THE RED ARROW LM FINDS ITS MARK
Page 50
Page 51
Page 52
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
ONLY 13 months ago—in January, 1934—Red Arrow Deliveries, Ltd., South Yardley, Birmingham, came into being. It is an undertaking that has grown so rapidly that goods are now transported to almost every part of England and Wales and to much of Scotland. This remarkable progress is attributable chiefly to the dependable nature of the delivery service and especially to the certainty with which each item carried can be traced at every stage of its journey. Although already covering so extensive an area, work is still being carried on with a view to filling in such gaps as there are in the large scheme of delivery agencies.
The company was fortunate in being associated from its inception with Messrs. Hurst and Payne, the wellestablished South Birmingham goods operators, but the Red Arrow system has, all along, been a thing apart, catering specially for parcels and "smalls." To sum up the functions of the company, it provides a parcels collection and delivery service in Birmingham and the Black Country, also in London. In these districts it undertakes similar work for many other carriers, who , reciprocate by acting as the company's agents in their own parts of the country. B32 Whilst parcels are the main concern of this business, they are sometimes of a nature hardly associated with that term by the ordinary individual; in fact, the scale of charges covers numerous sizes up to and including 1 ton. Some of the parcels carried turn the scale at a few ounces, and it says a great deal for the careful planning behind the Red Arrow service that such a small package should be the subject of an exhaustive series of records, so that proof of delivery can be given, andevery stage of its progress checked, from the moment of its consignment. Therein lies the secret of a large number of satisfied customers.
Agreements for delivery service have been made with close on 50 carriers, and the manner in which these have been linked together, so as to afford facilities upon which the customer can place implicit reliance, is nothing short of remarkable. Incidentally, it has not been easy in every district to fix up the necessary agencies. To some who were approached the longdistance parcels business appeared hardly worth bothering about, but, once fixed up, they quickly changed their tune!
In a business that handles all kinds and conditions of
goods there must be claims from customers and their. transference from one carrier to another. This problem at first presented some difficulty in fixing the responsibility, in cases where damage was proved. It was, however, quickly overcome by an agreement that, in every case, all concerned should share the costs.
That it is necessary to make the customers' path easy is the principle that lies behind the system of records, which has been planned by Mr. C. S. Dunbar, M.I.T.A., A.M.Inst.T., director and manager of the company. Each record is cross-referenced wherever practicable, so that following through an inquiry is made as simple and speedy as possible. Another point is that the Red Arrow Co., realizing that to save the customers' time is a. step towards keeping up cordial relations, gives in its rates book the names of all responsible officials, so that telephone inquiries reach the correct person without delay.
From the headquarters at Waterloo Road, South Yardley, an extensive. fleet carries out collections and deliveries in Birmingham and the BLck Country area, but to live right up to the term " express " hiring must frequently be utilized. It is a rule that every package for local delivery received before noon shall be delivered the same day. The headquarters fleet consists largely of Bedfords, but a particularly interesting vehicle is a James three-wheeler, that has been found of great value for speedy work in the congested streets of the city centre.
From, the head office radiate various distributing
lines for other centres. West London is served by means of the Speed Lines system, at Brentford, which is controlled by the company, and a trunk service between the Midlands and the Metropolis is operated by Messrs. Hurst and Payne, From London, goods are distributed by various agencies to Kent, Surrey, Essex and other -places in the neighbourhood.
Some of the more important routes operated are those to, Manchester, Scotland and the North-East, the Potteries and Liverpool, and via Bristol to Devon and Cornwall. A nightly service -to Blackburn is worked jointly by the Red Arrow and Blackburn Parcels Express concerns, calling at Manchester, where consignments are dropped for distribution by Manchester Corporation's transport department. At Blackburn, in addition to local deliveries, goods are transferred to carriers for
Leeds, Newcastle, Middlesbrough and the North-Eastern district, whilst other connections give access to parts of the West Riding and to Southern Scotland, • Beresford, Caddy and Pemberton, Ltd., carries to the Potteries and Manchester, also to Tunstall and Liverpool. Consignments for Birkenhead and outlying places, also for a line of towns along the North-Wales coast, travel by this route and are transferred at Liverpool. A Sheffield-Leicester-Birmingham service is provided by Messrs. Bradford and Leicester Transport, whilst L.E.P. Transport and Depositories, Ltd., work . ing from its Birmingham depot, carries to Hull and the East Riding. Messrs. Beech Transport link up with Bristol and thus provide connections for Devon and Cornwall. Other important links in the chain are made by Messrs Pecks (Rushden), Messrs. Giles and Bullen (King's Lynn), Messrs. South Coast Carriers, Venn and McPherson, Ltd. (South Wales), whilst numerous other concerns help to swell the facilities provided.
Altogether, there are 26 clearly defined zones, and for each a full, simple list of charges is published.
Good Accommodation for "Outside" Vehicles. s Ample accommodation for visiting vehicles is provided at Waterloo Road, where the depot covers an area of 32,000 sq. ft., with a loading deck measuring 180 ft. by 36 ft. Goods inwards are handled on the east side of the deck and outwards from the west side, the centre block being formed by managerial offices and soritig racks. , Here all drivers from delivery or collecting agencies are required to sign a sheet on which are noted their arrival and departure times.
Here, too, the Red Arrow collection drivers find instructions for casual calls that need to be made in addition to the usual round. These are notified by means of an instruction sheet, the duplicate of which is kept at the office so that the completion of the work may be checked on the vehicle's return: In each cab is carried a consignment book for use in connection with casual calls-and, in addition to all the usual information, space is provided for cross-reference to the appropriate cashsheet in respect of money received.
In order to avoid difficulties that sometimes arise in cases where goods are consigned carriage forward to a customer having a ledger account, a carriageforward book is also supplied to the driver, who is authorized to deliver on obtaining the signature of the consignee to a note which gives all particulars, including the amount to be charged to his next account. Most of these records are taken in triplicate, as is the consignment note used from the books supplied by Red Arrow Deliveries, Ltd., to regular customers. Two copies. are collected by the driver, and, whilst one actually serves as a consignment note, the second is returned to the customer in the form of an invoice when the charges have been entered in the final column. A further form is used for notifying customers that goods on hand have not been delivered owing to stated reasons, whilst another printed note is issued to associated carriers, where the consignments are not in accordance with the carriers' notification, or where damage has occurred. • The note respecting goods on hand is linked to the " brought-back " list, which the night staff completes when, for any reason, consignments are returned. In order to eliminate the possibility of incorrect routing, a night checker examines outgoing loads, checking the destination of the wagon against the contents, and reporting any discrepancy. In addition, of course, there are the usual delivery forms and a nightly defect report, on receipt of which the maintenance department of Messrs. Hurst and Payne, at Hay Mills, makes necessary adjustments or carries out repairs.
The extensive facilities here available provide for adaptations to standard vehicles and for the-completion of practically any necessary work on the spot. A comprehensive stock of spares is always available, and work is constantly going through the machine shop, carpenter's shop, electrician's shop and paint shop. Amongst other facilities available are oil-reconditioning plants, break-down vehicles, and a tyre service.
Six Men to Five Vehicles.
So far as the headquarters and London driving staff is concerned, a rota is arranged on the basis of six men to five vehicles. In order to provide a safeguard against emergencies, however, on one of his free days, each driver will telephone the office, thus being ready to step into the breach should illness or other causes result in another man being absent.
In case it might ,appear that rapid development is synonymous with easy development, it must be pointed out that the underlying system and the building up of the network of road-transport lines to feed practically the entire country, requires concentrated and unceasing activity, an intimate knowledge of goods carrying as a whole and an infinite patience.