Hayward Transport, a well-trusted name in the transport and road haulage sector, was in need of a reliable forklift that could handle lifting heavy loads, empty containers and performing general yard duties, day-in, day-out. Rushlift, the national full-service provider for materials handling equipment, offered them the best solution, a second-hand refurbished Doosan D110S-5.

The Doosan was ten years old and had only done 4500 hours service, making it a highly attractive machine for purchase and refurbishment. In just a few weeks the D110S-5 was completely refurbished at Rushlift’s Service & Engineering Centre in Northampton and delivered to Hayward Transport’s Walsall site for early May 2022.

Along with repainting the vehicle and reconditioning the carriage, Rushlift had fully serviced the engine and transmission and replaced worn components with genuine Doosan parts throughout, including key elements such as steering joints, lift chains, rams and fork tines. Completed to Rushlift standards and fully compliant with LOLER requirements, the truck was ready for another ten years of reliable service.

“The machine looks as good as new,” said Sean Hayward, Hayward Transport’s Managing Director. “Rushlift were brilliant. They found the exact truck we needed within a matter of days and were really efficient at getting the machine to us on time, fully refurbished and ready to go.”

Reflecting on his decision to buy another Doosan through Rushlift, he says: “We wanted a repeat performance on a good reliable truck – if you have a positive experience then you want to reinforce decisions that bring positive results.”

Hayward Transport is known for being a general haulier, however, 80% of its business is related to container operations, which often involves heavy lifting duties for its forklift truck fleet. Much of the work is time-critical, requiring fast and efficient on-site movement of full and empty containers, as well as boxes and pallet loads of goods.

When it came to expanding the business by opening a new depot in Leeds, Managing Director Sean was keen to replicate the reliable handling performance he had experienced with the forklift fleet on the company’s Walsall site. Sean’s father and uncle had previously purchased a 7 tonne capacity Doosan counterbalance truck over ten years before, and it had proved to be extremely tough and ultra reliable, which is why he decided to go for a Rushlift refurbished Doosan.

Following a successful Warehousing Showcase in Belfast earlier this year, the UK Warehousing Association will be holding its next regional event in Scotland on 20th September, hosted by award-winning UKWA member Malcolm Logistics, at the company’s impressive Heritage Centre in Glasgow.

Commenting, UKWA CEO Clare Bottle said, “UKWA is rolling out a series of regional events to complement its National Conference in March 2023. Accordingly, we would like to extend a warm welcome to members as well as non-members to attend our Scottish Showcase, where they will have opportunity to meet others from the Scottish warehousing sector, hear from expert industry speakers and learn more about the role of UKWA in supporting warehouse operators.”

Speakers will include Andrew Malcolm, CEO of Malcolm Group, who will share the company’s strategic plans for the future, Billy Allison, MD (Scotland) of Briggs Equipment, discussing managing supply chains and going green, and Clare Bottle, CEO of the UK Warehousing Association who will speak about how UKWA is engaging with issues key industry issues, such as skills and labour shortages, automation and digitalisation, sustainability and challenging government policy.

The day, which will start at 11.00 and end at 16.30 BST, includes a buffet lunch and a fascinating tour of the 1m+ sq ft warehousing at Malcolm Group’s rail connected complex.

The event is free, but places are limited, so companies wishing to attend are advised to book early.

Warehouse space strategist, Bis Henderson Space, has taken yet another step into the right direction by being named a supplier on the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) Storage, Distribution, Kitting and Associated Services (RM6282) Framework Agreement. As part of this agreement, Bis Henderson will have access to a wider pole of customers, having been awarded positions on three lots: Storage, Kitting and Fulfilment Solutions and Services, and Transport and Distribution.

“We’re delighted to be named as a supplier on this framework and to have the opportunity to build on our excellent track record working with Government and the Public Sector. As an SME, this framework agreement allows us to open up our services in storage, kitting and transport to Crown Commercial Services customers, which is pivotal to our business direction and growth,” said Steve Purvis, Managing Director at Bis Henderson Space.

The commercial agreement, which was launched this year in February and will last for four years, gives public sector organisations in the UK, such as central and local government authorities, emergency services and the NHS, access to a wide range of storage, distribution and kitting solutions and services. The agreement includes UK and international storage and transportation, quality control of items and specialist collection and delivery services.

The Crown Commercial Service is an executive agency of the Cabinet Office, supporting the public sector to achieve maximum commercial value when procuring goods and services. In 2020/21, CCS helped the public sector to achieve commercial benefits equal to £2.04 billion, supporting world-class public services that offer best value for taxpayers.

For public sector organisations, the CCS agreement delivers significant and sustainable cost savings through its commercial activity and aggregated procurement arrangements. Suppliers are carefully evaluated during the tender process, and pre-agreed terms and conditions offer clients sound contractual safeguards.

The framework is available to all central Government departments and other UK public sector bodies, including local authorities, charities, executive agencies, the health sector, police authorities, fire and rescue services, education providers and the devolved administrations.

The UK’s leading retail supply chain business, Clipper Logistics, has partnered up with Segura, a supply chain transparency specialist, to ensure sustainable and ethical operations throughout its supply chain, as part of Clipper’s broader sustainability goal to be carbon net zero by 2035. Through this partnership, Segura will deliver its supply chain mapping and visualisation system which provides transparency across the entire supply chain.

“As supply chains become more global and complex, and data reporting alongside legislative requirements increases, it is vital to have access to real-time, accurate information,” said Karen Leppard, Clipper Logistics head of sustainability and ESG.

The system that is put in place by Segura will enable Clipper to actively mitigate and map the risk of supply chain interruption, including environmental factors and those potentially caused by unethical practices. The system will also enable Clipper to manage its internal health and safety systems, alongside its ethical trading and emissions due diligence.

“Segura enables us to provide our stakeholders with increased confidence in supply chain transparency. In the current climate, where legislative compliance and enforcement is imperative, Segura’s ability to capture and enable us to monitor our emissions and understand human rights adherence is of the utmost importance,” explained Karen. “Understanding impacts and opportunities associated with environmental and geopolitical events in the wider supply chain through Segura will be of huge benefit not only to us, but our customers as well.”

At the moment, all of Clipper’s service providers are being invited to the platform to sign-up and to align with the company’s global business standards. Moreover, the service providers will able be able to work directly with Segura through this platform to mitigate any supply chain risks that arise through order management of raw materials, components and services.

“Segura’s real-time and continuous due diligence throughout the up and downstream supply chain can support the reduction of lead-times and waste, helping customers to achieve specific ROIs,” added Peter Needle, Segura Founder and President.

“We are delighted to partner with innovative organisations like Clipper. Our aim is to help brands positively impact people and the planet, interrogating supply chains gives us a real opportunity to help businesses achieve key sustainability and governance pillars,” Peter concluded.

Logistics firm Unipart has announced the successful win of a major contract with JCB, one of the world’s top three manufacturers of construction equipment. As part of the contract, Unipart will manage the manufacturing giant’s World Logistics warehouse in Staffordshire, its UK in-plant operations and additional off-site JCB UK warehouses and packer operations.

“Unipart is very pleased to be awarded this important contract to work in partnership with Maersk to deliver supply chain excellence across the globe to support JCB’s success and growth plans. Unipart’s heritage and expertise across manufacturing and production supply chains, combined with our innovation and our proprietary system for continuous improvement, The Unipart Way, will enable us to drive and deliver sustainability targets across JCB’s UK operations,” said Ian Truesdale, Unipart Logistics Managing Director.

“The cultural alignment shared by our companies, our approach to employee engagement, and Unipart’s strong reputation for providing learning and development opportunities for colleagues will further enable us to optimise the UK operations for JCB and its customers.”

As part of the five-year deal the logistics firm will collaborate with Maersk, which has been recently appointed lead logistics provider for JCB’s global supply chain. Maersk will be responsible for managing the Unipart operations in the UK. Moreover, the logistics firm will also operate a 30-vehicle transport fleet, and oversee the implementation of a new warehouse management system.

“JCB’s business is going through a period of unprecedented growth around the world and as we grow, keeping production lines supplied with parts and components on a just-in-time basis is imperative. The appointment of Maersk Logistics as JCB’s global lead logistics provider, along with Unipart Logistics, will bring about a transformation in our global supply chain operations and support our manufacturing growth plans,” commented Mark Turner, Chief Operating Officer at JCB.

More than 400 employees will transfer to Unipart Logistics when the contract starts in early 2023.

“Unipart and JCB are iconic, world-class British companies, and we are very pleased to be working together to support JCB’s global logistics capability and their drive for growth,” concluded Unipart Chairman and Group Chief Executive John Neill.

Warehouse management software (WMS) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) software expert Principal Logistics Technologies (Chess Logistics Technology) reports significant growth across all divisions following strategic business acquisitions and related hirings. The company entered the Brexit and Covid period with a headcount of 16 and now has over 70 highly experienced staff. The latest round of hirings includes specialist software developers, project managers, business analysts and technical consultants.

Founder and managing director, Wellington Dhumira commented: “With growth brought about by increased customer orders across all industry sectors, two strategic business acquisitions, bringing with them new product lines and an increased headcount, we’ve now the additional capacity we need to deliver more customer projects. To help support this growth, I’m delighted to welcome Lance Ayerst as our Group Operations Director to help keep available resources and customer requirements in sync.”

Business highlights:

• Headcount grows from 16 to 70+ (337% increase) during Covid lockdown
• Sales order processing and cloud-based WMS technology added
• Enterprise-level WMS capabilities increased
• Pharmaceuticals and healthcare sectors footprint enhanced
• New Chief Product Officer and Group Operations Director hired
• New Manchester, UK office supporting growing customer base

The company’s technology portfolio now includes on-premise and SaaS based enterprise-level warehouse management software (WMS) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. These technologies optimise warehouse operations and support purchase and sales ordering processing, reducing OpEx and increasing revenue. Current customer engagements span 3PL, manufacturing, foodservices, wholesale, retail and packaging operations and involve technologies including warehouse automation, artificial intelligence, business intelligence and analytics, robotics and route optimisation integration. The company’s expertise has also been increased across the pharmaceuticals and healthcare sectors.

In addition to its Dublin, Ireland headquarters, customers are now supported from the company’s Manchester, UK offices. A number of strategic business acquisitions are currently under review.

Wiltshire furniture retailer Furniturebox celebrates opening their state-of-the-art purpose-built warehouse in Chippenham with big plans for its continued growth through the use of the latest warehouse technology. 

Furniturebox’s new warehouse has been a passion project culminating in a 15m tall building on an 88,000 square foot plot. The building is located on the M4 Chippenham junction, with a roof covered in solar panels, a bank of electric car charging points, 5 floors of stock storage and cutting-edge stock-picking technology. 

Furniturebox’s Warehouse Operations Manager, Rob Dean, says: “The new warehouse has taken 18 months to build from the ground up. We came up with the concept for our innovative 5-floor pick tower ourselves to massively increase efficiency by almost 5 times. It will help us better serve our customers as we’ll be able to hold more stock, get it picked and shipped faster and offer a much later next-day delivery cut-off time of 8pm, which is later than any other furniture retailer in the UK. It’s incredibly exciting!” 

The team have also invested considerably in brand new technology solutions. Head of eCommerce, James Ewens, says: “Our unit has been purpose-built for us. We brought in SSI Schaeffer to consult and supply the racking, who agreed with our pick tower concept and then provided the schematics for the building. We’ve also got ourselves a snazzy new Warehouse Management System via Peoplevox which will control the movement of stock around the warehouse and allow our operatives to pick, pack and ship items. It also allows for almost immediate identification of stock locations, which will change how we do stock takes and make those so much more efficient, too. It’s been a huge project and seeing it all come together has been amazing.” 

One of Furniturebox’s logistics partners, BJS commented: “The Furniturebox story is utterly inspiring and BJS Two Man Delivery are proud to support their success, both now and in the future.” BJS Head of Sales, Neil Hannify. 

Sustainable Business Plans

The new warehouse and headquarters for the company (branded fastest-growing business in the South West by the Sunday Times 100 for 2022) will be located at St. Modwen’s Park, Chippenham. It’s been incredibly important to the founders of Furniture to stay in Wiltshire. Founder Monty George says: “WIltshire is home for us, and we hope it will be for years to come. It’s been a real community effort to get to where we are now, and we want to give back to the local economy that helped us to grow in the first place.”

The new HQ will also be a step forward for the company’s sustainability goals, with plans to cover the whole roof in solar panels, 9 electric car charging points, staff sustainable travel initiatives including signing up to the Government’s cycle to work scheme, and reduced impact on the public from our courier vehicles due to the site’s close proximity to Junction 17 of the M4. 

Co-Founder Dan Beckles says: “Growing our business sustainably is incredibly important. We want to try and do our best for the planet, so a lot of thought’s been put into the site layout and on reducing our carbon impacts with green initiatives. There’s lots of green space, too, so our staff can take walks during their lunch, eat outside, and socialise with other companies on the site.” 

The Future Looks Bright 

For a company that just 7 years ago was operating with two 17-year-olds out of a their parent’s homes in Salisbury, things are looking bright. Dan Beckles and Monty George now employ 52 staff across their Wiltshire and Bristol offices as well as the new Chippenham unit. 

In fact, after winning Wiltshire Life Business of the Year twice, making it onto the Sunday Times 100 and Brightpearl Lightning 50 as fastest growing South-West business, and its founders being invited to join the Forbes ‘30 Under 30’ 2022 cohort, it seems this ‘local business done good’ isn’t about to slow down any time soon.