FEATURE Howes Percival


Building on natural advantages in business


In life there are always some natural advantages that make some people better at certain things than others. For example, standing at 5’9 (on a good day) it was always pretty unlikely that I could emulate my childhood hero, Martin Johnson, and play second row for England. T e same applies in business, where certain


geographic advantages naturally result in industries being concentrated in a particular area. In our case, our central location and exceptional transport links make Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire the ideal place to operate a logistics business. Even with this natural geographic advantage,


it takes an awful lot more to build and maintain a successful logistics business. Having worked with businesses in the region for more than 200 years we’ve seen the sector go through all manner of changes and helped guide local logistics businesses through some of their biggest challenges:


Managing your cash flow As we all know cash is the lifeblood of any business and that is particularly true in the logistics industry, where overheads are substantial and self-employed staff will simply move elsewhere if they’re not paid on time. Maintaining good cash fl ow is about a series


of simple actions done consistently. It starts with having open and honest discussions with customers about pricing and payment terms. You then have to put those terms into a properly written contract which is legally enforceable (if you don’t share your payment terms with a customer until invoicing it’s probably already too late). With these basic processes in place, it’s


then about managing your debtors, following up regularly and, where the need arises, being prepared to take robust legal action to get paid for the hard work you’ve done.


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Miles Barnes Senior Associate, Corporate, Commercial & Banking Howes Percival


Managing your property assets T e discussions amongst the majority of the business community and press at the moment are all about reducing fl oor space and getting rid of property assets that have been shown to be excessive by the pandemic. However, there are exceptions to this trend, and logistics is certainly one of them. Whether you lease your properties or own them outright, having secure premises in quality locations with excellent transport links is vital to any successful logistics business. If the current trends towards working from home and increased


online sales continue there should be opportunities in this area for the logistics industry over the next few years, with investors and developers focusing on more warehousing and industrial units. In navigating these potential opportunities, it will be important


for logistics firms to take proper advice to ensure they’re paying a competitive price for their premises and are getting fair terms. Otherwise, a property portfolio that should be an asset to aid a business’ growth can quickly become an albatross around your neck.


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Shital Odedra Associate, Corporate, Commercial & Banking Howes Percival


ALL THINGS BUSINESS


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