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The Client
Speedy Freight and the team have built a longstanding relationship with a well known and established timber merchant who specialises in large garden sheds, timber and building supplies. This professional relationship meant that the moment our client had an abnormal courier need, they came directly to Speedy – their dedicated courier service.
The Challenges
In the field of construction, it’s common that the goods that need to be moved are oversized and non-standard shapes. Due to the nature of the industry, these items are often integral for example, the structure of a building – so as a result, it’s vital that these specialist consignments are moved with the greatest care so that materials arrive in perfect condition. Therefore using a specialised courier vehicle is required for safety and reassurance further down the line.
This type of consignment often means that the materials to be loaded are a variety of different and awkward dimensions. This means that as well as providing specialised large vehicles, to combat the size of the goods, multiple different vehicle types must be provided and the logistics need to be considered.
The Consignment
In order to overcome these variations, Speedy Freight provided the client with several vehicles from its 4,000-strong fleet. The vehicles provided by Speedy Freight ranged from our sturdy and extra-long wheelbase vans, perfect to delivery to consumer’s homes, to articulated trucks capable of transporting full loads.
Speedy Freight was able to help with the logistical planning of the movement, moving artic lorries from Mid-Devon to staging yards all around the UK. A system was set up whereby the courier allowed for coordinating between 7-12 vans and drivers, to load between 8-20 residential deliveries, covering a range of 100 – 300 miles at each facility.
Speedy Freight currently handles 5 artic loads a week, travelling to London, Midlands, and the North West. The total weight of these individual runs can be up to 1200kg, which requires dedicated vehicles to transport the volume safely and efficiently. In addition, each of these weighty consignments is loaded and unloaded by hand, with individual items weighing up to 25kg. In order to ensure that these items are being moved with care and the necessary preparation, Speedy Freight has developed a well-trained team of professional drivers who understand the task at hand, and who cooperate with one other to get all the vans loaded swiftly. Each of these staging yards has a lead driver who supervises the loading, to ensure that every consignment is being handled properly.
These aren’t the only safety measures that Speedy Freight can provide. In our services to this client, Speedy employed a dedicated mobile phone app, provided by the customer to download their route for the day. This app-enabled all drivers to undertake POD jobs in real-time, provide pictures of the delivered items and automatically notify the next customer with an accurate ETA.
This app means that Speedy’s admin teams are able to monitor every driver’s progress via a master version of the app, enabling us to identify and fix delivery issues immediately. In addition, our teams enjoy access to the customer’s scheduling and routing program, so we can see what runs are planned 24-48 hours in advance.
The Conclusion
As well as the organised runs, we also complete a number of ad-hoc requests for the client. As indicated by their name, these ad-hoc runs can be any time of day and from any location in the UK, meaning Speedy Freight needs to be ready and prepared for anything. At Speedy Freight, we have a strong driver network throughout the UK, leaving us perfectly prepared for these requests and making sure our client’s promise to their customers is left unscathed.
Regular audits and meetings between Speedy Freight and our client provide platforms for constant improvement, analysis and reflection. A great working relationship has been key to the success of this contract, with both parties using their expertise to ensure no stone is left unturned in the quest to provide the best possible service for the customer.
