TRANSPORT
TP KEEPS ON TRUCKING THANKS TO RYDER
Builders merchants, big and small, probably spend more on transport than they do on anything else, apart from payroll. So what happens when one of your providers goes out of action? BMJ found out how one merchant group coped.
T
ransport is as important to the successful operation of a leading builders’ merchant as just about anything else. But what happens if your vehicle supplier goes into administration just eight days before Christmas? That’s the scenario that Travis Perkins Group Fleet Director Graham Bellman faced on 17 December 2018 when he was informed that the business’s vehicle supplier, Gulliver’s, had gone into administration. Travis Perkins needed to secure a new service provider to minimise impact on its customer deliveries across the UK in the run up to the Christmas peak, and to avoid any disruption to its Wickes business in the key post-Christmas trading period.
If Travis Perkins had been retendering towards the end of a contract in normal circumstances, it would have taken several months to conclude a deal; in this scenario, they had only four days to get something sorted.
Bellman turned to Ryder, a leading independent provider of commercial vehicle rental, contract hire and maintenance services, to keep operations running smoothly. He recalls: “It was a hugely challenging time for us - and for Ryder. Within 48 hours of being contacted, they had prepared and delivered a commercial proposal for 620 rigid trucks, tractor units, and trailers. After 48 hours, all contracts had been signed, and more importantly, there was no disruption to our operational business.”
how it could be completed in the week before Christmas. “To see the company kick in and make this happen was quite something,” says Robinson.
The 620 vehicles operated from 20 locations across several Travis Perkins businesses, including Wickes, City Plumbing Supplies, and Travis Perkins itself.
John Robinson, Ryder’s Director – Fleet
Sales, remembers Bellman’s phone call: “I have been in contact with Graham for a number of years, and then saw the announcement that Gulliver’s had gone into administration. Graham’s call helped me to appreciate the complexities of the Travis Perkins business and their fleet operations - it took a couple of attempts and several sheets of A3 paper to fully grasp the scale of the challenge.” Bellman adds: “It was Ryder’s positivity and flexible team approach along with the offer of a full solution to mirror the existing deal that gave us a great amount of comfort.” The timing was crucial. The busiest sales peak for Wickes kitchens was fast approaching and there could be no disruption to deliveries. From an operational execution perspective, there was no time for Ryder to prepare as Travis Perkins required instant mobilisation. As the project lead for Ryder, finance director Stephen King recalls: “This was an extremely complex negotiation due to the involvement of multiple vehicle funders – Ryder had to deliver on its promises to buy these vehicles and execute the deal quickly and confidently to support the operational
commitments of Travis Perkins.”
A team of 26 people at Ryder
were engaged on the deal, working out
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“The pace at which everyone was working on administering the deal – from the initial valuation of all 620 assets, through to pricing, our UK legal counsel approving all legal documents together with the Travis Perkins legal team within three days, and finally the actual purchase – was phenomenal.” In order to complete the deal on time, Bellman and his team needed to know where all the vehicles were, who the service provider was, when the next service or MOT was due, all within a matter of hours - not days - and with zero disruption. Luckily, he says: “Our network really stepped up.”
Just in time
A core of six Travis Perkins personnel worked full-time to supply information from sites all around the country, with the help of Ryder’s commercial engineering team, and the deal was eventually completed at 4pm on Friday 21 December.
Ryder is now ready to begin deliveries of its own new trucks to Travis Perkins. King says: “It was very exciting to see the Ryder team gathering momentum, it was unstoppable! We have a very solid foundation based on more than 48 years of industry experience, and I am very proud of what we achieved in such a short space of time. We are looking forward to working with our new customer and to developing a long and fruitful relationship, supporting them with their current and future fleet requirements.” Reflecting on the pace, the scale and timing of the challenge, Bellman cites Ryder’s financial and operational capability as the key drivers that helped get the new deal over the line.
“It became clear very quickly that Ryder was the only company that had the foresight and financial capacity to take on these assets. What we needed from our service provider was the right vehicles, competitively priced, and fully compliant with additional short- term rental support for seasonal peaks. Ryder delivered on all of these requirements when we needed them the most.” BMJ
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net September 2019
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