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PROFILE FOREST FREIGHT FACTFILE: FOREST FREIGHT BASED: Fairview Industrial Park,

13th November 1997
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Page 60, 13th November 1997 — PROFILE FOREST FREIGHT FACTFILE: FOREST FREIGHT BASED: Fairview Industrial Park,
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

Rainham, Essex. FOUNDED: 1971 by Stuart Fullerton. CONTACT: Darren Brown sales manager. FLEET: 60 vehicles from one-tonne panel vans to 38-tonne tractors and trailers. MOST RECENT PURCHASE. Two MercedesBenz Adros tractors. SPECIALITY CONTRACT c UK pallet distribution for manufacturers and freight forwarding. TURNOVER: 0.8m in 1996. Two years ago Forest Freight wanted to move from its cramped depot in Barking to the kind of premises that matched its aspirations. The firm found the perfect site just down the road in Rainham with more room, more facilities and a brand new trunk road under construction minutes from its front door.

Like hundreds of other operators based in Essex, Forest Freight uses the A13 every day to get to the M25 and beyond. It's one of the most densely populated roads in the country, so having the new A13 dual carriageway link from Dagenham to the M25 and Dartford Bridge passing right by the new depot was an extra incentive to get the removal men in.

But as the Department of Transport cancelled road schemes, sales and Marketing manager Darren Brown began to suffer from post-move nerves. "We started to wonder whether it would be built," he admits.

Forest Freight and hauliers throughout the South East can rest easy. The complete 11km route will be open by 1999.

Road jitters aside, Brown is pleased with the relocation. "When we moved in we thought, wow this is it, we've arrived at a proper distribution centre. Then I thought, 'We're going to have to get some work to fill this'. But pretty much within a week we had attracted enough work."

Forest Freight's primary business is UK pallet distribution, handling anything from a single pallet to a full 24-trailer load. "We made a conscious effort eight years ago to work with manufacturers with a daily collection requirement, rather than simply moving stuff from A to B," says Brown.

Everything from handling orders to planning, consolidation and onward delivery is done from Rainham. But shouldn't a national distribution company have a national network of depots? Not according to Brown.

"A lot of people turn their noses up as we haven't got satellite depots, but we think that's a bonus because we have total control from this site. A lot of the goods we move are very fragile, so we want ultimate control."

Pallets pay off

Concentrating on pallet distribution has clearly paid off. Forest Freight numbers Esso Lubricants, Osram Lighting, Philips Whirlpool, Plysu and Henderson Doors among its many customers. On average, it handles more than 6,500 consignments a month, carrying 19,500 pallets. Its full load monthly average is running at around 273, while the number of part loads—defined by Forest as four or more pallets—is around 395.

"That's nice, because there's money to be made from it," reckons Brown.

Despite all the recent publicity prornoting pallet consortiums, the company will remain independent "We've been approached by numerous Palletline-type operations," reports Brown. "But all they use is existing hauliers' vehicles. We opted not to be part of that. I'm not a knocker, it's just that we can fill our own vehicles ourselves."

The Rainham site has recently been approved as an Enhanced Remote Transit Shed (ERTS), effectively an inland Customs clearance depot. This has created new business spin-offs, as Brown explains. "We had a couple of contracts via freight forwarders and applied to be a clearance depot. When we started we were taking around two containers a week. Now it's anything between 12 to 15 and will increase as we move to 24-hour handling. "We de-van the container and notify the agents, who call the customer. When we started everyone had their own preferred haulier. We're now moving the business ourselves."

With more than 70,000sqft of warehousing space at the Marsh Way site there have been plenty of enquiries for long-term storage, but there's a downside to it, says Brown. "The problem with the warehouse side is that it's going through a huge transition."

Forest Freight is now redesigning its warehousing space to provide a larger goods-in-transit section for its Customs clearance/container business which has rather lost out to the long-term storage capacity "We'll handle long-term storage but the volume will change," confirms Brown. What won't change is how the company deals with its clients. "We have close review meetings with our customers to look at peaks and troughs," says Brown. "We also offer in-house account management, not only support from our office but we'll put an 'implant' in. In fact we tend to put a number of staff in because it works well."

The company is investing heavily in IT, particularly on its order entry system.

One of the biggest gripes we get from customers is that we never get proof of delivery quick enough," comments Brown.

At present, whenever a load is tipped it's confirmed by the driver using NB3. All delivery details are then entered into the base computer by one of the operational staff. However, that will change.

Brown says: "We're going to link customers in with our system. Rather than them having to phone up and get put on hold while we look for the status of their load, they'll be able to link into the system and get all the details themselves."

The new system won't only provide rapid proof of delivery. "They'll be inputting their order directly into us and we'll get the delivery notes here for our drivers," says Brown, who freely acknowledges that it's not just the customers who will benefit

"I'd be a liar if! said it wouldn't help us. Our operations guys spend a lot of time simply chasing up deliveries. That will save us all a lot of time," he adds.

Brown cites UPS as having the kind of scheme that Forest Freight is considering. "We're talking about a sophisticated tracking system that's screen-based, using an electronic keypad to transfer data back to base. Whether we get there I don't know but we're looking at it."

looldng forward

As CM wanders around the site we're joined by Forest Freight founder Stuart Fullerton and operations director Sean Kirby. Fullerton started the business 25 years ago with himself, a van and a driver. "I was working for someone moving containers about and there was such a demand for small stuff that I thought the best thing was to provide a service where there was a need."

Three years ago the company was awarded IS09002 and last year enjoyed a turnover of £2.8m. Kirby says that should increase to around £3.4m in 1997.

New recruits to the 60-strong fleet include six Mercedes Actros supplied on lease purchase, although Fullerton prefers to own the asset wherever possible. Ultimately the company will run an all-Mercedes fleet, not least because he reckons "they stand up to the bashing".

Fullerton is adamant that the only way to make acceptable profits is by providing a quality service at a justifiable price. However, it's not an easy concept to sell and annual fuel increases don't help.

"We recently lost a good customer for 20 years on price—their chief accountant actually says so—sod the service! But those that want service will pay for us."

Following advice from the Road Haulage Association, the company has been able to achieve a fuel surcharge. "Most of the customers are willing to pay it hut the days of the standard letter are over," concedes Fullerton.

Unlike many bosses, he's still close to the sharp end, going out on the occasional delivery. "Things haven't changed," he notes. "When I went to a company's reception, as any normal person would, 1 got sent round the back. It was a humbling experience but a good one. It keeps you in touch with real life. I sit in the tea hut regularly—that way you find out what's really going on."

E by Brian Weatherley

that's a bonus because we have total control'


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