BIFAlink


Profile


www.bifa.org


management] system ensures that we do not approach other forwarders’ customers, so they know they can trust us.” The platform architecture allows branding with


the user’s name, logo, strapline and colour scheme, enabling independent freight forwarder customers to access what looks like their own bespoke online e-freight quotation and bookings portal to produce instant quotes for their clients. Furthermore, in response to customer


Davies Turner has stepped up its warehouse capacity of late


A stand-out service


Davies Turner has developed a neutral online quotations and booking platform designed specifically for the European overland trailer services market – giving the company a distinctive edge and meriting the BIFA European Logistics Award to boot


According to Gary Hentschel, head of marketing and product development at Davies Turner: “The market for overland trailer services in Europe is tough. It is very mature and margins are tight. Unless you do something different, you do not stand out – that is why we decided to develop our e-freight portal.” Instant quote systems are available in the air


and ocean sectors, but a version tailored specifically for freight forwarder clients in the European trailer arena is unique in what Hentschel describes as “the very competitive and standardised sector of the overland freight forwarding business”. The portal, launched just over a year ago,


delivers instant online access to pricing, 24 hours -a-day, for consignments up to 3 tonnes in weight or 9 cu m in volume. It allows independent freight forwarders to


obtain rates for any of Davies Turner’s European overland export and import trailer services – which benefit from a strong network of partners across the Continent – instantly. Time-consuming telephone calls, emails or


online quote request forms are thus eliminated. “We started offering the portal to freight


forwarders because they need to get back to their customers quickly with prices,” Hentschel explained. “Now, we have extended it to direct customers who ask us frequently for prices as well. By adding them to the portal, we have freed up our staff to move freight.” He emphasised: “We always observe neutrality. Our CRM [customer relationship


14


Gary Hentschel, head of marketing and product development at Davies Turner


requests, Davies Turner will enhance the portal’s dashboard to provide business intelligence tools over the next few months. “The portal is always evolving,” Hentschel said.


Adapting After the Brexit transition period, documentation requirements for shipments moving between the UK and the European Union may well change. It is already possible to upload documents to Davies Turner’s e-freight portal, though, so Hentschel is confident the system will cope. “The biggest challenge is making sure customers who have only ever shipped within Europe know what they need to do,” he pointed out. Davies Turner itself is well prepared for the


UK’s departure from the EU. The company has a Brexit planning team, and has already expanded its Customs clearance department, for instance. It has also responded to a noticeable uptick in


freight volumes in the run-up to Brexit day. “People were stockpiling, wanting to get their


goods in before any potential change, so warehouses were filling up and we increased our capacity accordingly during 2019. We will continue to do so in 2020 – our 150th anniversary year – with automation playing an important part,” Hentschel said. However: “I think generally people are worried


unnecessarily at the moment; 31 January was just the start date: we will see what happens at the end of the year.” • The number of companies using Davies Turner’s online e-freight quotation and bookings portal is now at least 200 and in 2019, those users requested around 30,000 quotes via the platform.


Davies Turner’s e-freight portal is designed specifically for the European overland trailer market March 2020


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20