Central sales for WPS
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• In a move to match the efficiency of its competitors, parcels carrier WPS Express is centralising its sales and administration. The move will relieve most of its 100 franchisees of these time consuming responsibilities.
The restructure includes Birmingham-based WPS wholly acquiring its depots in Lincoln and Somerset which have been weakened by the collapse of a major customer in each area. WPS says the acquisitions are designed "to safeguard the operations".
Four other depots — Wolverhampton, Southampton, Gloucester and Glasgow — have already had their sales and marketing operations integrated into the main company.
WPS stresses the move does not mean the beginning of the end of its franchise operation. "Over the next six months the integrated depots will be used as a model for the changes in the rest of the operation, which should be completed by the end of next year," says WPS.
The changes mean that a large customer using several WPS franchisees will now receive one invoice instead of a number from around the UK.
Some of the large franchisees will be left in charge of their finances and administration because WPS realises that they would be insulted to lose this role. "But equally a lot of the franchisees are good operationally, but will benefit from sales and administration being handled centrally," explains a WPS spokesman. Mac Warner, managing director of WPS Express, met franchisees last week in Birmingham to explain the changes.
"The news was greeted very positively," he says, "the franchisees realise that anything which serves the interests of the system must certainly benefit them also."
WPS was formed in 1987 as an association and it became a franchise operation a year ago. "We have grown to a point where our chief competitors are now the major, whollyowned operators," says Warner. "We have no problem in competing with them in service terms, but we must be as efficient as possible and be able to present a unified marketing and sales effort."
WPS believes the restructure will save more than 2100,000 a year. No redundancies are expected.