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fast parcels market
HE CROWDED express arcels market has gained nother competing operator n Network Overnight, a fedration of 25 hauliers operatng 154 vehicles through a ub in Manchester.
It is managed by FTS Exress, a Manchester-based arcels carrier which has reruited 24 franchisees with eets of between four and 24 ehicles to provide a range of ervices from same-day to orld-wide deliveries.
FTS's Trafford Park depot, hich has 370m2 of waremusing, two stacker trucks nd six offices, serves as the ub of the operation, but FTS hairman Clive Churchward ays the company is looking t plans for a purpose-built ub elsewhere on the Traford Park enterprise zone. That would not require uch additional warehousing, ust additional doors to help ith transhipment of parcels. To man the hub, five addi
tional night staff — one clerk, one supervisor and three warehousemen — have been recruited along with one additional office worker in daytime.
Each of the franchisees is responsible for trunk ing parcels into the hub each night, although three south of England depots feed their traffic into the franchisees at High Wycombe, and loads from Northampton and East Midlands Airport and from Bristol and South Wales are also consolidated.
They are all linked by British Telecom's Prestel service, and special Prestel frames are being designed so that customers will be able to book their collections on to the system without needing to make trunk phone calls.
The regular service offered by Network Overnight is a next-day delivery available in England and Wales and all of" Scotland except the Highlands
and Western and Northern Isles, with a premium beforemidday delivery offered there too.
It offers a 48-hour delivery to the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, a 72-hour delivery anywhere in the United Kingdom, timed deliveries by agreement, and Saturday morning deliveries M England, Wales and most of Scotland.
There also is a same-day delivery service throughout the UK operated with spare vehicles which are available at most member companies' depots. Same-day deliveries are available to more distant parts of the United Kingdom by using charter aircraft.
The world-wide connection could be expanded soon if Network Overnight links up with a courier service not yet established in the UK. It is keen to hear from any which wants to break into the British market.