Palletways chief seeks growth in a tough market


8


Six months after becoming chief executive of the Palletways Group last summer, Luis Zubialde reflects on the company’s successes and talks about what 2020 and beyond has in store for the palletised freight network in Europe.


Can you sum up the last few months following your promotion to chief executive for the Palletways Group? The company performed better than the previous financial year. However, economic conditions remained tough in some of the markets in which we operate. That said, the Group, which is the largest network in Europe made up of more than 400 independent transport company members, is an efficient organisation and its ongoing focus is to deliver excellent service quality and our international footprint to differentiate us from our competitors.


What are your main objectives for 2020? Accelerating our growth to strengthen our competitive positioning for the medium to long term. This includes expanding our existing networks by improving our quality and service offering, plus the growth of our international cross-border volume, given the breadth of our European footprint. We’re also looking at expanding into new countries and are exploring new revenue streams such as B2C services, online trading and non-network freight.


What do you see are the major challenges for Palletways this year? External factors including general economic and political uncertainty means we’re working much more closely with our existing and new members to ensure they remain stable in an ever-competitive market. Prices remain competitive. However, our fundamental objective is to provide excellent service quality which our customers are willing to pay for. We want to ensure sustained profit growth for all our European network members and we’ll do this by creating new services and continuing to invest in technology and service excellence.


What IT developments are in the pipeline? We continue to invest in industry- leading IT innovations. We’re currently in the process


of


migrating all our members to our online portal – a platform which helps customers track deliveries and improve visibility of


shipments direct between members and further allowing injection to any of our hubs across Europe. We have also rolled out a new CRM (customer relationship management) tool to improve visibility of commercial opportunities. We’ve designed a commercial sales model to help our members fully understand how their customers are trading and provide intelligence regarding trends. Future advances will help


with analysing, updating and sharing pricing information with customers. This will demonstrate what billing units and services they use which will allow us to recommend improvements to help bring about benefits to the customer.


pallet


movements - to bring consistency across the Group. We are in the process of making


the Palletways portal available to manage all our members’ freight, including local deliveries,


What are the group’s future growth plans? Our parent company, Imperial, is assessing the expansion of specific capabilities through strategic acquisitions and portfolio enhancement. This includes potential expansion into international freight management. The market will be informed as and when any material opportunities have been identified. And of course, we’re always looking at


BIFA’s Young Forwarders Network celebrates first birthday


The British International


Freight Association’s (BIFA) Young Forwarders Network (YFN) is celebrating a first successful year.


The YFN was launched in


March 2019 to create several regional networking groups, run by young forwarders and designed to help early talent


and young BIFA members develop their knowledge and professional skills, but in a more social environment. One year on, six regional


Noatum starts work on Medway site


Spanish-owned retail supply chain specialist, Noatum Logistics (formerly MIQ Logistics in the UK) has agreed terms on a new 150,000sq ft retail and eCommerce facility at London Medway Commercial Park. The site is due for completion


at the end of 2020, and will incorporate multiple mezzanines to add a further 225,000sq ft of capacity, primarily for automation, eCommerce order picking and fulfilment. Contracts have been exchanged and construction


commenced last month. It is due for completion in ten months. Contract logistics director


North Europe, Steve Hicks, commented: “Continued growth of online sales will drive demand for pick and pack space, which is why we are forecasting that this new


opportunities to open networks in other countries.


How is the Group planning to strengthen its network this year? A new partnership with Ziegler in France will start this month which will offer much improved service quality for all our networks. We’re also looking to increase our service and capabilities into the German network and we’re considering hazardous goods and LTL (less than trailerload) opportunities for members in this region.


Do you have any plans to expand in Eastern Europe? Yes, we’re looking at the feasibility of opening a small network in Slovakia connected to our Hungarian hub and network. We hope to be able to start offering a service in this area towards the end of the year. I’m convinced our network


will continue to expand in terms of


the number of members


in every country in Europe. The Group is extremely well positioned in Europe and our strength will only increase over the coming years with the inclusion of the benefits that Imperial will provide.


networks have already been established with more


in


the pipeline, and more than 20 networking


events have


been held, with many more scheduled for the remainder of the year. Register at: https:// yfnlhr_24mar20.eventbrite. com


development will be filled shortly after completion and will almost entirely be taken over by existing customers. When fully operational, the new facility will be capable of processing over 50,000 pieces a day, equivalent to three million- plus parcels a year.” Noatum’s clients include


French Connection, Phase 8 and GANT.


Issue 2 2020 - Freight Business Journal


News Roundup


Unifeeder has added a call at DP World London Gateway to its service between Teesport, Grangemouth, Antwerp and Dunkirk. The port operator said it offered an alternative for customers shipping cargo between Europe and the UK as well as transshipment connections via London Gateway.


///NEWS Sea


Property tycoon John Whittaker is to sell a 25% stake in Peel Ports Group to Melbourne-based pension fund investor AustralianSuper. Peel Ports owns Liverpool, Clydeport and Medway in the UK. Whittaker also sold a 35% stake in Liverpool John Lennon Airport to fund manager Ancala Partners last year.


AP Moller - Maersk has secured a new five-year $5bn credit facility through a syndicate of 26 selected banks, linked to its CO2 performance. The credit margin will be adjusted based on Maersk’s progress in meeting its target of reducing emissions per cargo moved by 60% by 2030. It is the first bank refinancing arranged by Maersk aſter its decision to concentrate on becoming a global container logistics company.


Port of Dover Cargo has received 360 Quality Code accreditation for perishable products. Secretary general at the 360 Quality Association Herman de Knijf, said: “We welcome them as an official member of the association. We cover reefer terminals and container depots all over the world, plus more than 60% of the specialized reefers in the world wide perishable trade.” Dover is one of only ten depots and terminals across the world to be certified by 360 Quality.


Brittany Ferries has completed its part-purchase of Channel Islands operator, Condor Ferries. The deal, announced last year, had been subject to scrutiny by competition authorities and has now been finalised. Brittany Ferries is the minority shareholder in the company, alongside Columbia Threadneedle European Sustainable Infrastructure Fund. Last year the two companies reached agreement with Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (“MIRA”) for the acquisition of 100% of Condor Ferries.


News Roundup


Davies Turner’s regular weekly rail import service from China to the UK will re-start in mid-March following a prolonged Chinese New Year holiday break due to the corona virus. However, with Wuhan still under lockdown and the re-opening of factories there recently postponed until 11 March, the rail service will now depart from the Xi’an rail hub, directly into Duisburg, Germany.


Freightliner says it is considering the future of its terminal at Coatbridge, near Glasgow. It handles regular Freightliner and DRS services to Felixstowe, Southampton, London Gateway, Liverpool, Daventry and Purfleet. Rail Union RMT has called on Freightliner and the Scottish Government to take action to secure the future of the terminal, which employs about 100 people.


Kuehne + Nagel is to sell a major part of its UK contract logistics portfolio to XPO Logistics, including the drinks, food services and retail and technology businesses, for an undisclosed sum. The operations generated a turnover of CHF750 million (£615m) in 2019 and employ 7,500 people. The sale is part of a strategic review of the forwarding and logistics company’s contract logistics business to improve profitability and focus on core business. The air and sea forwarding activity is not affected and KN will retain a portion of its contract logistics work in the UK.


The Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan-Afghanistan-Iran corridor has opened for TIR transit. It follows a pilot operation from Bandar Abbas (Iran) to Tajikistan via Afghanistan. The corridor offers the shortest possible route between Iran and Kyrgyzstan, saving up to five days on the usual transit time.


Road & Rail


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