Interview with Martyn Nicholls, Commercial Director at Boughey Distribution on the company’s decision to join Palletline

Following the business’ decision to join Palletline earlier this year, we caught up with Martyn Nicholls, Commercial Director at Boughey Distribution (Boughey) to find out the reasons the company has made this decision.

Boughey Distribution is one of the UK’s leading ambient grocery distribution and storage specialists.

From its Cheshire warehousing site it provides a quality warehouse and distribution service to anywhere in the UK, which encompasses collection, storage, repacking, picking and delivery. The business consolidates full loads from its customers – the food producers and importers – and ships them across the UK daily to all the major supermarkets, cash and carry and food service distribution depots.

What does Palletline do?
Palletline is a leading UK palletised distribution network. Palletline operates a hub and bespoke distribution system, meaning it can transport palletised goods across the UK, quickly and efficiently. It manages all load sizes, overnight and economy, and offers next working day service across mainland UK. Its members are responsible for the delivery of operations, working together to provide one seamless, collective service.


Why did you choose Palletline rather than one of the other palletised distribution specialists?
Before we made the decision to become members of the Palletline network we spent a lot of time researching the other options available to us. Although there are various companies offering a largely similar service, what attracted us to Palletline really was the level of synergy in the cultures and philosophies between the two businesses. By becoming members of Palletline, we are adding so much more to our business than just another service.

What economic benefits will the partnership bring to customers locally and wider?
Every day our vehicles are travelling the length and breadth of the UK, and it makes sense to be able to offer that level of distribution to some of the smaller producers and manufacturers in our local area. It is important to us that we are able to help the local economy, and helping local businesses reach a wider audience is a great way of doing that.


How does joining Palletline support your plans for growth?
We have been investigating our opportunities for business growth by expanding our service. However, we wanted more than just to grow, we were also looking for new ways to support our local economy and in particular other businesses near our main distribution site in Wardle. We envisage that our connection with Palletline will provide increased turnover for the business in the first 12 months. This has the potential to grow over the next three to five years to become a significant part of our overall business.


What differences will joining Palletline make to your business?
Our core business remains ambient grocery distribution and storage. We have built a strong reputation within this area over a number of years, offering collection, storage, repacking, picking and delivery. We consolidate full loads for our customers – the food producers and importers – and ships them across the UK daily to all the major supermarkets, cash and carry and food service distribution depots.

Our decision to join Palletline now means that we can offer the same high level of distribution to a different market, beyond ambient grocery. This will include businesses that would not normally be able to make the initial investment into UK-wide distribution. We do this by picking up locally within an agreed area and delivering to Palletline’s Central Hub in Birmingham. From here we then collect deliveries scheduled for our local area.

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What changes have you had to make?
We have made a substantial commitment in becoming Palletline members. In addition to the double deck articulated trucks that are dedicated to delivering to and picking up from the Central Hub in Birmingham, we also have a fleet of smaller vehicles to carry out the onward customer deliveries. These smaller vehicles are more economical and ensure we are easily able to access even the more difficult to reach locations. We also have warehousing exclusively for Palletline customers and a team of Palletline-focused staff.


Does this partnership help with efficiency, in terms of delivery and resourcing?
Palletline members collect freights from customers, identify any for delivery outside the local area and exchange freights with other hubs for delivery in their area. The concept means that each regional site handles consignments for delivery in that area, ensuring Palletline reduces travel miles and environmental impact. The business has six hubs, one central facility and five regional bases. As mentioned previously, we will be delivering to and picking up from the Central Hub in Birmingham.

What’s the total number of Palletline deliveries you will be able to do at any given time and how many different companies can be included in one pickup?
The number of companies that can be included in any one trip to Palletline’s hub will depend on the size of the order from each company. However, as more customers start to use our services we will develop the size of our fleet and resources to meet our customers’ needs. There is no ‘maximum’ number of deliveries that we can do, rather we will develop our business based on the demand it generates.


Are there any positive environmental or sustainability impacts to operating in this way?
One of the big advantages of this type of operation is that by collecting smaller deliveries locally and consolidating these at the Central Hub for onwards delivery there will be fewer vehicles on the road offering not only fuel savings, but other environmental benefits.

The other advantage providing this service offers is the improved levels of sustainability for our team too. Our increased customer base, which will include all types of delivery items, will help to flatten the seasonal peaks and troughs that can be experienced through working within purely the ambient grocery industry.


How do you use technology to make it work?
All our orders are tracked to provide our customers with true traceability and accountability. This is no different for our Palletline customers, who are provided with real-time information on where their deliveries are and when they are due to reach their ultimate destination.


What staff training do you provide for your warehousing and driving team?
Our Boughey team and Palletline team all receive the same high standards of training and development. We understand the importance of continuous development for all our staff including regular driver training. Although our Palletline team is focused on the Palletline customers, it is vitally important that they hold the same values as our Boughey drivers and warehousing staff do.


What impact will this have on your existing customer base?

There are only positive impacts on our existing client base. For many of our clients this additional service will have no impact on them. However, if we identify that due to load size or other factors one of our clients would be better serviced by our Palletline team, then we will make sure that they have the opportunity to make use of this service.