TRANSPORT
the gate. However, as the sign is positioned in the entrance, you only see that after you’ve already turned in to the yard. Some of them also have separate HGV entrances. Those are the sorts of things you learn to look out for with experience working across different sites.”
“Another big thing is making sure agency drivers know how a collection will operate. Often a merchant will give you delivery details with additional information on the bottom, ‘deliveries only between these times’, ‘collections that side’, ‘when you get here, wait there’, this is particularly useful just so that first timers know how the yard functions. SDR maintains full time merchant vehicle drivers, working across a variety of merchants and sites. They are available to go to branches at short notice, remaining on call until 11 am. “The way SDR’s driver contracts are structured guarantee pay for working days no matter what hours we do, so we are able to remain on call for when merchants need us.” Gaunt said. “We get a pension, holiday pay, training support and the staff in the office are incredible. We are maintained and operated as an on-call driver fleet, working with merchant vehicles day in day out.”
In Basingstoke, Gaunt used the lorry- mounted crane to unload in a residential area, where builders appeared to be replacing the existing roofing tiles.
These cranes are common on merchant delivery vehicles, and serve as a key example of the kinds of equipment SDR’s drivers are familiar with, giving them an advantage over morre generalist HGV drivers.
“Because we do it day in, day out, we know the processes, and understand the health and safety guidelines. Especially on the SDR side, we’re obviously used to with the different makes of cranes as well. Take HGV cranes for example. I’ve worked with them all, so. I’m not worried about it. The bulk of them are all pretty much the same. There are different processes between vehicles, the challenge is knowing where they differ. On lorry-mounted cranes’ it’s usually just how to get the legs out.”
In Newbury, we unloaded the pallet right
next to the site’s roof tile conveyer system, and they had begun unloading them straight onto the roof before we had even driven away. I then asked Gaunt about these customer facing deliveries, and whether being an external driver changes customer perception. “The majority of customers have been very positive. All of our work is through merchants, so we are representing them. We are used to interacting with merchant customers, so it’s always really positive,” he said. We then headed to the SIG branch in Bishops Waltham to collect six more pallets, which we delivered back to SIG’s Southampton branch. Then we headed back to BML’s depot.
BML allows drivers to build a familiarity with their vehicle and its maintenance, so that they can operate as smoothly as possible, but Gaunt believes that the experience of using a variety of equipment types across different vehicles over their time driving other merchant vehicles from different fleets provides a familiarity which sets SDR drivers apart.
October 2026
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net
A complete offering It is clear that Gaunt has picked up a lot of knowledge in his time as a merchant driver. There really is no substitute for experience, and with SDR drivers doing what they do day in day out they function perfectly alongside merchants’ permanent fleets.
SDR has built its reputation on delivering experienced, fully compliant drivers with the consistency and sector knowledge that customers rely on. This focus on customer service and reliability is also reflected in BML’s expanding offer, responding to growing demand from merchants and manufacturers for a more complete logistics solution that supplies both driver and vehicle. BML is already enjoying rapid growth following its initial launch earlier this year.
The company believes that, by bringing together SDR’s expertise in driver resourcing with a dedicated logistics operation, BML is positioned to offer a more streamlined and accountable approach to moving building materials across the UK.
The launch of BML strengthens SDR’s overall proposition, allowing both businesses to support customers at multiple levels depending on their needs, whether that is individual driver cover or a fully outsourced logistics solution.
Together, the two division, SDR and BML aim to provide a more complete answer to the challenges facing construction distribution, combining specialist knowledge, operational control and a focus on compliance in a way that reflects the realities of the modern supply chain. BMJ
31
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 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80
