freight across the UK and Europe. A & R Haulage specialises in

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the transportation of hazardous chemicals and temperature controlled goods, and all drivers are both fully insured for hazardous transit and steel coil trained.

The fleet of A & R branded trucks are all fitted with sophisticated satellite tracking systems to aid efficiency and drive performance improvement. The vehicles within the fleet include 10 44 tonne tractor units (Euro 4 and Euro 5 compliant); two rigid curtain sided trucks with tail lifts; one dual temperature/compartment split door refrigerated trailer, complete with ATP certification; one single temperature refrigerated trailer, complete with ATP certification; and one flatbed trailer.

In addition, A & R Haulage has one extendable trailer, one 3.5 tonne curtain side, two Euroliners with curtain sides and sliding roofs, two high value box vans, and one low loader, used for machinery.

Customers gain many advantages when dealing with A & R Haulage thanks to its comprehensive capability. Logistics and transportation services include general haulage services to anywhere in the UK, deliveries all over mainland Europe and Scandinavia, transportation of temperature controlled goods, and safe and reliable transit of hazardous goods. A & R Haulage also has its own warehouse and distribution centre, and can offer a container devanning service.

In the UK, A & R Haulage can offer general haulage services to anywhere in the country. Its

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HAULAGE: A & R HAULAGE

headquarters are strategically located for access to all major routes, and its flexible approach means it can transport full or part loads and work either on contract or one off deliveries.

The business works with a number of different sized companies, and can offer a “just in time” delivery service when needed. It is also happy to offer customers a traction only service, where A & R Haulage uses the cab to pull their trailer.

Importantly, the company specialises in the transportation of hazardous chemicals, and all of its drivers are trained and fully insured accordingly. It also operates a number of refrigerated trucks and as such can offer temperature controlled deliveries to ensure fresh, high quality goods are delivered on time and in mint condition.

A & R Haulage has specific refrigerated trailers for the transport of hazardous goods that need to be kept at certain temperatures, and is are able to segregate these loads to allow it to transport multiple products at two different temperatures if required.

Even better, the company can transport goods into Europe too. In fact,A & R Haulage operates all over mainland Europe and Scandinavia, and is happy to consider any delivery location. It offers a personal door-to-door driver accompanied service, guaranteeing customers extra protection for high value goods. All of its trucks are fitted with full satellite tracking for peace of mind.

A & R HAULAGE OPERATES ALL OVER MAINLAND EUROPE AND SCANDINAVIA, AND IS HAPPY TO CONSIDER ANY DELIVERY LOCATION

A new venture for A & R Haulage is its commercial vehicle servicing and repairs to customers across East Anglia. The company can offer MOT pre-inspection including a steam clean, and also a breakdown call out service.

One of the company’s long-term customers was glad to sing A & R Haulage’s praises. Christine McTiernan, Transport Operator for a European haulage company, said: “A & R Haulage have provided road haulage services for me for over three years, during which time they have never let me down. Nothing ever seems to be too much trouble, they will even work weekends and evenings. I have always been delighted with their reliability, flexibility, efficiency and professionalism. A company I can depend on to deliver on time every time.”

www.tandlonline.com

Unit 70 Newmarket Road Symonds Farm Business Park Risby IP28 6RE www.arhaulage.co.uk Tel: 01223 659970

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HAULAGE: TRANS HAUL (EU) LTD

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HAULAGE: TRANS HAUL (EU) LTD

THE TOTAL SUPPLY CHAIN SOLUTION Established in 1987 Trans Haul (EU) Ltd is a complete logistics provider. ounded in 1987, Trans Haul started out as a simple, yet ambitious “Man in a van” operation with the specific aim to “Deliver anything that fits in a van,” explains Mark Winter, Operations Manager at Trans Haul. Having now grown to include transportation of anything from 3.5 tonne vans up to 44 tonne artics, Trans Haul is able to provide a Total supply chain solution to meet the needs of any client.

Providing freight services worldwide through the use of its extensive fleet and network of European and global operatives,Trans Haul has successfully established itself as a leading provider of global logistic services and has worked with key industry clients such as DHL Supply Chain, Eddie Stobart, Kuehne & Nagel Drinks Logistics, Gregory Distribution and Philex Electronic.

Further to this, Trans Haul also offers storage services through its warehousing facilities for pharmaceutical providers, retail customers, WH Smiths and customers within the FMCG sector. The 3 warehousing facilities, with a total of 100,000 sq ft of space are made available to all of its clients and offers product pick and pack, container loading and unloading, reverse logistics, fulfilment services, product reworking, contract packaging and general racked and bulk storage.

In order to cater for an assortment of clients with differing needs and requirements, Trans Haul is dedicated to the use of a varied in-house fleet including Mercedes Actros artics, Renault Premium artics,

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Merdes Axor rigids, Mercedes Sprinter vans and SDC, Montracon and Denission Trailers. Through use of these vehicles, Trans Haul is able to transport a wide variety of goods from alcohol to temperature controlled confectionary quickly, efficiently and safely.

Mark explains Trans Haul's reasoning for using these specific vehicles: “We chose 6x2 Renault Premiums’s based on their fuel efficiency, emissions and the type of work we had at the time. We replaced part of our older fleet with new 6x2 Merc Actros’ because of the same efficiency reasons plus they come with built in telematics. “ “We opted for 4x2 2013 Merc Axor’s for the UPN network because they are very good on fuel when used in a stop and start town centre environment. My personal preference throughout the fleet is the Mercedes Actros, they have proved to be excellent on diesel, very reliable, and in the new livery they’re definitely a head-turner, “ The telematics solution itself allows Trans Haul to monitor, analyse and educate its drivers in order to maximise efficiency and improve upon individual driving style for specific types of work. This, while firstly impacting the overall productivity and efficiency of transportation also has a substantial impact on fuel returns, with 5% savings on most jobs as well as consistently reducing accident percentages due to improved health and safety guidance.

In maintaining its fleet, Trans Haul works directly with the main dealers of the vehicles due to the level

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HAULAGE: TRANS HAUL (EU) LTD

HEAD OFFICE Units B - C, Station Approach Steppingley Road, Flitwick Bedfordshire MK45 1AJ www.transhaul.co.uk Tel: 0800 970 3388

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of technical expertise available for the relevant vehicles as well as to support local businesses, the local community and allow for a very flexible maintenance strategy. This effectively means that Trans Haul is able to benefit from unrivalled experience for the maintenance of its fleet and source maintenance support onthe-fly or at a moment's notice when the need arises.

Although Trans Haul already stands out as one of the leading providers of high quality, reliable and efficient logistics services, Mark explains how the company's own ethos and work ethic further enhances and improves services beyond this: “The mentality throughout the business is to work as a close knit team and to use our customer’s expectations as a minimum level of service, in doing this we can exceed expectation and ensure our customer base only gets stronger.

“Our Warehouse and Transport operations are fully integrated to keep the work-low seamless and we

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measure our throughput and staff productivity daily to keep us proactive and ahead of any potential problems.

We are very much customer focussed and build a lot of our processes and procedures around the requirements of our clients.”

In improving its operations even further, Vigo software has been implemented as Trans Haul's TMS of choice for an integrated traffic planning, invoicing and live signature capture control system to further refine and improve the implementation of its services.

Coupled with the aforementioned telematics systems integrated into its fleet and Motorola PDA devices to assist with communication, administration and as an information source for jobs, Trans Haul has successfully lowered its insurance claims, reduced carbon emissions and improved overall operating efficiencies.

Further to this, the company has also begun the process of gaining a number of industry-acknowledged accreditations to further improve its operations such as UKWA, ISO and FORS. Through this continued investment into technology, refining its systems, training and supported further by its long-standing experienced operational team, Trans Haul is able to ensure that standards never drop, services never fail and that the customer's needs are consistently met year upon year. Looking to the future, Mark explains the future prospects of the company being: “To continue working smart and profitably. We have a solid management foundation and an exceptional hands-on accounting team to ensure this is the priority. Business growth will continue naturally as a biproduct of working well as a team and looking after our clients.”

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HAULAGE: TRANS HAUL (EU) LTD

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N R Evans2_feature 2 12/09/2014 12:13 Page 22

HAULAGE: N R EVANS

TEMPERATURE CONTROLLED DISTRIBUTION N R Evans Distribution is one of the ten biggest temperature controlled distribution companies in the UK delivering over £500 Million of chilled product annual R Evans has established itself as one of the UK’s leading temperature controlled distribution companies. From humble beginnings as a single owner-driver business in 1987, the company has grown to deliver in excess of £500m of chilled product every year.

With its head office in Carmarthenshire, N R Evans has seven operating centres located throughout the UK, which enables it to provide an efficient national and international distribution network whilst offering local support to customers. With its own fleet of vehicles, which includes 3.5 tonne vans up to 44 tonne artics in addition to three warehouses offering a variety of storage space for goods, the company is ideally suited to offer an holistic solution for its customers.

Services include same day, next day, and economy parcel, pallet, and full load deliveries via the fleet with N R Evans’ membership to United Pallet Networks enhancing its capability. In addition, through its series of dedicated partners, the company can move freight worldwide.

This comprehensive service has seen N R Evans establish long-running relationships with a number of high profile clients such as the DHL supply chain (Homebase & ELEKTA), Eddie Stobart, Kuehne & Nagel Drinks Logistics (alcohol), Gregory Distribution (temperature-controlled confectionary) and Philex Electronic (electronics).The company also stores products for pharmaceutical providers, retail customers, WH Smiths, and customers within the FMCG sector.

This array of products and materials stored and transported by N R Evans calls for a varied fleet which includes Mercedes Actros (giga-space) and Renault Premium artics, Mercedes Axor rigids and Mercedes Sprinter vans.

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Transport manager Rob James says the company has recently updated many of its vehicles to aid its goal of reducing carbon emissions and improving fuel efficiency.

“We chose six 2012 Renault’s based on efficiency, emissions, and the type of work we had at the time.

We replaced part of our older fleet with two 2013 Mercedes Actros because of the same reasons plus they come with built in telematics. We opted for 2013 Mercedes Axor’s for the UPN network as they are very good on fuel when used in a stop/start town centre environment. My personal preference is the Mercedes Actros for tractor units; they are bigger, have all the trimmings, a smoother ride and look better,” he explains.

Certainly, telematics has helped to drive efficiency.

“The system has allowed us to monitor, analyse, and educate our drivers in order to get the most efficient driving style based on the type of work undertaken.

Fuel return is currently 5% and with reduced ‘harsh events’ our accident percentage is reducing continually.” Telematics has improved efficiency, lowered insurance claims, and helped the business achieve the levels of carbon reduction its customers expect.

Further investment has brought additional operational gains, adds Rob. “We have implemented Vigo Software as our Transport Management Software of choice. We use this as an integrated system to control our traffic planning, invoicing, and, soon, our live signature capture. In conjunction with this we have purchased new Motorola devices to platform as PDA’s.”

N R Evans has also started the process of gaining UKWA, ISO, and FORS accreditations.

Membership to the United Pallets Network has helped the company grow and develop in recent years.

Rob says UPN is an extremely professional network

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HAULAGE: N R EVANS

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HAULAGE: N R EVANS

“...WE ARE VERY MUCH CUSTOMER FOCUSSED AND BUILD A LOT OF OUR PROCESSES AND PROCEDURES AROUND THE REQUIREMENTS OF OUR CLIENTS.”

NR Evans Logistics Llwyn Yr Eos, Parc Menter Cross Hands Carmarthenshire SA14 6RA www.nrevans.co.uk Tel: 01269 842330

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with “close, hands on and approachable management and operational teams.” This makes it far easier for N R Evans and other member depots to interact and get the most out of their respective network operations.

“We have benefited from UPN’s IT systems, their continued marketing strategies and roll outs, and their in-house sales programme,” the Transport Manager explains.

Yet, ultimately, what has enabled N R Evans to propel its success and maintain high standards is, as Rob calls it, the family factor. “The mentality throughout the business is to work as a close knit team and to use our customer’s expectations as a minimum level of service.

In doing this we can exceed expectation and ensure our customer base only gets stronger.

“Our warehouse and transport operations are fully integrated to keep the workflow seamless, we meas-

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ure our throughput and staff productivity daily to keep us proactive and ahead of any potential problems. And we are very much customer focussed and build a lot of our processes and procedures around the requirements of our clients.”

Managing director and founder of the business Neil Evans concurs, attributing the growth of the business to an ability to work closely with customers in order to understand their business needs. This is complemented by enduring industry-leading levels of service, high specification equipment and skilled professional staff.

“We want to continue working smart and profitably,” remarks Rob. “We have a solid management foundation and an exceptional hands-on accounting team to ensure this is the priority. Business growth will continue naturally as a bi-product of working well as a team and looking after our clients.”

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Lantern Recovery Specialists_feature 2 10/09/2014 11:39 Page 26

RECOVERY: LANTERN RECOVERY SPECIALISTS PLC

N O T H G I L R U O Y “ THE LONELY ROAD”

Lantern Recovery Specialists has been in the business of breakdown and recovery since 1966, building up a network of over 500 agents throughout the UK and Europe antern Recovery Specialists plc is one of the largest independent breakdown and recovery operators in the UK having been established in 1966 by its present owners, the Coleman family.

All of the Lantern team have first hand knowledge and experience in handling all types of requests in the removal and recovery of all type of vehicles, from the smallest cars to the largest commercials, this all being driven by a modern control centre manned by a professional team.

The large fleet of vehicles are all purpose built by sister company, Worldwide Recovery Systems Limited, who are Lantern’s manufacturing division and are designed with all the

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required equipment to cover any eventuality.

The Rescue and Logistics centre is based on a 2.4 acre site strategically placed on the busy intersection of the A1M/M25.

The company’s expertise is based on over 45 years of experience catering for both car and commercial vehicle breakdowns. Lantern employs over 250 staff ensuring that it can offer a distinctive personal service for clients and believing in what it does. The company is passionate about meeting customer requirements, now and in the future and it is continually thinking ahead rather than merely reacting to change.

Lantern Recovery offer full National and European cover with the contracted agents

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being split into the core business streams of cars under 3.5 tonne, over 3.5 tonne and specialist agents. The network is displayed on its mapping system and this provides information to the operator as to individual agent capability.

Lantern agents are required to complete a pre-qualification questionnaire which is used as part of the selection criteria. Successful agents are required to meet the minimum standards which are set in conjunction with Lantern Recovery’s own standards.The standards are measured annually using the criteria set to ensure compliance and the measurement is carried out by auditing vehicles, premises, qualifications, references, insurance and compliance with PAS43.

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RECOVERY: LANTERN RECOVERY SPECIALISTS PLC

THE COMPANY IS PASSIONATE ABOUT MEETING CUSTOMER REQUIREMENTS, NOW AND IN THE FUTURE AND IT IS CONTINUALLY THINKING AHEAD RATHER THAN MERELY REACTING TO CHANGE.

The Operation of the Lantern Recovery Specialists plc business depends on a given combination of People, Processes & Technology, in connection with a given set of current Business Assets.

Lantern operates a web-based tracking facility which also enables control room staff to pinpoint locations.

The breakdown recovery management system is capable of updating customers via e-mail directly from the system and KPIs can be produced daily, weekly, or monthly. The company is unable to produce a sample of a typical management report at present as they are all specifically branded and developed for individual client requirements and the information contained therein is

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client sensitive. Lantern can however tailor any type of report to customer requirements.

Lantern control centre is equipped with the latest technology and all calls are timed, dated and logged into the system as well as being voice recorded and jobs are allocated to the nearest depot, depending on pre-arranged instructions with regard to preferred partners. The job allocation system operates using pre-determined time parameters and when these are exceeded or are approaching the allocated ETA, the operator is alerted. Customers are always updated with a personal phone call.

All telephone conversations are recorded and archived throughout the year. This is used to

enable the management to listen to any telephone calls in or outbound.

Using filters on the data voice system it is possible to drill down to the exact time and date when the conversations took place. This is particularly useful to identify the nature of the call when a complaint has been raised regarding a recovery location, cost implications and any issues of telephone technique.

Examples of implementation of similar contracts Lantern operates includes Isuzu Assistance and RHA Rescue. Lantern Recovery manages the total rescue and recovery process on behalf of both of these customers throughout UK and Europe. These successes have

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enabled it to tender for higher value and larger fleet contracts. Lantern operates similar contracts on behalf of many blue chip companies including, Hertfordshire Constabulary, Prohire Plc, Fraikin Truck Hire, Allianz Assistance, LV Britannia Rescue, Avis, SHB Hire each with contract values varying between £1-£4m. 26 customers make up 80% of its turnover.

LRS have recently taken over the running of the transport for DWS Bodyworks. Providing a solution for the nine vehicle depots in and around London and the Home Counties, it has proved to be a massive success. This is paving the way for other bodyshops to follow suit and LRS aim to have more on board before the end of the year.

Lantern also operates multi-car and commercial transportation specialising in the collection and delivery of cars and commercial trucks throughout the UK using dedicated vehicles specifically designed to meet the customers’ requirements. The specially designed multi-truck carriers enable Lantern to transport all the Isuzu Chassis’ entering the UK to their body-builder or Isuzu dealership.

One of its most recent acquisitions was that of Lords Breakdown and Recovery, this has created a new division of LRS, the Prestige Transport Division.

These dedicated drivers and specially designed trucks,

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RECOVERY: LANTERN RECOVERY SPECIALISTS PLC

Lantern Recovery Specialists PLC Lantern House, 39-41 High Street Potters Bar, Hertfordshire EN6 5AJ www.lanternrecovery.com Tel: 0844 247 60 90

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enable the company to move the high-end vehicle of the elite dealers and customers. Since the acquisition at the start of the year, the division has taken off and has continued the fantastic reputation that the LRS name is renowned for.

The dedicated 24/7 state of the art control room is housed at the Head Office in a prestigious building in Potters Bar where the customer support team and the latest technology enable Lantern to handle an average of 2,500 inbound calls per day with room for expansion.

The Rescue and Logistics Centre is strategically placed on the South Mimms Services providing links with the A1M, M25 and M1 Motorways.

All Lantern vehicles are dynamic and are based throughout the UK at varying locations which change on a daily basis. The fleet consists of over 250 vehicles and these range from motorcycles, fully equipped service vans, transporters up to multi-truck carriers.

Out of the Lantern liveried fleet (excluding RHA Rescue vehicles) it has approximately 170 with capabili-

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ty to recover damaged vehicles from the scene of an accident. Between the company and its network, it has over 500 secure overnight storage sites throughout the UK. With its experience in the recovery industry Lantern has the expertise and necessary equipment for every type of recovery and its agents are all accredited to PAS43 standard.

Lantern Recovery operates on a resource based view and in simple terms this means that it provides the best level of service, using the best vehicles, equipment and staff trained to the highest standards at the best possible cost. It is continually looking to reduce its costs and some examples include employing a dedicated in-house trainer, manufacturing its own fleet, purchasing its fuel in bulk.

A number of recent value-adding initiatives have been introduced including a volume related rebate system to enhance both customer loyalty and service. Lantern is continually looking to expand its operation and is proactively seeking new partners to work with which provide mutually beneficial opportunities.

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RECOVERY: AUTO-RESCUE LOGISTICS

QUALITY SERVICE IS RELIABLE SERVICE Auto-Rescue Logistics provides 24/7 vehicle recovery services to motor insurers, car and commercial fleets, salvage companies, transport and coach operators, and bodyshops. uto-Rescue Logistics (ARL) are different, and often spoken of as the professionals best kept secret. So what is it they do that others seemingly do not? They enjoy an enviable reputation as both a market leading and innovative organisation providing a range of reliable, high quality services to the insurance and fleet industries across the UK. In addition to providing nationwide 24/7 vehicle recovery and breakdown services, ARL can quickly provide photographs and data from the scene, as well as images of the damaged vehicle. For fleets and insurers this information, often received within hours of an accident, can prove vital in speeding up the claims process, a point that Robin Reames, ARL’s Business Development Director was keen to emphasise. Robin, one of the founders of Swift Insurance, previously worked with John Battley at Churchill, John being a former director of both Churchill and ARL until his retirement a few years ago. Indeed, it was this relationship that developed what was to become a long standing relationship between Swiftcover and ARL, one that continues to prove hugely beneficial to both organisations.

Robin explained that having been a claims director he has an intimate knowledge of what drives a claims department, and understands their processes and what it is that insurers are looking for: “ARL

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deliver efficient and innovative solutions to customers problems, and adds value because ARL recognise the pressures that insurers have to control their indemnity spend while delivering a great customer service. At ARL we work with our clients to provide a service that exceeds their expectations, its not just about picking up accident damaged vehicles from the roadside and doing things efficiently, it’s about what else we can do, such as working with them to identify and minimise the liabilities at the front end, taking digital images from the accident scene, developing technology that works for their systems and not force them to try and use ours.”

Robin went on to add: “A supplier has to be very flexible, very versatile, very innovative, and very entrepreneurial in its outlook, and this is where ARL really excels.”

ARL has a diverse, largely blue chip portfolio that includes many familiar household brand motor insurers and commercial fleets, as well as brokers, coach and bus companies, accident repair networks, and national hire car organisations, each benefitting from what is probably the largest managed network of vehicle recovery / breakdown agents in the UK. “ARL prides itself on getting to motorists quickly with an average attendance time across the UK of just 45 minutes from a network of more than 800 agent and service locations. We prioritise incidents

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“A SUPPLIER HAS TO BE VERY FLEXIBLE, VERY VERSATILE, VERY INNOVATIVE, AND VERY ENTREPRENEURIAL IN ITS OUTLOOK, AND THIS IS WHERE ARL REALLY EXCELS.” ROBIN REAMES BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

“ARL HAS AN INCREDIBLE CAPABILITY FOR BOTH SERVICE AND ATTENDANCE BECAUSE WE RUN A LARGE DIVERSE NETWORK OF AGENTS WHO RECOGNISE THAT ARL DEMAND HIGH SERVICE STANDARDS AT ALL TIMES” GARY INWOOD OPERATIONS DIRECTOR in the Northampton ARL control centre where vehicles have vulnerable occupants, lone females or children on board and wherever possible we minimise the on scene attendance time. If it is a commercial vehicle we again operate a similar procedure so that vehicle loads suffer the minimum disruption to their journey,” Robin went on to explain that many deliveries have specific time slots at distribution centres, stores, and supermarkets, while manufacturers can operate an on time delivery system where failure to meet the time slot can result in a financial penalty for the transportation company.

Mike Eagles, the Auto-Rescue Logistics Chairman since the company inception, added: “Long before the birth of ARL, my wife was absolutely insistent that neither of our daughters ever went anywhere without their mobile phone or the ability to get home should

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their car breakdown. The terrible service experienced on the two occasions the breakdown organisation was actually needed helped underpin my determination to provide a guaranteed service for ARL customers. I suspect there are a lot of other mothers out there today who feel exactly the same way, they want a service they can rely upon to get their children home.”

Gary Inwood, the ARL Operations Director said: “ARL has an incredible capability for both service and attendance because we run a large diverse network of agents who recognise that ARL demand high service standards at all times. In addition to our network of agents needing PAS43 certification, which is the industry standard for vehicle recovery/breakdown operators, we focus on network management without distraction or bias to ensure the consistency of quality that our customers demand. It’s a single tier supply chain, effectively managed and everyone is on the same level providing a

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single standard of service, and that is what singles out ARL from everyone else, the consistency of quality of service throughout the UK.” ARL sets itself high benchmarks and difficult challenges, and has done so from its creation.

Within just a few years of being established in 2002, ARL had secured two major insurer contracts as well as one of the UK’s largest commercial fleets, based upon a transparent fixed rate menu of charges for light and heavy vehicle recovery across the UK. Through its motor insurer clients, it became apparent to ARL in 2005 that there was a huge misconception surrounding the level of statutory charges being imposed upon insurers following the Police invoking their powers to remove and recover vehicles from the highway. The polarisation of Vehicle Recovery Operators within the financial protection afforded by the managed police scheme lien, permitted systematic and widespread overcharging: it was not unusual to hear of £15,000 + being charged for

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a commercial vehicle recovery with a refusal to release the vehicle until the charges were paid.

Incredibly Maritime regulations were being cited for vehicle recovery, while personal injury referral fees where scaling new heights, a practice ARL have never participated in.

It was in this climate that ARL established the first Insurance Forum in London, attended by more than fifteen motor insurers and a handful of commercial fleets. Through this medium, just twelve months later in 2006 ARL won a landmark legal case that changed 130 years of British law and set a major precedent still very much relevant today regarding vehicle recovery charges, and indeed opened the door to reform legislation. The Insurance Forum has continued to meet three or four times a year in London and is today active in providing legal guidance on key issues relating to road traffic legislation. In just three of our recent legal actions in support of customers we have saved a major UK hire car company over £300,000, while for a motor

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insurer we saved more than £200,000 on a single claim. A third action is ongoing but to date our customers savings are in excess of £100,000.

Today, it is the unequivocal emphasis that ARL places on providing a service that most benefits its clients and their end customers that has led to its industry-wide success and recognition for delivering the most complete, reliable and supportive service out there, further buoyed by legal guidance on key issues. ARL were one of the first to respond to legal reforms and establish an Alternative Business Structure (ABS) with Rausa Mumford Ltd, specialists in Road Traffic legislation.To date we have created 3 major legal precedents, while another recent legal victory is soon to be reported.

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Mike Eagles explained: “We have six hands on directors driving the company growth, three of whom are permanently based in Northampton.

We have recently developed our own IT web based system for further integration of customer support services such as management information, automatic reporting facilities, and to facilitate claims handling and training programmes for our clients.

“Our success brings the enviable challenges we all like to have, not least maintaining the high quality of service that we have always delivered.

We have had to recruit more staff and train them, but this has brought greater opportunities for promotion and career advancement, and it is wonderful to see young talent rise to the occa-

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sion. We really have the most fantastic staff who are prepared to put in huge effort to see us succeed, I am desperately proud of them all.

“With upwards of fifty staff we have invested heavily in systems to automate more processes and improve efficiency rather than just plug gaps with people. These are nice challenges to have and we have thrived in a tough economic climate because we have never compromised on the quality of what we do. Our client base has grown year on year, our services have evolved across a wider spectrum while delivering greater savings to our clients.”

ARL’s services are tailored to meet the needs of fleets, insurers, brokers, and repairers for whom we continue to offer accident recovery for any type of vehicle, but it is less well known that ARL handle out of hours First Notification of Loss claims supported by liability assessments using technology that can save a client thousands per claim by identifying where fault lies and intervening rapidly, even out of hours. Call handling and message taking for clients is also available.

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“RECOVERME HAS ONLY VERY RECENTLY LAUNCHED AND HAS GONE VERY WELL SO FAR. WE NEEDED TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR TECHNOLOGY PERFORMED TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THE MOTORISTS.” MIKE EAGLES AUTO-RESCUE LOGISTICS CHAIRMAN

WHY RECOVER ME? 4We will never leave you stranded 4We have the largest managed recovery network in the UK, so we reach you quicker 4We offer a replacement car if we cannot repair yours the same day 4We include home start as standard 4We cover the vehicle not the individual, so your family is covered 4We can recover you from anywhere in the UK 24 hours a day, every day of the year 4We offer a smartphone app giving you direct contact with our control centre when a problem arises 4When we repair your car all replacement parts are guaranteed for 12 months

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In the wider arena, many recovery businesses are failing because they can’t survive on the low rates paid by some of the big players, which allows for no reinvestment or training. ARL have managed to maintain a healthy network by paying operators a fair fee and paying them promptly, as such, unlike some of our competitors, ARL seldom struggle to meet response times. I like to regard all these key commitments to quality over cost-cutting as moving in moral circles of success. A colleague described it in a different way, namely that ARL are “refreshingly old-fashioned in a very modern sense.”

Though the company has yet to make a foothold in the consumer-oriented market, ARL still being something of the “professional’s best kept secret,” Mike hopes that the company will develop further into this area through its RecoverMe Breakdown Product which to date has shown great promise. Mike explains this further, saying: “RecoverMe has only very recently launched and has gone very well so far. We needed to make sure that our technology performed to meet the needs of the motorists. RecoverMe will allow customers to benefit from the great service our corporate customers receive at a sensible and very affordable price.

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RECOVERY: AUTO-RESCUE LOGISTICS

“The RecoverMe promise is simple: To deliver a high quality, reliable and efficient service that meets motorists needs with the option of up to £1000 of repair costs following a mis-fueling.

“ARL is about delivering solutions that meet our clients’ needs while adopting an innovative approach to consistently improve service levels.

This remains at the forefront of our proposition.

The added value and services brought by ARL to every contract is where the true value in using ARL is to be found.

“Some examples of how this has improved our service are: We provide images from the incident scene and of the damaged vehicle which can be used to determine the next step in the claim process.This

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innovation will potentially lead to significant costs savings as damage can be assessed prior to redelivery instructions being issued. Through desk-top engineering, this will result in vehicles not being redelivered to repair centres, at a cost to insurers, when they are clearly a total loss. This could speed up the settlement to the customer and impact positively on retention. It reduces transportation costs, cycle times and settlement with the customer and improves the customer journey.

“Web services: we can update clients’ claims systems in real time with claim information reducing the need to go into various systems or for the client to rekey information. It is extracted straight from our system to theirs.

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RECOVERY: AUTO-RESCUE LOGISTICS

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RECOVERY: AUTO-RESCUE LOGISTICS

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RECOVERY: AUTO-RESCUE LOGISTICS

The web based system has a client portal which allows clients to log on and access live and historic recoveries, examine invoices, images and case notes and recordings. This transparency permits clients to remotely audit our performance and frees up resources for all parties.

“Auto Rescue Logistics are able to recover any kind of vehicle, in any kind of situation within the UK at a moment’s notice. This front line service is supported by technological innovation in the control centre, with automated mapping, and services to simplify the administration processes.”

Mike raised one point of caution when saying that in recent years there had been an almost constant squeeze on vehicle recovery/breakdown operator’s margins by some of the larger motoring organisations who have held Dutch auctions where the agents, in

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competition with each other, bid down to a price to win a territory. Mike is most definitely not an advocate of this cost cutting policy, believing that the vehicle recovery operators are the front line of ARL’s services and deserve better. “For me it’s an ethical decision,” Mike explained. “We have consistently improved the rates we pay our agents, and believe we are the market leaders in this respect. We’re great advocates of supporting our network – we want to see them flourish.”

Auto Rescue Logistics has successfully established itself as a recovery service which offers support for both clients and network operatives which competitors have difficulty matching: “ARL strive to better the expectations that people have of us,” explains Mike, who is keen to consistently push for ever higher standards while continuing as the leading innovator and pioneer of the market.

Beaufort House 7-8 Talavera Court, Moulton Park Northampton NN3 6RW www.autorescuelogistics.co.uk Control Room : 01604 496811 Administration : 01604 496800

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Caldicot Fleet Main._feature 2 16/09/2014 14:18 Page 46

RECOVERY: CALDICOT

EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS

Caldicot Fleet Recovery pride themselves on their ability to deliver high levels of workmanship, meeting and exceeding industry standards. aldicot is a vehicle recovery and fleet maintenance specialist based in Monmouthshire. The company is proud of its reputation in delivering high standards of care to highways contractors and the Wales commercial vehicle and haulage industry.

Established in 1998 by Howard Edwards and Paul Griffiths, the company has grown and developed its capability, expanding to cover contraflow and roadside recovery in recent years.

The company’s founders combined their experience across vehicle recovery services and commercial vehicle servicing into a comprehensive solution for highways contractors. Based near the Severn Bridge, the business is set in an ideal location for easy access to the M4 and M5 corridors. However, Caldicot provides services on highways across the UK as required by its clients.

A decade after the company was started, Caldicot has developed an enviable reputation for recovery and

C MONMOUTHSHIRE DEPOT: Unit 9, Castle Way Severn Bridge Industrial Estate Caldicot Monmouthshire NP26 5PR BIRMINGHAM DEPOT Unit 7 Romney House Industrial Estate Wolverhampton street Darlaston WS10 8UB www.caldicotrecovery.co.uk Tel: 01291 424282

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repair services across the UK and now works on behalf of some of the largest contractors in the industry.

With work complemented by the operation of a fleet of specialised recovery vehicles capable of dealing with everything from HGVs to regular cars, Caldicot has the resources to adapt to various requirements.

Customers also benefit from the provision of a true 24/7 on-site service. Indeed, the company’s experienced teams guarantee to keep contraflows running smoothly.

Meeting and exceeding industry standards is a constant target for the Caldicot team and it is consistently investing in staff training, expansion and improvement of the fleet and reaching benchmarks of approval and certification.

Caldicot is also ISO 9001 Quality Assured, Highways Agency Sector 17 and PAS 43 approved, as well as being UKAS accredited. With its individual staff trained to Institute of Vehicle Recovery standards and regularly assessed for quality of workmanship and cus-

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RECOVERY: CALDICOT

tomer care, the company also attends site fully uniformed for a completely professional service.

Recently, as a feature of its growth, the company opened a new depot. The business is constantly expanding in order for it to provide customers with the best service possible. Caldicot has recently opened an additional depot in Birmingham, ensuring that it is perfectly placed to respond to any vehicle recovery demands in the Midlands and surrounding areas.

Additionally, at the beginning of the year, the Caldicot fleet was expanded when it purchased more vehicles. Four more IPV's, two heavy recovery vehicles and one more service van were introduced into the fleet to keep up with the continuous high demand for its services.

Located near the Severn Bridge and now Birmingham as well, Caldicot has fast access to the M4 and M5 corridors, as well as the Midlands, including West Bromwich, Walsall, Dudley, Kidderminster, Stourbridge, Sutton Coldfield, Halesowen, Redditch, Bromsgrove, Cannock, Lichfield, Droitwich Spa, Wolverhampton, Aldridge and Birmingham.

The company is also able to expand its services across any part of the UK highways system.

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Richford Motor Services_feature 2 11/09/2014 14:19 Page 48

RECOVERY: RICHFORD MOTOR SERVICES LTD ichford Motor Services Ltd has developed a strong reputation for light and heavy recovery and maintenance from its base in Derbyshire. Its experienced team of operatives have expertise across a variety of disciplines enabling the company to offer a holistic solution that is attentive to individual needs. Indeed, through the development of long-term relationships with its customers, Richford Motor Services enjoys the benefits of repeat custom. This sees it gain new work primarily through positive word of mouth.

The company knows a customer’s car is more than a tool that gets them from point A to point B, it’s a customer’s freedom. Therefore, when you bring your car to Richford Motor Services, the company makes sure it leaves trouble-free so customers can have the freedom they desire with peace of mind.

The company’s team of certified technicians will ensure customers receive the best practices in the industry.

Indeed, whether a customer has a HGV or a moped, Richford Motor Services has the facilities and expertise to get customers back on the road.

The company states: “We believe in treating our customers fairly because we want your business now, and far into the future. Come to us for a variety of automotive services ranging from basic maintenance to heavy repair.

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A REPUTATION FOR EXCELLENCE Richford Motor Services have capabilities to recovery anything from a scooter to a loaded articulated lorry.

HEAD OFFICE Richford Motor Services Ltd Dunsford Road, Alfreton Derbyshire, DE557RH www.richfordmotors.com Tel: 01773 835192

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RECOVERY: RICHFORD MOTOR SERVICES LTD

With competitive rates and fast service, we’ll give you the best value for your time and money.”

Significantly, Richford Motor Services’ comprehensive capability includes its own fleet of vehicles supporting customers 24 hours a day.The company has the expertise and resources to recover anything from a scooter to a loaded articulated lorry.

Complementing Richford Motor Services’ capability is its membership to AVRO. This organisation is the oldest-established and leading trade association for recovery operators. Its primary aim has always been to raise standards in the recovery industry.Today AVRO continues to be the leading voice of the industry and operates throughout the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland through 14 regions and is the only representative body with a recognised set of standards.

Its members, like Richford Motor Services, operate more than 5,000 recovery vehicles nationwide so represent the largest fleet cover of any recovery organisation.

Each member is independently audited by RIES to ensure AVRO's minimum requirements are maintained. By using an AVRO member for recovery requirements customers know their fleet is in a safe pair of hands.

Richford Motor Services has enjoyed its growth over the last few years but has ambitions to develop further. The next few years are going to be interesting for this highly regarded business.

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Tesco_feature 2 16/09/2014 13:42 Page 50

CARBON EMISSIONS: TESCO

CUTTING CARBON EMISSIONS

Tesco has set itself ambitious green targets, addressing the energy efficiency of its entire business, and engaging suppliers ith an original goal of 25% reduction of C02 by 2020 set out back in 2011-2012, Tesco is dedicated to persisting with this ambitious target to reduce carbon emissions across the entire group and has so far displayed great success with reductions of approximately 7.8% from 2011 achieved at the end of the 2013/2014 financial year.

“In the past, the UK has led the way on carbon reduction and now we’re looking at other businesses around the Group to see what initiatives we can transfer,” explains Caroline Sindrey, Group Distribution Environmental Manager who is keen to push carbon reduction measures not just in Tesco’s primary hub of operations, but worldwide as part of Tesco’s commitment to reducing its impact on the environment and minimising carbon emissions.

While most of Tesco’s successes in carbon reduction so far have been attributed to improving operational efficiency, to reduce the number of miles travelled on the road and the improved technology present in these vehicles, Tesco has also taken the initiative to convert 35 of its vehicles to run on dual-fuel and promote long-term carbon reductions as well as the short term methods. Caroline explains: “In terms of carbon reduction so far, have our dual-fuel vehicles contributed? Not really. Do we think it’s going to contribute in the future

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then yes. Efficiency gains can only take you so far and in order to have low or zero carbon transport for large goods vehicles then you do need to look at alternative fuels for vehicles and gas seems to be the most promising at the moment.”

Efficiencies that can promote the reduction of carbon emissions in the long term can be divided into two categories, namely operational efficiencies and vehicle efficiencies. and in promoting the efficiency of its vehicles Tesco has taken the move to upgrade future fleet additions to Euro 6 standard, however Caroline details many of the other initiatives Tesco are making to revolutionise its fleet and achieve its goals further: “What we’re looking at to increase the efficiency of our vehicles are the bells and whistles around the fleet, like aerodynamics which is a big focus for us at the moment. We’ve got currently got various types of aerodynamic kit on our vehicles, for example on our grocery trailers we’ve got the full side skirts, large radius capping and front air deflectors. What we’re looking at the moment is the aerodynamics under the vehicle and we’re working with the Centre for Sustainable Road Freight to look at better designs to reduce drag and save fuel.”

Since 2006, a large part of Tesco’s carbon reduction has come from investing in a fleet of double deck trailers to maximise the

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May Star Watch Over You Star Refrigeration Key Account Manager WilliAM Little talks about the benefits of preventative maintenance and remote monitoring and takes a look at how this helped Tesco to drive down running costs and ensure compliance across all their cold stores in the UK. Increased regulation, environmental legislation, rising energy costs, and carbon tax are major challenges facing retailers with temperature controlled warehouses.

Through our long standing and continuing strong partnership, we have been able to ensure Tesco meets regulatory requirements and at the same time reduce energy consumption through the continuous development of our refrigeration maintenance solution, StarCare. New innovative technologies have also helped reduce energy consumption across all UK Tesco’s refrigerated distribution centres. It is through this combination of a planned preventative maintenance programme and new technologies that Tesco continues to drive down running costs. One site alone saved over £100K in a year through reduced energy consumption following the implementation of StarCare.

StarCare Refrigeration equipment maintenance has traditionally been done by a programme of planned site visits by engineering specialists.

During the course of a visit, a series of maintenance and performance health checks would be carried out and immediate adjustments made to correct any deviations outside of performance parameters. This can be costly due to the number of site visits by the refrigeration engineering specialist.

Recognising the need to provide customers with significant cost efficiencies – but without a reduction in safety or service quality, Star developed state of the art remote monitoring system that collects data from the refrigeration systems PLC and takes it off site via a broadband connection for analysis by refrigeration specialists. The resulting reports inform Star maintenance teams of work that needs to be carried out to return the refrigeration plant to peak efficiency and reliability. The system has been installed on all of Tesco’s UK distribution warehouses. It is currently delivering cost-effective energy saving measures with a short payback on investment and a substantial improvement in plant reliability, safety and efficiency.

The remote monitoring addition ensures a constant link between individual sites and Star’s engineering personnel to provide 24/7 live coverage across the UK through a network of nine branch offices and 10 experienced management teams with more than 80 mobile field engineers.

Diagnostics The monitoring system was first developed in 1983 by Star’s engineers and refined over the years to offer a more intelligent and robust solution than conventional monitoring tools. It is used today through a wide range of industries with differing cooling needs but all with the objective of removing sources of energy waste to drive running costs down through better maintenance and lower energy consumption.

This comprehensive diagnostics solution feeds onsite live data 24/7 via broadband into Star’s Data Monitoring Hub for analysis, trending, graphing, and reporting. The system is designed to report back either alerts to on-call engineers to attend emergency maintenance faults or forward less important signals to amend operation of the plant in the future before failure occurs.

The system provides analysis of data which highlight areas that need investigation. It uses graphing of data to log live information such as pressures, temperatures, power consumption and other refrigeration parameters. From this live data the system generates detailed reports for historical graphs/trending analysis to measure how effective the maintenance programme is.

In addition, it regularly monitors part consumption, equipment operation (compressors, condensers, and pumps), oil quality, refrigerant levels and water contamination amongst other refrigeration indicators.

Ultimately, the data monitoring system offers live fault reporting that allows the operation team to identify and visualize issues as they arise. A record of alerts and faults is kept for each site and detailed reports of results are presented to the management in user-friendly analytical graphs and pie charts in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the work carried out and to allow targeted maintenance to eliminate potential issues.

Tesco has been logging and trending detailed live data via Star’s energy monitoring system since 2005. The monitors were installed on all 11 distribution sites to consistently reduce refrigeration energy use, achieving cost-savings year on year.

The latest version of the system featuring longer trending, improved graphics, improved energy consumption display and comparison with prior year, and maintenance aids, has recently been released. Star HMI is highly competitive compared to more standard software programs such as SCADA.

savings According to the Carbon Trust 90% of energy costs in the Cold Storage sector are accounted for by refrigeration. The potential savings from running an efficient and well maintained chilling plant are considerable.

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Delamode Group.e$S_feature 2 11/09/2014 09:10 Page 56

THIRD PARTY LOGISTICS: DELAMODE UK dynamic logistics and freight forwarding company, Delamode UK offers fully integrated supply chain solutions on a national and international scale. With over 20 years of experience, Delamode has become widely renowned as a specialist in providing unique expertise in the movement and consolidation of freight between Eastern and Western Europe.

The company offers vast experience in European road, sea and air freight forwarding, as well as flexible logistics, storage and fulfilment solutions. With its extensive market knowledge of international markets and routes the company is able to provide customers with the reassurance that their goods are in safe hands at all times.

Significantly, Delamode UK was selected as the BIFA 2012 European Logistics award winner after impressing the judges with its highly efficient service and cost-effective logistics solutions.

Its comprehensive services include scheduled groupage services to and from Eastern Europe; part load and full load import and export services for Western and Eastern Europe; cross trade movements;

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FORWARD THINKING LOGISTICS SOLUTIONS Delamode UK is a dynamic logistics and freight forwarding company that offers fully integrated supply chain solutions on national and international scale.

DELAMODE (UK Head Office) 700 Avenue West Skyline 120, Great Notley Braintree, Essex CM77 7AA www.delamode-uk.com Tel: 01376 333000

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THIRD PARTY LOGISTICS: DELAMODE UK

consolidation services for European and national markets; complete supply chain management; and warehousing and contract logistics (3PL).

Delamode can also provide product fulfilment solutions, fashion logistics, air and sea freight services, customs clearance, and ferry crossing booking solutions.

PIONEERING PRESENCE The Delamode Group has been a pioneering presence in Central and Eastern Europe for over 20 years, offering unique expertise in the movement of freight worldwide. The Delamode Group currently employs over 250 people and has offices and facilities in the UK, Romania, Baltics, Balkans, Bulgaria, Hungary, Moldova, and Estonia.

More recently, Delamode opened an office in Skopje, Macedonia. This extends the Delamode Group’s European network to 10 offices. The new Delamode operation in Macedonia offers weekly scheduled road groupage, FTL and PTL services between Macedonia and the following countries: UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, Baltics, Scandinavia, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, as well as the following West Balkan countries - Kosovo and Albania.

Furthermore, with the Delamode Group’s vast expertise in delivering fashion and lifestyle logistics solutions the company can provide the Macedonia market with FTL and PTL textile and garment road transport, for both the import and export of products.

Delamode understands the importance of having robust domestic networks in place and utilising its extensive industry knowledge has developed highly efficient domestic networks throughout Europe, including the West Balkans – enabling the company to provide customers with competitively priced and reliable services for the collection and delivery of shipments.

For sea freight requirements the Delamode Macedonia office can offer FCL and LCL services via Thessaloniki, along with highly competitive groupage services for shipments for the Far East.

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Crown Commercial_feature 2 11/09/2014 11:48 Page 58

PUBLIC SECTOR: THE CROWN COMMERCIAL SERVICE

IMPROVING SERVICES AND SAVING MONEY The vision of the Crown Commercial Service is to deliver value for the nation through outstanding commercial capability and quality customer service.

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PUBLIC SECTOR: THE CROWN COMMERCIAL SERVICE

entralised commercial and procurement services for Government are now handled by the Crown Commercial Service (CCS). This has enabled significant public sector benefits through the Service’s vision to deliver value through outstanding commercial capability and quality customer service.

Through an integrated procurement service, the health sector, local and regional administrations, education and not-for-profit organisations have benefited from Government procurement becoming part of CCS. The amalgamation of the government’s central commercial capability into a single organisation that incorporates the Cabinet Office and central government departments has enhanced, improved and brought significant value to the overall process.

This has led to a number of recent achievements resulting from the CCS becoming the “go to” place for expert commercial and procurement advice and direct buying services. It’s a challenge ensuring that policy development is closely linked to implementation, with more emphasis on pre- and post-contract activity to extract more value for the taxpayer, yet the Crown Commercial Service has made significant progress.

This has been a result of services including contract management and supplier performance management to

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PUBLIC SECTOR: THE CROWN COMMERCIAL SERVICE ensure that the government acts as a single customer; freeing up individual organisations to focus their procurement expertise on what is unique to them.

In addition, the Crown Commercial Service works closely with arm’s length bodies, nondepartmental public bodies, executive agencies and organisations across the whole of the UK public sector including health, local government, education, devolved administrations, emergency services and not for profit organisations.

There are a number of ways buyers and suppliers can access its services: self service via the website; assisted delivery, such as aggregated eAuctions and national further competitions which it runs on behalf of multiple customers; and a fully managed service for departments.

The Crown Commercial Service’s solutions are delivered by more than 2,600 suppliers, of whom more than 50% are SMEs. Importantly, the value for money commercial solutions are fully EU compliant to save time and money. The organisation provides services for the core commodity areas covering energy, travel, fleet, office solutions, communications services, print, professional services, ICT, eCommerce, construction, research, facilities management and property.

The organisation’s history dates back to 1991 when The Buying Agency was established.

Following the Gershon review of Central Government Procurement in 1999, a new organisation – the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) – was set up within HM Treasury. The Buying Agency was transferred to OGC as an Executive Agency on 1 April 2000.

In June 2010 Buying Solutions, along with OGC, moved from HM Treasury to the Cabinet Office to become part of the Efficiency and Reform Group (ERG). In March 2011 Buying Solutions became the delivery arm of Government Procurement within Cabinet Office following a strategic Review commissioned by Francis Maude, Minister for the Cabinet Office.

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In July 2011, Buying Solutions was renamed Government Procurement Service (GPS) to reflect its new role at the heart of Government Procurement. Subsequently, CCS brought together in 2014 – as one organisation – GPS, the commercial function of the Cabinet Office, and common goods and services procurement and commercial management currently undertaken by departments.

For suppliers, the organisation develops value for money procurement solutions to help public sector organisations buy more efficiently and effectively. By standardising specifications, where possible, and aggregating spend the CCS delivers significant, sustainable cost reductions for customers in a number of key areas of common spend.

When new product or service needs are identified, or when an existing arrangement needs renewing, the Service is obliged by EU legislation

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PUBLIC SECTOR: THE CROWN COMMERCIAL SERVICE

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inchscape_Layout 1 11/09/2014 10:47 Page 1

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Inchcape Fleet Solutions provide a tailored and expert vehicle management solution that takes the everyday challenge of running a fleet away from your business.

Our flexible fleet management products and services will meet all of your needs, whether you are looking for a full or partially outsourced service.

Crown Commercial_feature 2 15/09/2014 14:02 Page 64

PUBLIC SECTOR: THE CROWN COMMERCIAL SERVICE to follow a formal procurement process to ensure the EU Procurement Directives are met.

The EU Procurement Directives are designed to promote competition and transparency in the award of contracts for the supply of products and services to public sector organisations throughout Europe. Within the UK the EU Procurement Directives are embedded within the Public Contract Regulations 2006.

Tender opportunities are advertised in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU).

It is only by responding to a contract notice in the OJEU that one can tender to become a supplier on one of the Service’s arrangements.

Any company within the EU member states can express their interest, provided they meet the stated criteria for the procurement. Full details of how to register interest in a tender will be contained in the contract notice published in the OJEU. As part of this process a supplier will need to register on the Crown Commercial Service’s eSourcing tool.

Suppliers will need to be successful in the tender to be awarded a position on the ensuing arrangement. Expressing an interest in the tender does not mean a supplier has been successful.

The Crown Commercial Service’s aim is to provide exceptional service for its customers and is therefore fully committed to ensuring all customers are able to take advantage of the benefits of the centralisation programme, driving

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value in an effective and transparent way. To support this, its customer team has dedicated relationship managers allocated to each central government department and sector, including health, local government and devolved administrations, to provide a single point of contact. Customer service agreements are in place with all departments, defining service levels and identifying clear roles and responsibilities.

Savings are measured in accordance with guidance provided by the Efficiency and Reform Group guide “Measuring Up”, which was published on 29 November 2010.

UNIFIED APPROACH The guidance aims to introduce a unified approach to driving savings, and is based on a number of principles. The Crown Commercial Service is responsible for validating and reporting all savings for common goods and services procurement.

Significantly, the CCS has recently strengthened its commercial capability through its introduction of Ed Smith, the former Chief Operating Officer and Strategy Chair of PwC’s Global Assurance business, who became the organisation’s non-executive Chair. Ed Smith has strong business background from over 30 years at PwC and his roles as a Non-Executive Director for the Department for Transport and as Deputy Chair of NHS England.

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The CCS has also appointed David Wakefield, an experienced chartered management accountant, to the role of Non-Executive Director chairing its Audit Committee.

Minister for the Cabinet Office Francis Maude said, “Our relentless programme of commercial reform saved taxpayers £5.4bn last year alone against a 2009 to 2010 baseline – equivalent to nearly £850 for each working household across Britain. Through the Crown Commercial Service we are ensuring government acts as a smarter customer, using its buying power to ensure value for money for the taxpayer.We are also taking steps to improve commercial capability in the civil service, and these appointments will add to our successful efforts to drive down the cost of government.

Bill Crothers, who led the creation of the Crown Commercial Service, will become the Government Chief Commercial Officer. He will lead the wider programme of commercial reform across government. He said, “Attracting private sector experience of this calibre is vital in helping us not only to manage and negotiate with our biggest suppliers but also to continue to improve the commercial skills of the civil service. We have made improvements in contract management and upskilling across government though there is much more to do.” ccs.cabinetoffice.gov.uk Tel: 0345 010 3503

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Britannia Coaches_feature 2 12/09/2014 15:27 Page 66

BUS AND COACHES: BRITANNIA COACHES any companies claim to offer a personal service but it doesn’t often extend to knocking on the doors of clients to check on their health.

However, it’s an attitude that’s led to Britannia Coaches building a base of over 10,000 regular customers.

The company started in 1995 running a weekly service to Poland. That changed to school contracts and rail replacement work but, as contracts became less profitable, Britannia has moved increasingly into the holiday market. “It’s our own work, including theatre and day trips, where we sell to the public,” states founder and Managing Director Richard Howells. “We compete on price with the big operators and operate on a localised basis. With these other companies, you can sit on a coach from early morning and arrive at your hotel at night because they’re picking up everywhere. We only pick up in Hitchin, Stevenage and Letchworth.”

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TOUCH Britannia Coaches has built up a reputation of value for money coupled with good comfortable executive coaches.

Britannia Coaches North End, Bury Mead Road Hitchin Herts SG5 1RT England britanniacoaches.co.uk Tel: 01462 436125

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BUS AND COACHES: BRITANNIA COACHES

Britannia books hotels and holiday camp accommodation and theatre tickets, then sells the excursions through the local press, a brochure and agents. That relies on knowledge of the market and its customers to ensure everything sells.

PERSONAL SERVICE But knowledge of its customers is something where Britannia doesn’t have a problem, with many treated as friends and encountered daily. Consequently, much new business comes by word of mouth but the pressure is always on maintaining that business. It’s largely achieved through a personal and friendly service where the emphasis is on the driver rather than necessarily the coach.

Richard says: “We haven’t got the £500,000 coach but have a nice, clean, sensible motor that is well maintained and use drivers that we train in how they should be. Most passengers know them because they come frequently with us and we do our very best to accommodate them. The drivers help them on and off, talk to them and joke with them. It’s all good fun.”

All coaches are tracked with hands-free telephones so drivers can be contacted in case of need.

That was useful two years ago when flooded kitchens at a destination holiday camp meant alternative accommodation had to be found while en route. True to its principles, the company ensured no-one’s holiday was spoiled by booking rooms in a four star hotel at short notice and considerable expense. “One night at the hotel cost the same as one week at the holiday camp,” recalls Richard. ”We did our very best and everybody had a lovely holiday. It cost us a lot more money but we swallow it and know they’ll all come back to us.”

With the number of school contracts reduced and rail replacement work increasingly unrewarding, Richard acknowledges Britannia’s future is in its own hands: “It’s more into the holiday business but our profile has to improve with our coaches and we have to get much more into social networking and technology.

We are expanding in that area so people can see something on the website, book it, pay for it and that’s how it’s going to go.”

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Coach Services_feature 2 16/09/2014 13:57 Page 68

BUS AND COACH: COACH SERVICES

FIRST CLASS SERVICE ALL THE WAY With no fare rise in two years and a keen interest in customer feedback, Coach Services have increased business by going back to basics.

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BUS AND COACH: COACH SERVICES combination of high fuel costs and reduced margins has put pressure on transport companies. Nevertheless, Coach Services hasn’t increased its fares for two years and that’s mainly due to increased patronage driving revenues.

The third generation family business started in 1957. “We’ve always done coach tours and private hires,” remarks Transport Manager Rob Crawford. “In the last five or six years, we’ve moved into bus services and it’s worked out really well for us.”

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GROWTH AREA The coach side of the business involves working for tour companies, running excursions featured in its day trips brochure and providing an education service for local councils and private schools. But the real growth area is scheduled bus services where the company originally operated in competition with First Bus but is now the main provider of local services and experiencing extremely good patronage.

Rob says: “We do very well with local colleges, providing post-16 transport for students.

We get hold of them straightaway and, once they start using the bus, they use it for leisure and their own purposes as well. So that’s where it turned out really well for us.”

It is, of course, more than simply getting people used to travelling on buses and there’s a big emphasis on getting and using customer feedback as well as keeping customers informed.

“We have a Twitter account we use for updates, which has been invaluable for us, especially during the bad weather last winter,” outlines Rob. “We get feedback from drivers and passengers, and we have a feedback e-mail address we put up in buses so people can get in touch.We’ll take anything on board.”

FIRST CLASS SERVICE Information is seen as key and communication is also via publications and the company website.

But, as Rob acknowledges, it’s essential a first class service is provided at all times and that’s particularly important for someone using a bus for the first time: “Chances are, if their first experience on a bus is a bad one, they probably won’t travel

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again. We have to get hold of those people and keep them on the bus, so we need good communication, making sure every single member of staff is completely up-to-date with timetabled information. Fleet reliability is ever so important.

Buses work hard, on average fifteen hours a day and the wheels are turning for most of it.”

Reliability is ensured through having a relatively modern fleet for frontline services.That, as Rob explains, means full advantage is taken of the warranty period and thereafter each vehicle is subject to a four-weekly inspection: “The first thing we look for with a new coach is the maintenance package. For new vehicles, the first year is the most important because that’s when we discover any teething problems; they’re all covered under a package and get sorted straightaway. After that, it should be plain sailing and new vehicles have full telematics systems inbuilt as well. They feed back performance details and highlight any problems with the vehicle.”

All public service vehicles now have low floors so they’re wheelchair and pushchair accessible. There are also three double-deckers in the fleet with more to come to provide necessary extra capacity, with a policy of buying new when contracts require it. Allied to that is a focus on ensuring that drivers have more than

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BUS AND COACH: COACH SERVICES

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BUS AND COACH: COACH SERVICES just good driving ability. “The drivers, especially working for a smaller family business like us, realise there has to be interaction,” states Rob. “It is very important and people expect it, especially in rural areas where we operate. We’re going to have training courses that are more tailored to passenger access, whereas before a lot were first aid-based, driver behaviour and safe and fuel efficient driving courses. One of the biggest and most important skills in local transport, especially when moving hundreds of people each day, is how to deal with passengers, particularly troublesome passengers, because the more you move, the more you’re going to get them.”

The efforts made so far have resulted in a good increase in patronage and that’s enabled fares to be held despite a 20% cut in the bus service operators’ grant in 2012. In fact, as Rob confirms, some increased business has resulted from lower fares: “In some cases, we’ve been able to reduce fares, especially for 16-19 year olds. Once we did that, we saw a big surge.”

Vehicle telematics incorporate tracking, which has enabled the company to partner with the local council on ticket machines that are smart card enabled and also provide real-time information on when the next bus is due. “People don’t tend to look at timetables any more, they just want to know when the next bus is due,” comments Rob. “An urban service should be frequent enough so that they can just turn up and not have to wait more than thirty minutes.”

Most services are relatively local, with a half-hourly service between Thetford and Bury St Edmunds and less

frequent services further afield. Any further expansion is currently constrained by the building of a new bus station in Thetford that’s due to be operational by March 2015. Rob says: “It’s generally September when we look to make changes to services but we’re putting it off at the minute because the entire bus station is being relocated so I’m having to change the whole network. Once that starts getting close to completion, I’m going to see where we stand.

“WE GET FEEDBACK FROM DRIVERS AND PASSENGERS, AND WE HAVE A FEEDBACK E-MAIL ADDRESS WE PUT UP IN BUSES SO PEOPLE CAN GET IN TOUCH. WE’LL TAKE ANYTHING ON BOARD.” “We are pretty much the sole operator in Thetford apart from National Express that runs scheduled airport services. So we’re in a good position to mould it to what we want. We’ve been involved with the planning, we’ve sent buses for dry runs to make sure they can get in and out so we’ve been working closely with the council as the predominant operator in the town. I would like to think we’re going to be operating new services within the next eighteen months but we need to wait for it to settle down before we start.”

Coach Services Ltd 1A Howlett Way Thetford, Norfolk, IP24 1HZ www.coachservicesltd.com Tel: 01842 821509

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Centurion Travel_feature 2 16/09/2014 12:36 Page 72

BUS AND COACH: CENTURION TRAVEL

THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT

Centurion Travel operates a mixed fleet of coaches, allowing it to cater for the needs of all of its customers, ranging from school transport to corporate travel.

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BUS AND COACH: CENTURION TRAVEL riginally founded in 1989, Centurion Travel initially served as a provider of affordable coach services to the public under the trading name of Economy Travel. Since then the company has rapidly expanded alongside the market and now offers a wide variety of coach services including European tours, night club trips and transport for local and regional schools.

With home to school transport being at the core of Centurion’s modern day service, the company currently carries around 850 children through 15 routes to and from their place of study. In addition to this: “The company has many overseas customers from throughout the US to Thailand to Australia,” explains Steve Spiller, Director of Centurion Travel. Through catering for a variety of UK-inbound groups, outings and excursions for local groups and organisations,

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Centurion Travel has successfully integrated itself as a key coach service provider throughout the UK and additionally assists in the support of local communities and tourism.

Commenting on Centurion Travel’s future plans for services and promoting days out, Steve explains: “A day tour programme is being launched during 2015, combined with new website projects allowing customers to retail trips to individuals and all payments to be made and handled online.” The website itself, which is set to be launched by Autumn, 2014 will provide much needed support for event and tour management organisations through handling much of the administration and workload involved in planning such excursions.

Recent tours provided by Centurion Travel have included numerous exciting and prestigious locations such as football stadiums, Twinning visits to Holland, social group visits to South France and the support of American University tours

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throughout the South West of England. By providing such a diverse portfolio of supported tours and locations, Centurion Travel has successfully integrated itself into the sector as a key provider of high quality transport services in support of numerous interesting projects and events.

In supporting the value of Centurion’s coach services for events and days out the company is also dedicated to providing the best, comfortable and entertaining experience possible through integration of DVD playing capabilities, WiFi and 240v power points on most of its modern coaches. “Modern travellers do tend to want to use their own media and coach screen can never be as clear as an iPad on the lap,” explains Steve, who is keen to provide the perfect avenue for passengers to find sources of entertainment which suit their personal needs.

Through developing its coaches into a state where personal media devices and entertainment outlets can be supported, Centurion is

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able to maximise customer experience and satisfaction whilst also minimising the costs associated with generic, less appreciated forms of entertainment. This has allowed Centurion to focus more and more on the areas which matter and continually adapt its services to the needs of the client.

Due to the ever-expanding portfolio of Centurion's services, the company has also continued to grow accordingly to cater for the increased demand of its services as Steve explains: “Our ATF and Car/Van MOT station has also grown and due to a new bespoke computer programme we are now handling over 20 third party tests on some weekdays together with the site used by Vosa for the testing of our own fleet. To top it off Centurion Travel also operate one of the first legal 13 seat limousines in the area, this has proved to be highly popular.”

With a further two wedding cars offered via partnership with a sister company, Centurion has received much acclaim for its complete wedding package with frequent bookings being made for its cars, limousines and coach transport to support the cherished day.

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With its extensive fleet currently comprising of 6 Mercedes Coaches, 6 Dennis, 2 Volvo, 4 Bova, 5 Irizar (4 Scania, 1 Daf), 3 Daf Vanhool and a number of preservation coaches including the original Bedford Lazer to further back up the main fleet during incredibly busy periods.

This large and varied fleet enabled Centurion to take on large amounts of work simultaneously and manage high standards across all of its jobs.

Maintenance for the fleet is further supplied inhouse by Centurion's own maintenance team and backed up by technical related repairs and diagnostics from local Mercedes and Scania dealers; this enables Centurion to both manage maintenance and fleet quality levels personally whilst also being backed up by technical experts for specific vehicles.

In keeping its fleet up to date at all times, Centurion prides itself in both its maintenance and upgrading of its fleet, as Steve explains: “The pattern to fleet replacement normally follows demand for a certain set up or size of coach, we try to keep a modern vehicle in each size band allowing us to cater for clients from the top to the bottom. There is always a place for an older

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BUS AND COACH: CENTURION TRAVEL

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BUS AND COACH: CENTURION TRAVEL vehicle operated at a low price especially if needed to be driving off road or for example for a quarry tour in the Mendips.The overall aim is to decrease fleet age and at time of print our fleet working average age is 14 years old with the London Emission Zone approved vehicles at an average age of 9 years.”

coach parking bays at the front of the premises, as well as the relocation of vehicle washing facilities away from our doors.

“Better facilities for our staff will see an installation of a specific PC terminal for our staff to be able to selfaccess our own unique and bespoke system where they can check their working days, request holidays,

GREAT REPUTATION By focusing on its individual clients on a personal level, Centurion has earned a great reputation for its customer service and the attention to detail for each and every job. This is supported further by continuing in its original goals of providing an affordable, yet high quality service the company; however it is of note that while Centurion aims to offer affordable prices, the company aims to be sensible and does not engage in predatory pricing schemes, undercutting the competition or beating down prices so that it can continue to ensure high standards for quality and consistently improve its service year upon year. “It is important to keep maintenance to a top priority and our customers understand this. Centurion Travel also benefits from its mixed fleet being able to cater for a customer’s ever changing needs,” adds Steve.

Steve further explains the future prospects and his ambitions for the company, saying: “The future is certainly bright for Centurion, 2015 will see further improvements both to the yard, workshops and also to the Dolphin Inn, the restaurant will be opened and many cosmetic yard improvements will be made. Plans are in place for relaying a number of

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BY FOCUSING ON ITS INDIVIDUAL CLIENTS ON A PERSONAL LEVEL, CENTURION HAS EARNED A GREAT REPUTATION FOR ITS CUSTOMER SERVICE AND THE ATTENTION TO DETAIL FOR EACH AND EVERY JOB indicate incidents or recommendations and report problems. This system is also linked up to give a traffic light display for any run out dates for licences cards tachos etc... . A screen is available for the driver to see information regarding the vehicle they are driving including the date the tax expires as this will still be a driver responsibility once the physical tax disc is gone, this will be peace of mind for them that we have everything as it should. The system also has an input screen for any defects found on vehicles, details of this are immediately sent via text message and email to 3 members of company management 24 hours a day.”

Centurion Travel Ltd West Road Garage Midsomer Norton Radstock BA3 2TP www.centuriontravel.co.uk Tel: 01761 417392

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BUS AND COACHES: BAKERS COACHES

F FIRST CHOICE...

FIRST CLASS A successful formula based on a friendly professional service to a long list of loyal customers.

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ounded in 1936 by James and Ethel Baker, Bakers Coaches initially operated funeral cars and taxis as the core of its business, earning a reputation as a reputable and reliable service. Since its foundation, the company noticed great success in its taxi-oriented services, leading to a wave of specialisation in the provision of taxi and bus services.

Founded upon a good reputation in the area, Philip Baker took over the company in the 1980’s and changed the focus of the company into what it has become today. This change of direction meant that Bakers Coaches provided the high quality, affordable and luxurious coach services that would define the company for years to come and thus created a strong foundation for the company through its local reputation for service quality.

With 2016 being the company’s 80th anniversary, a new management team is now in place to drive the business forward. Andrew Fish, Senior Operations Manager, and Stephanie Dean, Sales and Marketing Manager, have been

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BUS AND COACHES: BAKERS COACHES

“THE COMPANY HAS DIVERSIFIED MASSIVELY IN THE LAST FEW YEARS. WE NOW HAVE A BESPOKE DEPOT THAT WE MOVED INTO IN 2006 WHICH CAN OFFER TAILORED SERVICING FOR ANY COMMERCIAL VEHICLE. WE ALSO OFFER EUROPEAN TRAVEL, DISABLED TRAVEL, VIP TRANSFERS TO AIRPORTS AND CORPORATE BUSINESS.” with the company for a decade and have a wealth of experience in the industry. Andy and Steph are joined on the Management Team by Susan Taylor, Financial Controller, and James Fairclough, Service Manager, both of whom joined the company within the last six months.

Now offering a range of services, Andrew Fish, Senior Operations Manager at Bakers Coaches, explains how the company has evolved in more recent times: “The company has diversified massively in the last few years.

We now have a bespoke depot that we moved into in 2006 which can offer tailored servicing for any commercial vehicle. We also offer European travel, disabled travel, VIP transfers to airports and corporate business.

Our diversification over the years never stops – we’re always looking for the next transport opportunity.”

The next stage in diversification is the expansion of the Engineering Department to provide not just maintenance for the company’s fleet but also to provide service and

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maintenance contracts throughout Staffordshire and Cheshire for third party vehicles, be they HGVs, PSVs, LGVs, light commercials, cars etc.

Through this dedication to providing an everincreasing portfolio of high quality services, Bakers Coaches has successfully worked with a number of globally renowned and reputable companies such as JCB with whom they have enjoyed a fruitful and prosperous relationship over the years due to the quality

WITH ITS STRONG MANAGEMENT IN PLACE, IN-HOUSE EXPERIENCE, EXPERTISE AND RANGE OF FACILITIES, YTL HAS EVERY REASON TO BE OPTIMISTIC

Bakers Coaches The Coach Travel Centre Prospect Way Victoria Business Park Biddulph Stoke-on-Trent ST8 7PL www.bakerscoaches.com Tel: 01782 522101

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which Bakers Coaches offers. The company was also successful in winning a contract to supply transport to the 2012 Olympic Games. “We provide excellent customer service and pride ourselves on good customer service and the drivers are key to that,” adds Andrew.

With tailor-made training courses for customer service, skills, geography and a wide range of essential skills for its drivers, Bakers Coaches employs regular training initiatives and encourages drivers to “pitch in” with their ideas at all times. This process allows driv-

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ers to learn from the wealth of knowledge that Bakers Coaches has amassed over the years and also allows the company to learn from new, up-and-coming young drivers with fresh ideas.

HIGHEST QUALITY SERVICE Keen to provide the highest quality service and maintain high standards, Bakers Coaches places great emphasis on the integral part that drivers play in providing its services. “Effectively, they are the most important part of the business,” explains Andrew who recognises that the professionalism, level of service and attitude of the drivers is crucial to supporting the service that the company provides.

Every vehicle in Bakers Coaches fleet possesses effective vehicle tracking systems which enables the company to provide real-time updates for customers and monitor efficiency levels so that optimum service is provided at all times. This dedication to ensuring quality and in providing the best quality of service possible has led to Bakers Coaches becoming one of the leading providers of a wide range of coach transportation services in the sector, with a prestigious reputation to support that.

Special thanks are sent out to Parkeon for the support that it provides to Bakers Coaches in providing the highest quality service possible.

With the drive and commitment to success of the new Management Team, the future of Bakers Coaches looks bright!

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BUS AND COACH: PARKEON

WHERE INNOVATION IS DRIVEN BY CUSTOMERS Parkeon is a major player in the urban mobility industry and supplies a wide and unique range of parking management solutions and public transport ticketing solutions. us and coach operators navigating the growing range of fare collection protocols are increasingly turning to Parkeon’s on-vehicle platforms both to drive their ticketing requirements and to integrate a whole host of data-driven applications.

Parkeon’s Wayfarer ETMs continue to lead the way in dual reading both ITSO concessionary and commercial smartcards, with top-up enabled on-bus, onstreet, over-the-counter and via the internet.

Increasingly, however, the in-built GPS and mobile communications functionality is also being used to support Real Time Information, fleet management, vehicle displays and vehicle efficiency monitoring.

The company has been at the forefront of automatic fare collection technology for almost 40 years and is proud to be the long-term ticketing systems partner of Bakers Coaches in Stoke-on-Trent. Working alongside Bakers, Parkeon has delivered an ITSO-enabled ticketing system founded on the TGX150 platform and has also supported the operator in developing a dynamic back-office system. This has enabled Bakers to become self-sufficient in configuring their back office capability without any recourse to Parkeon to make changes.

Bakers is certainly in good company. In recent times, Edinburgh Tram, Blackpool Transport, Newport Transport and the Worcestershire-wide scheme have all selected Parkeon technology.

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Says Gavin Trimnell, Head of Sales and Marketing at Parkeon: “Our on-vehicle platforms are not only driving fare collection systems but acting as the data hub for a wide variety of allied technologies. In the case of our most recent innovations in the areas of Real Time Information and Fleet Management, the effect is a lower cost and more accurate solution than is achieved with conventional architecture – this is just the sort of operational efficiency that operators value and indeed need to compete effectively.”

The company is also actively engaged in rolling out highly innovative mobile ticketing projects, with its Wayfarer200 system future-proofed to process both NFC and EMV payments. In the hand-held devices arena, Parkeon units are capable of cash and contactless smart card transactions, payment by chip and PIN credit/debit card and contactless EMV. The hand-held can also being used as a fixed retail outlet solution supporting ITSO contactless smartcards and period-based paper tickets.

Equally importantly, these multi-device and multiprotocol transactions are capable of being processed via a secure hosted back office service developed by Parkeon - a facility that offers a cost-effective solution for individual operators while strengthening the company’s position as the leading ITSO bus ticketing system provider with the broadest UK coverage. www.parkeon.com

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BUS AND COACH: PARKEON

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COMPANY PROFILE: XPRESS GARAGE & TYRES

QUALITY SERVICE FROM WHEEL ALIGNMENT AND BALANCING TO SERVICING AND MOT’S, XPRESS GARAGE & TYRES OFFER A QUALITY SERVICE AT HIGHLY COMPETITIVE RATES.

lthough owner and Managing Director, Peter Adams insists Xpress Garage & Tyres doesn’t put much weight on titles, saying: “Everyone is hands on; we’re all in the workshop getting it done for the customer. We have a ‘can do’ attitude and it’s not about making money, it’s about offering customers a good level of service they don’t usually get elsewhere.”

It’s an attitude that’s carried the company from being a specialist tyre business to one that now provides vehicle recovery, car and commercial servicing, MOTs, specialist alignment and other services. At the core of everything, however, remains a commitment to exceptional service. “It’s less about money and more about trust and care,” states HGV Recovery Specialist

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Andy Crawford. “We have nine courtesy cars we give out to customers and every vehicle that comes in is washed as a free courtesy using recycled rainwater.”

COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS The company remains on the industrial estate where it started in 2003 but set up an MOT and service centre in a separate unit in 2007 and in 2012 expanded into a third unit for commercial vehicle service, repair and recovery. It now has a host of commercial customers, undertaking repairs and servicing for major supermarkets in Cornwall and carrying out recovery work for such as Lanterns Recovery Specialists.

The recovery element, as Peter explains, continues to grow: “In the last year, we have

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expanded from two to nine vehicles. The breakdown recovery and fleet side of the company is relocating to another building, kitted out with ramps and everything else to take it to the next level where we’re going to deal with HGVs.” “We have ADR and can recover anything up to 9.5 tonnes, with a service van for roadside repairs,” adds Andy. “For supermarket artics, we provide fleet support and fleet rescue. Recoverywise, we cover anywhere within Cornwall although we have recovered vehicles to London and Manchester. If they break down in our area, we recover them to wherever they need to go.”

Providing both recovery and servicing means the company can repair vehicles it recovers rather than taking them elsewhere.That was illustrated recently with the recovery of a removals

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COMPANY PROFILE: XPRESS GARAGE & TYRES

“CUSTOMERS GET THE BEST TYRE KNOWLEDGE IN CORNWALL AND FITTING IS TO AN EXCEPTIONALLY HIGH STANDARD.”

lorry, working on it until 10 o’clock at night to replace the clutch and gearbox because it was quicker and cheaper than recovering the vehicle to Edinburgh. It also enabled the vehicle to deliver the remainder of its load the following morning.

ROADSIDE REPAIRS

Unit 3-4 Tregoniggie Industrial Estate, Falmouth, Cornwall TR11 4SN www.xpressgarage.co.uk Tel: 01326 377997

This demonstrates the benefit of a workshop that’s manned 24/7, necessary to handle out-of-hours repairs and to service supermarket vehicles often operating until late at night. It also, as Andy points out, follows the principle of everyone pitching in: “Our recovery drivers are also motor technicians so they can carry out roadside repairs if necessary. But we can recover vehicles to the workshop and turn them round in the evening.”

The company provides several specialist services that include full diagnostics using equipment such as Jaltest on anything from a car to a 44-tonne truck. It also has a machine to skim and balance discs on high performance cars in particular and a 3D Hunter wheel alignment system, the only one in Cornwall, that is recommended by every motor manufacturer and uses the same hawkeye technology employed in cricket and tennis. The extensive capabilities are backed by a range of accreditations that include membership of the RMI, the Trust My Garage scheme and the AA Approved Select scheme as well as being an approved RAC Dedicated Service Centre, having ISO 9001 for quality and being only the second garage in Cornwall to be issued with the BSI kitemark.

Despite the diversification, Xpress remains a specialist tyre centre. “We have four staff specialising in purely tyres who have ten to 28 years’ experience fitting tyres,” remarks Peter. “Customers get the best tyre knowledge in Cornwall and fitting is to an exceptionally high standard.”

RECOVERY PLANNING A recent recovery customer would have benefited from that service, having come off the road at a roundabout due to his tyres not being bedded in properly.

That required recovery from down a 25 foot embankment and, as Andy explains, showed the need for careful planning: “Some incidents, especially rollovers and off-road, require much skill and care to recover a vehicle safely while limiting damage to the environment and the vehicle we’re trying to recover.”

Most planning now is taken up with the new fleet and commercial workshop, which at 5,000 square feet will allow the servicing and repair of vehicles up to 44 tonnes. “It opens up a lot more doors to the haulage industry due to having the workshop to deal with that size of vehicle,” says Peter. “We’re getting all staff trained on hybrids and other specialised vehicles we’ll be involved with and are looking to expand our MOT work to deal with vehicles that have to go to VoSA testing stations.”

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COMPANY PROFILE: XPRESS GARAGE & TYRES

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COMPANY PROFILE: HALLETT RETAIL LOGISTICS

THE ONE STOP LOGISTIC SHOP Wendy Hallett MBE is owner and Managing Director of Hallett Retail Logistics which offers the end to end concession garment processing, rework, QA and e-pick and forward fulfilment and third party fashion photography.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: www.hallettlogistics.co.uk PHONE: 01204 707 279 PHONE: 07771 502 811

Wendy Hallett MBE Owner and Managing Director of Hallett Retail Logistics

“We aim to provide a world class all-encompassing warehouse and logistics solution, run by retailers for retailers.” www.tandlonline.com

allett Retail Logistics has gone from strength to strength since its takeover

by Wendy Hallett MBE in 2013. Established in 1985 as Barnvale Processing offering suppliers and retailers in the fashion sector reprocessing, stitching and AQL for boxed product, the company now offers a one-stop shop from its Manchester base with purpose designed fashion and garment third party logistics and a comprehensive processing solution.

Over the last 12 months, Hallett Retail has completely refurbished its warehouse turning it into a 140,000 sq ft three storey site, introducing state-of-the-art equipment and a dedicated photographic studio. By opening a second site in 2014, the company can now offer 1,500 pallet spaces. Hallett’s aim is to provide a world class, all-encompassing solution, run by retailers for retailers, which provides processing, fulfilment, photography, clearance and customer services.

The strong management team has experience in delivering excellence in processing, efulfilment and logistics for some of the world’s leading organisations such as New Look, ASOS, House of Fraser, Debenhams, JD Williams, Amazon and eBay. Services include E-fulfilment for ecommerce and mail order businesses which can cater for 50,000 individual pick locations and is situated over a three storey mezzanine.

All fulfilment operations are supported by a configurable multi-warehouse, multi-owner inventory management system that tracks inventory from goods receipt through to final delivery. It captures and retains detailed per-

formance data providing operational benefits in planning and performance monitoring.

Hallett is supported by national and international carrier services with the ability to be completely flexible and cope with any sudden spike in demand with the current operation delivering to 20 countries, 7 days per week.

A strategic in-house delivery service for efficient and cost effective hanging and boxed deliveries throughout the UK and Ireland linking into existing international routes of partner logistics companies is also available.

In addition, Hallett specialises in the preretailing and processing of clothing and accessory items. Its fast and efficient services allow retailers to get their stock ready for retailing across any channel.

The photography service is complemented by a purpose built 2,500 sq ft fashion photography and web video studio based in Hallett’s logistics warehouse. The photographic studio offers ‘web ready’ product photography, shot either on a mannequin or on a model. Hallett also shoots catwalk stills and web video footage with full styling and post-production on site.

Hallett also offers asset distribution and management through state-of-the-art 300mbps internal connectivity and 100mbps distribution lines allowing it to send stills and video assets to destinations quickly, securely and safely.

Its asset management services gives clients their own branded and personal library of images in safe cloud storage, giving them and their business partners access to up-to-date images and videos anywhere and at any time.

This reduces the costs of re-commissioning garment shots and using images of stock they no longer sell.

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FREIGHT FORWARDING: INTERNATIONAL FORWARDING LIMITED nternational Forwarding Limited (IFL) believes it is the difference between standard logistics operators and those that are a cut above the rest. Its integrated range of high quality logistics services backed up by outstanding levels of customer service has seen it develop an enviable reputation and an expanding list of very happy customers.

IFL’s approach is more personal. This is what makes the difference. Customers are literally one telephone call away from speaking to the right person. As a mid-sized logistics operator, the company prides itself in providing customers with that all important ‘personal touch’.

Importantly, the logistics team is happy to discuss any enquiry and often tailors solutions to the individual needs of clients. To add further benefit, the team is supported with back office systems to ensure that customers are quickly serviced with the information they need.

The company provides freight forwarding, groupage and palletised freight delivery to a large group of UK general haulage, warehousing, parcel and pallet distribution companies. Work covers the entirety of the UK with international freight forwarding and 3PL logistics solutions also available.

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DEPENDABLE, RELIABLE FORWARDING SERVICES International Forwarding Ltd has built a worthy reputation as one the UK’s most dependable freight forwarders.

International Forwarding Ltd Station Road, Coleshill Birmingham West Midlands, B46 1HT www.internationalforwarding.co.uk Tel: 01675 434690

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FREIGHT FORWARDING: INTERNATIONAL FORWARDING LIMITED

IFL began from an idea to offer customers a competitive, reliable door to door service for parcels, pallets and groupage consignments with fast transit times.

In March 1992, the company as it is today was purchased by its management and remains totally independent. In September 2001 the Birmingham head office moved to its existing premises which comprises of a two-acre site wholly owned by the company.

Further development took place in 2003 when IFL became a member of the Palletways overnight UK distribution network.

Despite the economic downturn the company has remained financially strong with turnover approaching £8m with 200,000 consignments being handled each year. IFL recently set up a London depot, situated in Ashford, Middlesex to provide customers with an even better service, which allows it to service the southern counties very effectively.

This growth has steadily continued. The management are keen to push forward and explore new service markets which will help it consolidate its position as one of the UK’s most dependable freight forwarders.

Today, IFL operates with a team of 55 dedicated staff with highly regarded levels of service and reliability which allow customers to concentrate on their area of business.

Its fleet consists of a mix of vehicles that have been strategically added over the years in order to offer customers numerous delivery options. Its cargo fleet is also suitably mixed including modern tractor units, 7.5 and 18 tonne rigids, double deck trailers, single frame trailers, standard sprinter vans and tail lifts.

IFL also has the ability and flexibility to increase its capacity immediately thanks to its partnerships with a number of subcontractors on a daily basis.

For European delivery, IFL partners with many of Europe’s best transport and logistics companies and takes advantage of their vehicle fleets to forward goods across the European mainland on its daily groupage trailer services.

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FREIGHT AND CARGO: ALPI UK

LEADING FREIGHT FORWARDER

Formed in 1990 Alpi UK Ltd has been providing for clients’ needs, whilst striving to attain the best industry standards to the services.

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eing part of a large group generally provides several benefits. For Alpi UK, those include a network of global companies that are customers for its services and make available resources to deliver those services anywhere.

Alpi UK is a subsidiary of Italian company Albini & Pitigliani, which started making local deliveries from textile suppliers to garment manufacturers and has since grown into an international operation with 160 offices worldwide. Having handled UK trade through agents until 1990, the parent company formed Alpi UK. “We started dealing in the Italian market,” recalls Managing Director Martin Reeves. “Then it was continual expansion into markets where our parent company had offices and we started cross-trading with other group members, now dealing with a big majority of them.”

The company has additionally built its own customer base in the UK, often a joint effort of sharing customers and trade with other Albini businesses.

Having been a freight forwarder predominantly concentrating on road freight, it’s now developed air and

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FREIGHT AND CARGO: ALPI UK

“IF WE FIND NICHES, WE EXPLOIT THEM

BY FINDING OTHERS THAT NEED THEM. WE’RE VERY FLEXIBLE, GIVE A PERSONAL SERVICE AND CUSTOMERS TALK TO THE SAME PEOPLE CONSISTENTLY. HEATHROW: Alpi Air, Suite 402 Colnbrook Cargo Centre Old Bath Road Colnbrook, Slough Berkshire SL3 0NW Tel: 01753 210060 BASILDON: ALPI House, Miles Gray Road Basildon, Essex SS14 3HJ Tel: 01268 535 300 BIRMINGHAM: Units 15-19, Coleshill Industrial Estate Station Road Coleshill, Birmingham B46 1JP Tel: 01675 463284 MANCHESTER: Floats Road Roundthorn Industrial Estate Baguley, Wythenshawe Manchester M23 9LJ Tel: 0161 945 6770 www.alpiuk.com

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sea freight services and increasingly undertakes logistics work from its 120,000 square foot warehouse.

The origin of the business means Alpi specialises in the fashion market although it will handle most consignments. In fact, the aim is to provide as complete a service as possible, including customs brokerage.

Martin says: “If we find niches, we exploit them by finding others that need them. We’re very flexible, give a personal service and customers talk to the same people consistently.We’re very lucky with our staff and find solutions for those with problems.”

REGULAR PARTNERS Alpi doesn’t have its own fleet but uses regular partners to handle consignments including Northdown Carriers Ltd and International Forwarding Ltd. That also applies to major customers where Alpi freight manages their business across the world, finding transport to meet demand that varies due to the seasonal nature of the fashion trade. The operation is helped by the company’s structure of locations in the UK and the availability of other group companies. “Our branches operate some services directly and we also do cross

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trade work such as from Italy into the Far East or Germany,” explains Martin. “We have support from overseas offices to make local arrangements and if we need warehousing overseas.”

Those arrangements enable Alpi to provide a comprehensive service that’s monitored constantly, with larger customers receiving monthly reports, statistics and KPIs. It’s backed by technology and an emphasis on personal contact, ensuring the company rarely loses customers for avoidable reasons. That allowed Alpi to come through the recession, which affected the fashion trade in particular in all global markets.

REACT QUICKLY Alpi’s flexible nature, as Martin recounts, means it can react quickly to a rapidly changing market: “Customers that have been buying in the Far East are now buying in Europe while textile manufacturers are moving their fabric to Eastern Europe to manufacture the goods.

With our cover through the parent company, we can react fairly quickly, have started to re-employ people and we’re concentrating more on sea and air freight areas to get a better balance.”

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FREIGHT AND CARGO: ALPI UK

YOU DON’T HAVE TO GO ON A LONG, HARD TREK TO FIND NEW MARKETS...

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PALLET NETWORKS: PALLETLINE ith 70 member companies, 80 locations, more than 6,000 vehicles, hundreds of thousands of square feet of storage space and a combined size that rivals some of the biggest UK logistics operators – Palletline quickly tells a story of less becoming more.

Back in 1992, Palletline’s ‘hub and spoke’ distribution system revolutionised the palletised freight market. The cost-effective, environmentally-friendly solution dramatically improves efficiency by collecting from suppliers and consolidating to delivery point.

The benefits of consolidated delivery speak for themselves. Simply by suppliers working together to share the load and reduce costs – a faster, more efficient service for clients is achieved with many less road miles. Indeed so efficient is the system, some 2.5million road miles are saved per year making it the go-to choice for companies looking to reduce costs and implement more eco-friendly processes.

With a network comprising of carefully selected, leading UK hauliers, Palletline appeals to a broad range of businesses, from SMEs to globally recognised companies. The network recently celebrated its ten years working with a major supermarket chain.

It maintains its edge over the competition by continually innovating and investing in market leading technology to streamline processes and enhance the customer experience.

This culminated in the launch of Palletline’s ‘Less Is More’ campaign last year with the drive continuing to deliver significant productivity improvements and cost reductions.

Technology sits at the heart of the Palletline network. From hand-held digital signature capture

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Palletline’s service hinges on a commitment to efficiency, cost-saving, quality and flexibility. By continually innovating and investing in market leading technology Palletline is rivaling some of the biggest UK logistics operators.

LESS IS MORE WITH PALLETLINE

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PALLET NETWORKS: PALLETLINE devices that provide customers with an instant proof of delivery to online booking portal enhancements, the network is on a constant quest to improve service levels and efficiency through the use of the latest available technology.

While evolution is central to Palletline’s philosophy, it will never lose its core values and original commitment to cost-effective distribution.

Palletline is the only truly co-operative pallet network. It is 100% owned by its members and believes in an equitable model that drives profits back into the business for the good of the members.The firm’s stringent vetting process ensures the selection of only the very best. As a result, every member is proud to be part of Palletline.

Palletline’s service hinges on a commitment to efficiency, cost-saving, quality and flexibility. Combine that with a sustainable business model and track record of innovation and with Palletline – less most definitely delivers more!

“PALLETLINE APPEALS TO A BROAD RANGE OF BUSINESSES, FROM SMES TO GLOBALLY RECOGNISED COMPANIES” 0121 767 6870 enquiries@palletline.com www.palletline.com

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NEW INVESTMENTS: WALKERS TRANSPORT any freight and logistics companies join pallet networks for increased flexibility but few go on to achieve the same level of success as Walkers Transport. Membership of Palletways means it can provide full or groupage loads through its own resources or the Palletways network. Crucially, its Leeds depot also operates Palletways’ Northern hub, and it also owns a Manchester base.

“Rather than a company in Newcastle sending a pallet for Hull to the central distribution point in Lichfield, it comes to Leeds as a regional version of what happens nationally,” explains owner Nigel Jenkinson. That’s a major change in our business because, where we would ordinarily have vehicles doing deliveries in a specific region, if we have peak nights and we need extra resources, we can use the Northern hub. We can bypass the central hub and direct trunk deliveries to regional hubs in London and Livingstone so it’s a quicker service for both the South East and Scotland. It speeds everything up, reduces handling and is much more efficient and environmentally friendly.”

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Strategically situated between 3 major motorway routes, Walkers Transport has over 30 years experience in express distribution of palletised goods.

RESOURCE EFFICIENCY The arrangement leads to increased efficiency because vehicles used for overnight trunking are available through the day for other activities. That efficiency is increased further by using partners across Europe and Ireland to handle all but the most time-critical or highvalue consignments for those areas.

DELIVERING RESULTS FOR OVER 30 YEARS

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NEW INVESTMENTS: WALKERS TRANSPORT The operation is enabled by a fleet of curtain-sided vehicles, around fifty trucks and over eighty trailers at Leeds to cover the Leeds and Wakefield Palletways areas and some 35 trucks and thirty trailers for Greater Manchester. About 95% of overnight freight goes on double-deck trailers to avoid stacking and help maximise efficiency on a continuous process that operates 24 hours a day, 5.5 days each week. It’s helped by a strict vehicle replacement policy in addition to maintenance through the company’s workshop and periodic trailer refurbishment.

A crucial element, as Nigel points out, is the Leeds warehouse: “Generally, it’s a fulfilment warehouse where we store ceramic tiles, fuel tanks, foodstuffs and paper products. We have a contract with Homebase and work for manufacturers and distributors on home deliveries. That’s a great market because the retailer only holds stock samples and orders come into the fulfilment warehouse, they’re picked and packed, we liaise with the customer directly and effect a convenient delivery. Deliveries through the Northern hub can be collected until midnight for next day delivery.”

Backing everything up is an IT system that aims to make the process as efficient as possible whilst providing transparency for customers. “We’ve put a lot into going virtually paperless, so 95% of customers order online or our IT people put in a link to their sales or order processing database,” states Nigel. “This creates barcode tracking from source through every stage of its journey so you can see where your pallet is at any given time.”

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TRANSPARENT OPERATION This level of transparency will be increased further by a planned AA feed on the company’s website for live traffic information and a trial that may ultimately allow customers’ own customers to view the progress of their consignments.That progress can change constantly and is updated by a system that creates a route for uploaded delivery information and constantly readjusts and prioritises as situations change. The system enables

“...WE ARE SERVICE FOCUSED WHILST REMAINING HIGHLY COMPETITIVE AND OUR CUSTOMERS REALLY APPRECIATE THAT.” NIGEL JENKINSON OWNER Walkers to make deliveries on time and in full, with a success rate of 98.5-99.5%.

The outcome is Walkers can handle a whole range of products for regular customers that include building products for Everbuild, distribution for TK Maxx, pet products and ceramic tiles. “In an industry that tends to be predominately price led, we are service focused whilst remaining highly competitive and our customers really appreciate that,” remark Nigel.

Walkers Transport Limited Howley Park Road East Morley, LEEDS LS27 0BN Web: walkers-transport.co.uk Tel: 0113 2202800

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Looking back at...

THE RECORD-BREAKING MALLARD

In our regular column we take a brief look at some of the great pioneers, innovators and technology that has helped shape the world’s transport system

he number 4468 Mallard, which entered service in 1938, covered nearly one and half million miles before its retirement in 1963. The Class A4 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotive was designed by Sir Nigel Gresley to power highspeed streamlined trains at unprecedented speeds.

During initial testing in the late 1930s the Mallard broke the world speed record for a steam locomotive of 125.88mph. In normal service the locomotive would rarely need to achieve anything more than 90mph but its record, which was made on a slight downward grade south of Grantham on the East Coast Main Line, beat the previous record held by a German DRG Class 05 from 1936.

Anthony Coulls, the senior curator at the National Railway Museum in York said: “Mallard didn’t really set out on that run to be a

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record-breaker. They went to see what they could get out of it and it had a test car on the back which was noting down all the measurements.

“They got the chance really on Stoke Bank.

And they went for it. They knew that the only chance they could get to go that fast was on this part of the line. The record was made over not more than a couple of miles. It was quite a short distance but it was enough to get Mallard’s place in the record books.”

After its retirement it was restored back to working order in the 1980s but only saw limited specialist excursions between York and Scarborough and later between York and Harrogate/Leeds. Today, the locomotive can be seen at the railway museum in York where it is on display in the Main Hall.

Interestingly, in 2008, Mallard reunited with three other A4s for the first time since preser-

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vation when it took part in an outdoor display to mark its 75th anniversary. Tim Godfrey, who is the grandson of Gresley, watched the display wearing his grandfather’s hat for the occasion.

He said seeing his grandfather's legacy was a genuine privilege.

“It’s great to see all these beautiful locomotives so beautifully kept by the NRM and the two from across the Atlantic who have been restored back to their former glory,” he said.

“All I can say is Mallard looks a lot better than I do at 75.”

The A4 design is considered a British icon but it should be noted that its inspiration came from designer Gresley’s well-travelled experience. Prior to creating the Mallard he’d spent considerable time in France, Germany, South Africa and America. There he gained first-hand knowledge of leading steam, diesel and electric traction concepts.

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ISSUE 150

D R I V I N G

N R EVANS TEMPERATURE CONTROLLED DISTRIBUTION TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS MAGAZINE

We talk to ROB James, Transport Manager at N R Evans Page 22

: e d i s lso in

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Auto Rescue logistics Page 32

Bakers Coaches Page 78

Coach services Page 68

PLUS: CROWN COMMERCIAL SRVICES PAGE 58