What can we expect?
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Over the past seven days I visited some hauliers in Bradford. I’d never pinned Bradford down as the hotbed of anything, except for fine curries and the National Media Museum – which was always a good laugh on a school trip – but it appears it is a hotbed for haulage.
On opposite sides of the M606 are two very different businesses: Expect Distribution and Advanced Supply Chain. But both are ambitious modernisers with an eye for growth. Expect (formerly Pennine Parcels) has invested in a £9m state-of-the-art warehouse to branch out into new markets and build on its core competencies in pallets. Operations director Neil Rushworth says it is all about balancing risk and reward: £9m is a risky investment for a business turning over £18m a year – but the reward in filling the space more than justifies it.
Across the road at Advanced Supply Chain, MD Mike Danby is equally ambitious. He believes the firm, which has an annual turnover of £25m, can hit £100m a year in five years’ time. All thanks to his team of software developers, believe it or not.
They’ve come up with some whizzy computer systems that simplify and speed up distribution. The trick to hit the targets is selling it.
What surprised me about both firms is that neither actually talked about running trucks. The trucks were just part of the process. It was all about selling the services. Is this the future of road haulage? Is the truck simply a number to be crunched for optimum fuel economy (see p6)? I’d love to know your thoughts... Christopher Walton