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ii t T h h e e i r c d o i n s t t i r n i u b e u d i o r n es a i s s t s a e n ts ce i s b h y a U m K p e b r u i s n i g n e th s e s i e r s a t b o i l i sharing ty t o
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cut costs. The tendency to operate in isolation makes businesses blind to the potential for sharing and the benefits it can bring. It is true that positive steps have been taken, and at Interoute we've worked with a number of our customers to explore different opportunities. We've looked, for instance, at how we can share the use of information technology between customers.
But the work we are doing in this field has really served to highlight how much more could be done. At the moment, companies are only willing to look inwards and snare their resources with their suppliers or, at a push, their customers.
One of the key areas under scrutiny has been the fleet, looking for ways to minimise empty running by backloading vehicles once they have made a delivery—or using them to take finished goods onwards.
Interoute is best known as a tanker operator, and we backload general-purpose chemical tanks as a matter of course.
We also operate specialised food-grade tankers, which traditionally return empty due to compatibility or distance constraints. However, by working closely with our customers we have also been successful at backloading these, with all parties sharing the savings.
We have also examined peaks and troughs in our customers' businesses to see if one core fleet of tractors could be used to serve the needs of two or more businesses with complementary highs and lows.
So the willingness to share resources is there, and steps have been taken. But no one really wants to take the next step, which has to be sharing with competitors. And yet, why not? It makes such good sense: competitors operating in the same market are working towards common goals, their needs are likely to match, and chances are their solutions will be the same. It only requires a short leap of the imagination to visualise entire industries pooling and sharing all available resources to maximise their potential within one industry-wide supply chain.
Why then has nobody done it? Because there are huge barriers to be broken down. Nobody is prepared to overcome suspicion in order to share assets with a competitor. No one wants to give up the feeling of control which owning and running their own fleet gives. And yet, it has to be done if additional costs are to be taken out of the chain.
We recently announced a plan to set up a shared-use network for distributing packaged chemicals. When it comes to sharing resources, the chemicals industry has to be one of the most suspicious sectors of UK business, but it is coming under massive pressure to cut costs.
it is also, because it is so specialist, finding it increasingly difficult to find third-party distribution providers qualified in certain key areas. One of these is the overnight delivery of packaged goods.
To answer this need, Interoute is looking for other qualified operators willing to work with us and create a network to provide a distribution service for chemical producers and users throughout the country—and eventually Europe.
This will be based around a series of strategic chemical distribution points, plus one central packaging and processing hub.
It is a new departure for us—traditionally we have specialised in bulk distribution—but we are well qualified for the role and we do believe that shared use networks and initiatives like this one should signal the way ahead. So we are taking the lead, and hoping others follow!
• Contact: David Ricky on 01844 214141.