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Customers Fuel Logistics Property Growth

Posted on by David Priestman

Potter Space, a market leader in the small to mid-box (sub 100k sq. ft.) industrial and logistics property sector, has recently welcomed a new customer to its Ely business park in Cambridgeshire, UK.

Moving into Unit 24 at the Cambridgeshire business park, MLH Transport is a leading transport operator delivering freight services throughout the UK and Europe, and will occupy a warehouse housing expanded pallet and vehicle storage operations. The move continues the growth of Ely as a strategic location for Potter Space, alongside its four other business parks nationally.

Alongside MLH, Potter Space has also agreed a five-year lease extension for longstanding customer, International Decorative Surfaces (IDS), formerly part of Saint Gobain. The UK’s largest distributor of decorative surfaces such as flooring and worktops, IDS already occupies over 85,000 sq. ft. of industrial space at the Ely business park, with a new agreement in place to expand their footprint, taking their space close to 100,000 sq. ft.

Having both excellent road and rail links and being close to both the ports of Harwich and Felixstowe, Potter Space Ely is within easy reach of Northampton, Norwich, London, Cambridge, Newmarket and Peterborough. Stretching over 70 acres, the industrial units vary in space from 3,000 sq. ft. to 83,000 sq. ft., providing homes for a wide range of businesses.

Chris Collins, head of asset management at Potter Space, said: “It’s always exciting to welcome new customers to our parks, but it’s even better when we can extend our long-term relationship with another at the same time. At all of our sites, we strive to provide a home for business for our customers and we can’t wait to both welcome MLH Transport, and see IDS develop even further.”

Debbie Davis, general manager at International Decorative Surfaces Ely, said: “Renewing the lease for our units and increasing our occupied space at Potter Space Ely has been a crucial part of our growth plan. The business park provides all the space and security that we need to carry out our operations, safe in the knowledge that we are in good hands. Potter Space is a supportive partner, which goes above and beyond, all the time.”

Potter Space has invested £18 million into growing its nationwide property portfolio over the next five years to meet the demand for small to mid-box warehousing space across the country and is currently developing 250 acres of land. Potter Space’s five business parks occupy a total of 1.6 million sq. ft. across a range of commercial properties, including industrial units and offices, and are located in Ely, Ripon, Droitwich, Selby and Knowsley.

Potter Space owns, develops, and operates five business parks in Ripon, Droitwich, Knowsley, Selby, and Ely. The business manages more than 1.6m square feet of existing commercial space at close to 100% occupancy and with many long-standing customers. Knowsley, Selby and Ely business parks also have successful rail terminals, fully utilised by Potter Space customers.  Potter Space continues to aim for a minimum BREEAM ‘Very Good’ accreditation on all future buildings, prioritising sustainability, biodiversity, health and wellbeing across all 5 business parks. Providing customers with a ‘Home for Business’ is the number one priority for Potter Space.

3PL Cost Savings with Cloud Accounting

Posted on by David Priestman

Cambridgeshire, UK based warehouse and distribution specialist Brett’s Transport has invested in new cutting-edge cloud accounting software to improve visibility and efficiency across operations and reduce its reporting admin, a move which will save approximately one week of manual data entry every month.

Cloud accounting software, bluQube, will integrate with Brett’s Transport’s other back-office systems to allow greater visibility across the organisation and enable the development of a flash reporting function to compare weekly performance against KPIs.

Prior to the investment in bluQube, Brett’s Transport was using a basic account system that managed basic invoice processes and operated in silos to other systems within the business. The dated system was time intensive and required staff to manually key in data, match invoices and chase payments.

In its place, the finance team was looking for an easy-to-use finance system that would accommodate its broader reporting requirements across activity both in and outside of the finance system – a process that was previously being done manually on spreadsheets.

bluQube will handle and automate more of Brett’s Transport’s accounting processes. The interoperable system allows the team to bring sales ledger data across from its WMS to bring invoices into bluQube to automatically create customer statements and automate the payment chasing. It then reconciles what’s been paid and received and posts it accordingly – another process that was managed outside of its previous system spreadsheets.

In addition, the team at bluQube is developing a solution to enable Brett’s Transport to pull wider business information into the software application so it can produce flash reports across current performance and make comparisons to the business’ KPIs. This data extraction, analysis and reporting automation will save Brett’s Transport approximately one week per month in the time it was previously taking for a member of staff to manually collate the data and write the reports.

James Cook, finance director at Brett’s Transport, commented: “bluQube ticks all the boxes in the finance and accounting processes we need it to handle, and much more. The ability to report on information not currently held in the finance system was a key decision factor for us, but ultimately it was the user-friendliness of the system and the team at bluQube that was the deal breaker in our decision to progress. We liked bluQube’s people-first approach and see great synergy between the two companies.

“We already have confidence in the software to let it take on many of our crucial finance and reporting processes and make key decisions. Once bluQube is implemented and up and running we look forward to exploring some more of its features and functionality, including OCR and automated workflows on the purchase ledger for incoming invoices. It’s going to be transformational for our team and the wider business.”

Nicky Wilkins, head of customer engagement at bluQube, commented: “We look forward to working with Brett’s Transport to implement the software and see the efficiencies and time savings it achieves, as well as the impact of greater data visibility and strategic insight. On top of bluQube’s interoperability and wide-ranging capabilities, the people aspect and maintaining strong business relationships is our key differentiator and it’s encouraging to have this recognised by James and the team.”

Heineken Signs Multi-Year Agreement

Posted on by David Priestman

GXO Logistics, Inc., a pure-play contract logistics provider, announced today that it has signed a multi-year agreement with Heineken, one of the world’s largest brewing companies, to continue to operate its warehouse, distribution and secondary transport network to retail and wholesale outlets across the U.K., as well as exclusively to its entire U.K. pub estate – Star Pubs & Bars. This network manages more than 500,000 deliveries per year to more than 8,000 customers from point of production to retail and wholesale delivery.

“We are pleased to continue our partnership with HEINEKEN and look forward to a bright future together,” said Richard Cawston, President, Europe, GXO. “Over the past two years, we’ve made significant progress transforming our operations and delivery network to make it simpler, stronger, more efficient and more sustainable. Together, we will continue to invest to enhance efficiency and service to support HEINEKEN’s expected growth. It’s a great partnership for us, our team members and the pub industry in the U.K.”

“We’ve worked closely with an experienced partner in GXO on developing a multi-year investment and transformation program to ensure the network is fit for future,” said Boudewijn Haarsma, Managing Director, HEINEKEN UK. “Our joint plan, which focuses on investing into modernizing the network, underpins our service to customers and our commitment to continuous improvement and sustainability.”

GXO operates one of the most extensive and complex warehousing and transport delivery networks for many of the U.K.’s leading food, beverage and grocery brands. GXO’s operations network for HEINEKEN, the leading beer, cider and pub company in the U.K., includes four regional distribution centres, 18 local delivery platforms and transit depots, over 400 vehicles and employs more than 1,500 team members. An industry leader in ESG solutions, GXO has shortened transit times and lowered CO2 emissions for this network through enhanced delivery schedules and investments in cutting edge technology.

Headquartered in Edinburgh, HEINEKEN is the UK’s leading pub, cider and beer business. The company owns around 2,400 pubs as part of its Star Pubs & Bars business and employs around 2,100 people. It has produces beers from its breweries in Manchester, Tadcaster and London and ciders from its ciderie and mill in Herefordshire. Its unrivalled portfolio of brands includes Heineken® 0.0, Heineken®, Foster’s, Strongbow, Cruzcampo, John Smith’s, Inch’s Cider, Amstel, Birra Moretti and Old Mout, backed by a full range of niche and specialty brands. It also owns Beavertown and Brixton Brewery.

Storage Systems Boost Capacity of UK 3PL

Posted on by David Priestman

AR Racking has designed and installed the new warehouse for a leading 3PL operator in the technology sector specialised in servicing e-commerce companies. The intralogistics solution storage systems specialist will boost the competitiveness of the new centre in Bradford, West Yorkshire of one of the leading logistics operators.

With its comprehensive management approach, AR Racking has equipped the warehouse with US standard very narrow aisle (VNA) and adjustable pallet racking with up to a load capacity of 1,000 kg, reaching the figure of 12,000 pallet positions. In addition, 3,000 picking levels have been integrated in the racking that have generated a storage capacity of 28,000 cartons.

The systems installed by AR Racking are totally scalable and allow the incorporation of accessories that adapt to the storage requirements and unit loads. In this case, sprinklers, sprinkler-protected beams, mesh panels, frame protectors and upright protectors have been incorporated in the racking.

The customer transmitted to AR Racking the importance of the need for a warehouse with a faster time to market and precise control of delivery of the right products in the right place at the right time. For the 3PL, agility and total control in the supply chain have been key to its growth since starting back in 1997. Thanks to AR Racking’s technical-sales team, the logistics operator specialised in technology and e-commerce sectors will be able to more effectively offer smart international supply chain solutions to retailers, brands and manufacturers.

AR Racking UK, based in Slough, is specialised in large storage projects, which it manages comprehensively from the manufacture through to the final installation of industrial racking exploiting the turnkey project concept to the maximum.

AR Racking is part of Grupo Arania, an industrial group of companies with extensive experience and scope, and with a multi-sectoral activity based on the transformation of steel that dates back more than 80 years. AR Racking provides the market with a wide range of solutions with high certified quality standards and a comprehensive project management service. AR Racking’s industrial storage systems stand out for their innovation, reliability and optimum efficiency.

Seafrigo Acquires Specialist UK Forwarder

Posted on by David Priestman

Seafrigo has acquired the specialist UK-headquartered forwarder Perishables Movements Limited (PML); with the formal signing of the deal taking place in London on July 10th 2023. Effective immediately, all PML employees will join the Seafrigo Group which will provide the group with a platform for future investment and growth in the region.

In the coming months all PML locations will operate using a new co-branding with a view to eventually becoming Seafrigo. PML operates from three locations in Britain: Heathrow, Lincolnshire and Kent and across air, ocean and road forwarding while also offering warehousing and value-added services to customers.

Seafrigo Regional CEO, Jason Knox says: “With its excellent market reputation and our shared expertise in the management and distribution of temperature-controlled goods this deal is the perfect fit for us. Through an expanded airfreight capability which PML will bring to our operation, all our customers will be able to benefit from an improved service offering, expanded geographic coverage, scale of operations, improved buying power and enhanced service solutions”.

Business as usual across PML’s UK network

Adds PML CEO, Mike Parr: “For us this new era is very much business as usual for all our customers. We are delighted to become part of the Seafrigo Group which has more than 40 years’ specialist leadership in the temperature-controlled food logistics market. The deal provides us all with the opportunity to grow and enhance our business and to truly control the global logistics chain from origin to destination for our customers.”

The UK PML operation will plug-in seamlessly to the global Seafrigo network enabling both companies experts in their fields to leverage their knowledge to deliver an even better service for customers.

Says Seafrigo Group CEO, Eric Barbé: “I would like to extend a very warm welcome to our new colleagues from PML. Together we have the synergies and determination to build the world’s leading end-to-end temperature-controlled organisation and I am delighted to have their team onboard”.

Opportunities for global growth

For more than 40 years, Seafrigo Group has positioned itself as the world’s leading specialist in temperature-controlled food logistics. The Le Havre-based Company is experiencing a strong development both in France and internationally. Today, Seafrigo Group has its own infrastructure in 26 countries and has built a network of specialist global partners. Seafrigo Group employs 2,500 committed experts who organize the international transport of goods on five continents on a daily basis. It is also leading authority in controlled global logistics chains including: reception of goods, container drayage, and storage at ambient or controlled temperature, order preparation, container loading management, shipping and delivery to the final recipient. Historically the company has positioned itself as an expert in the fields of food products, wines and spirits and E-Commerce.

NHS Supply Chain: Bids for Logistics Services Provider

Posted on by David Priestman

NHS Supply Chain in the UK has formally commenced the procurement process for the management of its logistics services with a planned award date of late 2024. These services form part of its ongoing Target Operating Model (TOM) programme which aims to deliver improved efficiencies and greater value for the NHS. The contract for the current outsourced Logistics Services Provider expires in 2024.

NHS Supply Chain is seeking a single Logistics Services Provider to manage both core logistics services and Home Delivery Services (HDS).

Andrew New, chief executive officer of NHS Supply Chain said: “This is an exciting time of transformation for NHS Supply Chain as we align with the strategic priorities of the wider NHS and scale our operation to support this. Our requirements for logistics services reflect this growth and our change in approach. We have learnt lots from the pandemic and are looking for innovation from bidders with the ability to invest and partner with us to support our long-term vision and strategy of how we can do things differently. This includes increasing our organisational flexibility, capabilities and building more resilience into our supply chain, while limiting our environmental impact.”

The contract includes:
• Creating an integrated logistics network to serve the future needs of the NHS for medical devices, clinical consumables, facilities (including office solutions) and food
• Future development of a warehouse network which is currently made up of nine facilities strategically located across England
• The capability to provide national pandemic response logistics services such as storage and distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE)
• Implementation of a new warehouse management system (WMS), a significant IT programme of investment
• Provision of the Home Delivery Service and
• Building capability to provide an inbound international logistics service.
The Invitation to Tender (ITT), published on 29 June 2023, invites submissions from bidders interested in operating as the Logistics Services Provider on behalf of NHS Supply Chain to store and deliver products to the NHS.

Bidders then submit a completed Supplier Questionnaire (SQ) and if successful will be shortlisted to submit initial tenders.
NHS Supply Chain’s Logistics Service Provider contract will be for an initial period of seven years with a possible extension of up to 36 months.

NHS Supply Chain is part of the NHS family and manage the sourcing, delivery and supply of healthcare products, services and food for NHS trusts and healthcare organisations across England and Wales. It manages more than 8 million orders per year across 129,420 order points and 16,705 locations, delivers over 35 million lines of picked goods to the NHS annually and its systems consolidate orders from over 1100 suppliers. This enables us to bring value to our NHS partners, helping them save time and money in removing duplication of overlapping contracts. NHS Supply Chain aims to leverage the buying power of the NHS to drive savings and provide a standardised range of clinically assured, quality products at the best value.

Fleet Tracking for Long Haul Truck Deliveries

Posted on by David Priestman

LogiNext, a logistics automation firm, announces the launch of ‘Tracking 2.0’ for long haul truck deliveries. The product is introduced to offer real-time alerts for any anomalies or deviations and share visibility on transport fleet performance through multiple indicators tracked in real-time. Through such features, LogiNext aims to minimize risks involved in the logistics industry, while helping enterprises to optimize their delivery operations.

LogiNext Fleet Tracking is built with data mapping and data analytics services, bridging the gap between technology and trucking. This makes it possible to track end-to-end long haul movement via a single platform. Enterprises can now track vehicle data tracking points like GPS location, fuel consumption, updates on truck movement, temperature of holds and much more. LogiNext has released this product with new features for the industry, offering a set of proactive alerts that promises enhanced visibility and proactive risk mitigation for long-haul fleet operations via a single control panel.

“LogiNext’s Fleet Tracking functionality can help identify and address various challenges faced by the logistics industry. We have seen interest from our existing enterprise customers on adopting this functionality for varied use cases including temperature tracking for cold chain deliveries, enhanced security management of their critical long haul deliveries, and many more. We are working towards creating impactful outcomes from this technology, as a part of our vision to make the industry safer and efficient.” said Dhaval Thanki, Vice President – APAC & MEA, LogiNext.

With visibility on KPIs like tracking vehicle location, harsh braking, speed, driver seat-belt status and door open status, the software would provide alerts to notify central teams of any deviations, delays or anomalies in fleet movement. The temperature sensor data tracking would help healthcare and food cargo carriers to ensure that the high value cargo maintains its integrity during the long-haul fleet movement.

Based on historical data, enterprises can make better & informed decisions around fleet operations planning with an aim to reduce the risk of anomalies and optimize the fleet performance.

By bringing end-to-end tracking of fleet operations, LogiNext aims to contribute to an efficient and safer long-haul logistics operational practice for the industry.

With real-time alerts for any anomalies and visibility into truck performance, the new product uses latest data analytics technologies to reduce anomalies and make fleet operations more efficient across the globe.

Biggest Employee-owned Logistics Firm

Posted on by David Priestman

Manchester-born logistics services provider, Cardinal Global Logistics is marking 25 years in business by transitioning to an employee-ownership model – making the firm the biggest employee-owned company of its kind in the world.

Launched in Eccles in 1998 with a £15,000 business loan, Cardinal has since blossomed into an international firm with over 40 offices, 6,000 clients and revenues exceeding £500 million. It is now celebrating its quarter-century by creating an environment where every employee has the same opportunity to become a Partner.

The leading logistic services provider joins the growing number of national employee-owned businesses, with around 1000 similar models currently operating in the UK today. Cardinal’s democratisation model means every member of staff now gets to share in the profits that the company generates each year.

In addition to financial benefits, employees will have input regarding the direction of the Cardinal Partnership, helping to shape its future with an increased sense of ownership over their roles in the business. The employee-owned nature of the business also means more open and transparent communication channels, as Partners have a direct stake in the overall success of the firm.

This move also represents an active effort to preserve the employee-first company culture Cardinal has worked hard to establish over the past 25 years, functioning as a powerful tool for creating a more engaged, motivated and innovative workforce, whilst benefiting the sustainability and viability of the business in the longer term.

The Cardinal Partnership merges two cherished brands, Far Logistics and Cardinal Global Logistics, and the group has earned recognition in the logistics sector for its tech-powered approach, transparency, innovation and determination to deliver exceptional service and value.

Brian Hay, CEO of The Cardinal Partnership, said: “Our decision to become an employee-owned business will be transformational. We believe that excellence and dedication should be rewarded, and we have some of the most talented operators in our industry.

“During our first 25 years as a business, we have been able to take the company from a £15,000 investment to one of the UK’s most respected and sizable logistics businesses. Undoubtedly, this transition will allow us to take our business to the next level and I’m looking forward to what’s to come.”

Cardinal worked with an investment banking company, Houlihan Lokey, to pursue a liquidity event for shareholders when establishing its employee ownership trust. Gareth Owen, Capital Markets Director at Houlihan Lokey, said: “Cardinal is a high-quality logistics services provider, providing reliable, market-leading service to its clients on a global basis. The company is a great example of delivering strong growth whilst maintaining its core values. We have thoroughly enjoyed working closely with management on this transformational step in its history, and look forward to watching the next phase of their journey.”

cargo-partner Sold to Nippon Express Group

Posted on by David Priestman

As cargo-partner is celebrating its 40th anniversary, company owner and founder Stefan Krauter has decided to sell the Austrian global logistics firm to Japanese stock-listed Nippon Express Holdings, the parent company of Nippon Express, APC, Franco Vago and others. Having started operations in 1983 with only five employees at Vienna Airport and having developed the company almost completely organically to now 4000 employees in 40 countries around the globe, Krauter had already passed on the baton to his management and now has also passed over ownership to his ‘ideal successor’, NX.

After exceeding the billion euro mark in global turnover for the first time in 2020, cargo-partner’s turnover increased by 72%, reaching over 1.8 billion euro in 2021, and further increased to 2.06 billion euro in 2022.

“Leadership by agile founders bears some considerable advantages, but from a certain stage on, highly professional and long-term stable ownership is the bigger asset. It is the founders’ challenge and responsibility to decide about both management and ownership succession at the right time. Not too early to be able to build a stable internal management succession but, for sure, also not too late,” Krauter says. “That is why, together with the Corporate Executive Board, we started evaluating different options for the future of cargo-partner.”

Stefan Krauter continues to explain: “It would also have been a good option for the management and employees to continue going completely alone, but since the ideal new strategic owner was found in NX Group, we were ultimately convinced that this was the right way to go forward. Following the integration policy we have seen from NX Group so far, cargo-partner will remain cargo-partner in regard to both organization and branding – and it will become the strongest cargo-partner ever!”

The deal was signed on May 12, 2023 and will come into effect subject to the usual regulatory (anti-trust and FDI) approvals in an estimated four to seven months along with the subsequent closing.
“Both organizations will benefit from considerable synergies in global office coverage, an expanded service portfolio, strengthened regional, product and IT know-how, increased scale and others. NX Group will benefit from our strong and extensive network in Central and Eastern Europe that complements NX’s existing network in an ideal way, and cargo-partner will jump several leagues in the Intra-Asian and Trans-Pacific trade lanes,” Stefan Krauter states. He adds: “cargo-partner will also continue to work with its current global agents’ network, strive to expand this section of its business and support it in future with its upgraded platform which is presently under development.”

“I will personally continue to support the transition in my new role on the Corporate Supervisory Board and in my advisory function to the Corporate Executive Board. I will be focusing on smart partial integration with the new owners as well as on other matters regarding strategy, M&A and ESG. What an interesting and rewarding challenge at the end of my career!” Krauter says. The sellers have been advised by J.P. Morgan (financial), ValueAdd (financial), BCG (commercial), Schönherr (legal), and Deloitte (accounting and tax) on the transaction.

Nippon Express is a provider of logistics services. It is based in Tokyo and has a strong global network that spans over 40 countries, with company direct operations in 33 nations, such as Austria. The company offers air freight, marine transportation, heavy haulage, warehousing and distribution processing, logistics design, information technology services, chartered truck services and moving services.

Fleet Managers Reveal Priorities

Posted on by David Priestman

UK fleet managers have modernisation clearly in their sights for 2023, against a backdrop of fluctuating fuel prices and driver shortages. That’s according to a survey of 150 fleet managers, commissioned by Samsara, which reveals key priorities include upgrading vehicles (98%), increasing the sustainability of the fleet (82%), and moving to electric or hybrid vehicles (82%).

The research, presented in a new Samsara report — 2023: The Road Ahead — highlights a long list of operational challenges that fleet managers need to overcome, which includes improving road safety, increasing efficiency, and recruiting more drivers.

In response, 94% of fleet managers are investing in new technology in 2023 to boost operational modernisation and improve the driver experience. The majority see clear benefits to introducing connected technologies such as sensors and dashcams, including reduced paperwork (82%), improved supply chain efficiency (75%) and the ability to more easily transition to EVs or hybrid vehicles (68%).

The move will be welcomed by drivers too, with a Samsara-commissioned survey of 1,000 commercial drivers of small and large vans, HGVs, and other vehicles revealing large numbers believe a variety of connected technologies would have a positive impact on their job, including dashcams (78%), GPS routing (77%), and mobile-based workflow tools (68%).

“Fleet managers recognise that technology can play a big role in creating a modern fleet and — critically — so do their drivers,” said Philip van der Wilt, SVP and General Manager EMEA, Samsara. “More importantly, fleet managers understand the importance of data to power their operations to make them safer, more efficient, and more sustainable.”

“Our findings confirm what we have known for some time — that if fleets want to future-proof their operations, they need to modernise and embrace technology. All of the challenges detailed in this report — from high fuel costs and driver shortages to regulatory changes, road safety, and the transition to EVs — can be mitigated by using smart, connected technology. As this report shows, fleet managers are moving to embrace technology to modernise their fleets. Those who don’t will be in danger of getting increasingly left behind and losing competitive advantage,” added van der Wilt.

Tony Draper, head of SHEQ, M Group Services, a long-standing Samsara customer, added: “For too long, commercial fleets have been underserved by the types of technology that have transformed other sectors and industries. Thanks to affordable, connected, smart tech, fleets have the opportunity to make their operations safer, more efficient, and more sustainable.”

Samsara commissioned Vitreous World to carry out online interviews with 150 fleet or logistics managers in the UK with direct responsibility for vehicles, drivers, logistics, supply chain and/or field service operations, from 15 to 24 February 2023. A further survey of 1,000 UK commercial drivers was also carried out between 14-21 February 2023 by Good Broadcast. All research conducted adhered to the UK Market Research Society (MRS) code of conduct (2019).

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