Corporate Awards

 

 

Individuals working together

Chris Shuttleworth & Wayne Foster – Smiths News - Blood donation thanks from Matt Hancock

 

IOC CEO Tracey Worth comments

Two people working together, giving more than sum of the parts is exemplary. Our sector is proud of Chris and Wayne for their contribution

 

 

Having had COVID they gave something back. Two take time out from delivering the nightly media miracle of Smiths News and get thanks from Matt Hancock.

Jon Bunting comments, ‘We are so proud to share with the IOC that two of our colleagues at Smiths News donated their blood plasma to COVID-19 patients, in an effort to give back to the NHS. Both Chris Shuttleworth and Wayne Foster contracted COVID-19 early last year and were supported by the NHS, recovered they chose to give back with their own blood. They both received an amazing letter from Matt Hancock himself, thanking them for their donations that are helping to treat patients with COVID-19!

 

Nigel and Angela Salt – Yodel Wrexham - showcase ‘flexibility of our sector’

 

IOC Chairman Carl Lomas commeents

A magic team of Mr & Mrs that just shows our sector has flexible working options that when working together brings better results

 

 

Ambassadors - Yodel husband and wife team – 14 years of express

Showcasing jobs in our sector to be a flexible option. Nigel and Angela Salt, a husband and wife team based at the Yodel Wrexham depot.
After looking for a job where they could work together, Nigel and Angela have since built a career by delivering customer promises for the past 14 years. Angela said, "We love the customer interaction and that each day is different. Being a courier with Yodel is rewarding and challenging, and offers Nigel and myself flexibility to work together when and where we can".

 

COVID Safety & Wellbeing (David Jamieson Award)

These awards are inspired by our IOC Vice President, former Transport minister, former police commissioner, David Jamieson.

 

Jacqui O’Donovan - Road Safety & COVID Well-being

 

IOC President Lord Falkland commented

Jacqui is an inspirational leader for her initatives that assist workers in our sector and for road safety

 

 

Jacqueline O’Donovan is a true inspiration and an undisputed leader and ‘disruptor’ in the male-dominated sector, multi-award winning, she is an influential trailblazer - passionately advocating for road-safety, environment and best-practice, she has championed improved standards, resulting in a cleaner, safer and more responsible sector. During the pandemic, Jacqueline has prioritised continuously contacting all her staff over the past 17 months, ensuring their anxiety levels were managed.

Her passion, drive and determination not to settle for anything short of excellence has earned Jacqueline immense respect. She is perceived as a pioneer within the industry and beyond through her work to bring road safety to the top of the agenda for all road-users, tirelessly highlighting the need for continuous advances in road safety and reduction of emissions. Collaborating with industry bodies, Mayor’s Offices and community-groups, Jacqueline has helped fundamentally change the face of transport policy in the UK and the EU. Jacqueline played a pivotal role working with HGV manufacturers to redesign better lorry-cabs, resulting in safer direct-vision designs to improve road-safety for all.

A key visionary element of her CSR-led training strategy is the compulsory initiative for her HGV drivers to go out cycling with instructors regularly to experience the challenges cyclists face.

O'Donovan’s policies prioritises staff mental-health as well as physical wellbeing, improving the industry and championing initiatives for other companies to follow. She herself is a qualified trainer and has written two accredited Driver CPC training courses that are delivered to others, (including competitors) to help improve safety and share knowledge in the sector.

Leading by example, Jacqueline herself is one of only two women in the world to achieve the first-ever Demolition Management Master’s degree, which was developed and launched at the University of Wolverhampton.

 

 

Jon Bunting – Smiths News – A safety net - COVID Well-being while delivering the nightly media miracle

 

IOC President Lord Falkland commented

Contibution to others wellbeing and safety is paramount and Jon has exemplified this action

 

 

CEO of Smiths News, IOC fellow, Jonathan Bunting had a chance encounter with a homeless person one evening and after buying him a sandwich and a hot drink and talking with him about how he became homeless, he knew he wanted to do more to help. So, he started the charity Pass It On with a team of volunteers and they began donating essential items to the homeless. Now a registered Charity, the Pass It On team work hard to provide tangible benefits to homeless and vulnerable people, primarily in the coldest months of the year.

Jon Bunting, Smiths News CEO and the Executive board then looked internally at how the business would protect colleagues who fell into hardship due to COVID-19. A safety net was introduced.
This sensitive objective was to provide rapid, direct and non-bureaucratic support to colleagues and their families who were experiencing particular hardship as a result of the C-19 pandemic.
The Government's employment support measures are helping us to keep colleagues employed and pay salaries via furlough, but we recognise that many families and individuals will be facing difficulties and challenging circumstances.

Examples…

Colleagues with a partner who can’t now work and are self-employed or unsupported by their employer, reducing household income

Those who are self-isolating to protect a family member and therefore only receiving sick pay
Colleagues with partners who are working in the NHS or other key roles and may be struggling with increased childcare and other related costs.

Even where colleagues are receiving full or furlough pay, there may be unexpected or usual events that require financial support, with the normal channels of support not being available.
An example,

Family and childcare costs. Due to the unique situation created by the C-19 outbreak, colleagues and their partners may need help to fund additional care for children or vulnerable relatives.

A colleague or family member dies leaving the family struggling to pay the total cost of the funeral.

 

Team awards

Louise Bloomfield, Wellingborough

 

Paul Wildman, Operations manager, FedEx Wellingborough accepts the team award on behalf of Louise Bloomfield from Rt. Hon. Jo Churchill MP

IOC Chairman Carl Lomas commented

Louise's team proved that under duress and with zero error rate expected, as a team they delivered until the last

 

 

FedEx - A team delivery against availability.

Louise has been instrumental in participating and promoting the Women’s Inclusive Network (WIN) in the station and has encouraged female members of staff to have a greater understanding and to participate themselves. And the team.

Louise Bloomfield, Wellingborough, went above and beyond her normal duties to support her team in ensuring she fully understood the Purple ‘Pick-up and Delivery’ PUD processes by changing shifts, visiting other depot stations and ensuring she had plenty of knowledge to pass on to her direct reports. With incidents where drivers were reluctant to change, Louise ensured that they had the full support to embrace the change.

The greatest contribution Louise has made in the last year has been taking over a new team, which did not come without challenges. Louise scheduled personal 1-2-1 sessions with the team, created a positive working atmosphere while providing a clear understanding and direction on what the team should be focussing on. The team have seen an increase in one of our key service priorities with an improvement in ‘Delivery against available’ from 94 to 97%. Louise is fully focused on delivering the Purple Promise and making every customer experience outstanding and has now expanded her network to include a wider team.

As a result of the improvement she has created a more positive team around her. With two new supervisors, Louise has been instrumental in their training and progression and ensured that we are now one team and all working to the same goal, providing an excellent service to the customer.

Another great asset is that Louise is now able to cover for the Operations Manager in absence and has a greater understanding of planning and costs.

 

Mark Broad's Team - Whistl, Belfast

 

Dave Twiddle receives the Team award on behalf of Mark Broad's team at Whistl, Belfast from Rt. Hon. Jo Churchill MP

IOC CEO Tracey Worth comments

the Whistl team went over and above the call of duty to hand-deliver A-level results from a failed collection.

 

 

Until the last letter was delivered -  ‘A-level results’.

In August 2020 one of our college collection points was left unattended and seemingly had no mail to collect on the day in question.

They in fact had A-Level exam results which had to be delivered the next day. The next morning we were informed of the error and acted quickly to resolve the situation for the customer, as well as the students anxiously waiting on results.

Some of the drivers carried out deliveries whilst on their routes and some operational staff came in early and took their own cars to ensure the job was completed, even working well over their normal hours which was an amazing effort by all.

Mileage combined for this is unknown at this stage but the whole of Northern Ireland was covered, even near the border and as far away as Derry (90 miles away). These were obviously going to residential address, some off the beaten track nor on sat nav’s, but everyone stayed until the last letter was delivered.

The college in question was beyond thankful that we acted responsively to mitigate the situation, we as a team were happy that we could deliver in person and see some of the students open their results to their joy.

The following staff went over and above the call of duty to hand-deliver A-level results from a failed collection.

Michael Kane, Phil Brown, Jim Magee, David Blakeley, Paul Grimes, Sammy Spence, Neil Anderson, Stuart Costello and David Elwood.

 

 

Corporate Inspiration awards

 

DPD and ASOS - ReLove campaign

 

IOC CEO Tracey Worth comments

Providing free of charge collection, sortation and delivery, all in aid of charity is inspirational action for others to follow, Well done

 

 

DPD & ASOS launched during lockdown an initiative to collect pre-loved clothing and deliver it to charities free of charge ‘Don’t throw it away – Throw it our way’

ReLove: New circular economy initiative enables customers to quickly and easily donate clothing to Scope, Marie Curie, British Heart Foundation, British Red Cross or The Children's Society. DPD, and ASOS, this week announce a new circular economy initiative that will see DPD collect pre-loved clothing donations from ASOS customers' doorsteps and deliver them to one of five leading UK charities, free of charge. DPD's ReLove service will launched 15th April to coincide with charity shops reopening in England and Wales. From that date, ASOS customers expecting a DPD delivery will be able to use the YourDPD app to select the option to donate pre-loved clothing to one of five charities: Scope, Marie Curie, British Heart Foundation, British Red Cross or The Children's Society.

DPD will then collect the pre-loved consignment at the same time as making the ASOS delivery. Customers will be encouraged to re-use DPD or ASOS packaging and can either hand the package to their DPD driver or leave it for collection in their ‘safe place'. The driver will check the packaging and take it back to the depot, where DPD will label it and deliver it to the selected charity, who can then sell it to raise money for their cause. Donating garments to charity is currently one of the more responsible ways that consumers can dispose of pre-loved clothing in the UK, as charities sort through products to resell those that are ready for a second home and recycle any that aren't fit for resale. With no infrastructure or systems in place in the UK for households to recycle textiles themselves, an estimated 350,000 tonnes of clothing is sent to landfill each year in the UK, potentially worth around £140m. The ReLove initiative will support both customers and charities in diverting clothing from landfill in a simple and convenient way.

Olly Craughan, DPD's Head of CSR commented, "DPD leads the way on sustainability in the delivery space and I'm incredibly proud of the team for getting behind initiatives like this. We are continuing to invest in the decarbonisation of our fleet, but the challenge is about much more than just buying electric vehicles. We want to go a lot further. It is about pushing ourselves to look at every aspect of our operation to find the green alternative and the smarter way of doing things. "ReLove is another way for us to help cut carbon emissions, reduce waste and raise money for charities at the same time. It is also great to team up with ASOS on another really smart solution for their customers. We're already delivering to these addresses, so it means one less trip and less miles travelled overall. The DPD app now has over 9 million users, and it has become a really powerful tool for us. It plays a key role in helping us deliver a fantastic service for customers and it is driving innovation like this."

Patrik Silén, Chief Strategy Officer at ASOS said: "Our focus has always been on providing our customers with an outstanding retail experience, and a key element of that is giving them opportunities to shop with us more responsibly. We know that our customers are very active in donating their pre-loved clothing and that they see it as a great way of keeping products in use and out of landfill, so partnering with DPD on the ReLove initiative is a natural fit for us. We're proud to be joining forces with the team to drive sustainable solutions and look forward to seeing our customers' response over the coming weeks."

 

Ocado  - a Friday fire at Erith caused by collision of three bots - Team was operational again by Monday

 

IOC Chairman Carl Lomas comments

An amazing team effort that saw Herculean efforts to get the depot back in action, thinking only of the customer. Proud of the Erith Ocado team

 

 

The fire at our Erith CFC last Friday (16th July) was caused by the collision of three bots on the grid. The correct protocols were successfully implemented including the evacuation of the building, the activation of the sprinkler system, and the presence of the London Fire Brigade. No one was injured. The damage was limited to a small section of less than 1% of the grid having been successfully contained by our fire attenuation measures, many of which were implemented following our thorough fire safety review in 2019.

Monday (19th July) The CFC is in good condition and is now operational with colleagues delivering customer orders from our Service Delivery spoke in Erith from 5am this morning. Bots are already at work on the grid and we are planning to see the first orders fulfilled in the Erith CFC going out this week. While the incident has caused some short term disruption to operations, the vast majority of customer orders are being fulfilled in other parts of the Ocado network and the focus now is for us to work hard to restore normal service at Erith as soon as possible. We thank customers whose orders are affected for their patience.
‘We would like to also thank the London Fire Brigade and all the other emergency services for their hard work and professionalism in dealing with this incident.’

 

 

 

Clean Air awards

Absolutely London - Zero-emission Eco-hub in WC1

IOC Chairman comments

Our sector embraces clean air initiatives and Absolutely have created the ultimate eco-hub in the City of London.

 

 

Absolutely Couriers, Central London. They have been instrumental in supporting TfL’s LoCITY/Clean Air campaign, They are supporting a net zero vision vision with a passion, and focus, in adopting zero emission vehicles resulting in the largest Electric Cargo Bike fleet across London. They have created a dedicated cargo bike hub in WC1.

If this wasn’t enough, in 2020 they also migrated all company cars to Electric and in January 2021 invested in their fourth London location with a first zero emission ‘Eco Hub’ in WC1. They wanted to operate with a pure electric fleet from this location to demonstrate ongoing commitment to making the world a cleaner, and safer place, to live and work. The feedback from clients and colleagues has been exceptional

Working in partnership with CEVA Logistics, Livetts, NHS Trust and Guys & St Thomas’ Hospital, Absolutely successfully collected medical supplies from Butlers Wharf for onward delivery, via an electric Cargo Bike to the hospital. A truly pivotal time to demonstrate the power of water and zero emission vehicles and, importantly, a desire to deliver sustainable change to make things happen!

Absolutely are continuing their focus on Clean Air with further initiatives including electric mopeds, electric vans, increased pedal power circuits and more locations to reduce stem mileage with a passion and dedication towards our goal of being a net zero courier by 2030.

 

 

Hermes - double gas truck numbers for clean air linehaul

IOC CEO Tracey Worth comments

Alternative fuels are changing our success to deliver responsibly. Hermes have taken this to a new level with their fleet of gas trucks.

 

 

Hermes CNG truck fleet becomes largest in the UK parcel sector

Doubling the gas fleet for clean air in trunking linehaul. Hermes UK added a further 80 units to its fleet of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) fuelled vehicles this year in a move to further reduce emissions. This brings the total to 160 – around 50% of the company’s core hub tractor fleet. Driven by its commitment to reducing climate, Hermes’ use of alternative fuels makes it the largest UK parcel company fleet to employ CNG vehicles, bettered only by retailer John Lewis and Partners.

Each of the new model IVECO S-WAY units being introduced reduces CO2 emissions by over 80% when compared to a Euro 6 diesel vehicle. This is a reduction of 150 tons of CO2 per vehicle and over 24,000 tons of CO2 across the 160 CNG vehicle fleet annually. Other benefits of the CNG vehicles include huge reductions in air pollution impact, such as 70% less NOX, 99% less particulate matter, 90% less NMHC and 88% less methane.

This follows Hermes’ recent announcement that it is one of the first companies to trial the IVECO Eurocargo, a new 12 tonne vehicle, which also runs on CNG.

Hermes currently uses an electric vehicle fleet for its Central London routes, so if the trial is successful the company will be able to have an alternative fuels vehicle option for all of its journeys, something that is in high demand from Hermes’ retail clients.

David Landy, Head of Fleet at Hermes, ‘Sustainability is a huge focus for us as we recognise our responsibility as one of the UK’s largest consumer delivery companies. We are committed to putting sustainability at the heart of every aspect of our business, through innovative products and processes. As such we were an early adopter of CNG as an alternative fuel and are continuing to increase its presence in our fleet, to drive down emissions. ‘

 

 

Tuffnells and Don-Bur – Aero trailers for clean air

IOC Chairman Carl Lomas comments

Tuffnells' commitment to make positive change is the suceess of this partnership, making every part of the delivery responsible for clean air success

 

 

An innovative “urban Mini-Wedge” trailer in an industry first

Getting aero in urban locations. Tuffnells has partnered with Don-Bur to develop a new, innovative easy-access “Mini-Wedge” trailer for urban use, providing enhanced collection and delivery services for customers. The new concept will increase efficiency by providing higher manoeuvrability in areas usually served by Tuffnells’ larger 18-tonne vehicles, and through maximising the utilisation of its tractor units for daytime distribution, reducing reliance on 18-tonne rigid chassis vehicles that can then be deployed on other customer routes. Supplied via TIP Trailer Services, the first 9m long single axle concept trailer has just rolled out of the Don-Bur factory and is destined for a brief trial to ensure the new equipment dovetails perfectly with existing delivery and collection operations around Tuffnells’ 33 nationwide depots.

Its unusual sloping “wedge” shape is tailored to allow easy access from ground level at the rear and also incorporates side access double folding doors and fold-down ladders for easy side loading and kerbside deliveries. The side door design also allows pallets to be loaded, if needed, through the side when making customer collections. Being an urban trailer with a short kingpin position and set back axle, it has excellent manoeuvrability, offering maximum flexibility for a multitude of uses within the last mile delivery and collection sector.

Despite its small stature, the new “Mini-Wedge” trailer design can carry an impressive 13,000kgs payload; far more than could be afforded by a mid-weight rigid vehicle. It also comes fitted with a host of safety features, such as additional lighting and specialised load restraint to cater for irregular dimension and weight (IDW) parcels and diminishing loads.

Tuffnells Services Director, Simon Parsons comments, “Working on this joint project with Don-Bur and TIP has been a privilege. We have taken a collaborative approach, combining design and engineering skills with our industry knowledge to deliver a practical, common-sense solution. The ‘Mini-Wedge’ will be of great benefit to our customers.” Tuffnells Tuffnells is the leading UK-based B2B carrier of items of irregular dimension and weight (IDW). Our unique directional trunking model provides ultra-efficient collection and delivery services for customers across the UK. From bicycles to tyres, wheel barrows to curtain poles, packaging to flat pack furniture - we handle the items other carriers can’t. Tuffnells is based in Sheffield, with a 100+ year heritage in the city.

 

 

 

 

Step Change award

Yodel Direct - Store to Store and Store to Door Send services.

IOC Chairman Carl Lomas comments

Step change for the sector leads for others to follow. Inspiring new ways to deliver is innovative and step change for the industry norms

 

 

Jenny Harden & Emma Drever explain how they made it happen.

Yodel recently launched their Store to Store and Store to Door Send services, Yodel Direct. Leading the project was Technical Delivery Manager, Jenny Harden, and Customer Experience Manager, Emma Drever who discuss the challenges & rewards of implementing the new services, the level of detail involved, and the level of stakeholders involvement to make it all happen

“When we began the process of relaunching Yodel Direct, our shared goal was to be the go-to carrier in the C2C market and to provide our customers with an option to send parcels directly through the Yodel network," Jenny states. "To launch Yodel Direct, we worked closely with the team at Parcel2Go, utilising their expertise in delivering growth in a C2C environment. We worked together with their teams to create a white label website that is so far proving effective and provides a fantastic UX.

Through collaborative working with P2G, we identified key areas where their expertise could enhance our C2C offering including customer service queries and My Account, which allows customers to manage their parcel deliveries all in one place, whilst Webchat functionality on the Yodel Direct website allows the customer service teams to handle queries responsively and effectively.”

Emma adds that, “One of the main challenges of relaunching the Yodel Direct Send service was ensuring that all stakeholders’ visions were aligned with the overall strategy – The Yodel team were extremely excited about the relaunch of Yodel Direct. Communicating the objectives of each output and solution ensured that all relevant stakeholders were informed and involved in the planning execution of the relaunch at every step.
When working with Parcel2Go, it was important for us to define the Yodel vision to their development teams so that they had a strong understanding of our expectations, brand and our values when implementing this on the website and throughout the communications to customers and clients."

A Yodel colleague for nearly 14 years, Emma continues, "Collaboration was one of the most important factors when working on the project, particularly as we were working closely with external stakeholders on a day-to-day basis. It was important to stay close to the team so that when each stakeholder involved had feedback or input, we could use that to our advantage."
Jenny, who oversaw the day-to-day planning of the launch, stated: “The project, as previously mentioned, was a cross functional collaboration between the team at Parcel2Go who we spoke to daily. Internally we had our software development teams, solution design team, database teams, finance and billing and our IT infrastructure teams heavily involved. In addition, the commercial team and customer experience team played a key role in the overall success of the relaunch.

It was vital to make sure that our key stakeholders were kept up to date. From the way our customer service solution is handled to making sure that the process for this was fully documented and communicated. It was also important to ensure that our commercial team were kept in the loop with any changes or challenges that we overcame - the impacted stakeholders within the businesses were continuously engaged throughout."

Emma explains, "There were initial delays in commencing the project due to the pandemic. Careful planning, daily checkpoints calls, and open lines of communication were central to keeping things on track

Ultimately, the introduction of Yodel Direct allows us to increase our marketplace integrations, offering sellers a wider audience when sending parcels. We now have a bigger platform for our customers who wish to use our Send solution via Yodel Direct. From customers who may ship a single parcel every month, to our partnered sellers who ship hundreds of parcels a week, we have made it easier from them to do just this."

 

 

Individual Awards

 

 

 

Contract awards

 

Isabelle Saliba -  National Supplier Manager Transworld Couriers

 

IOC CEO Tracey Worth comments

Isabelle’s energy, resilience, drive, and passion for the courier industry is contagious. This award recognises her commitment to go above and beyond for our sector.

 

 

The way she does it, compassion in crisis.

Since Isabelle’s humble beginnings back in 1991, in an industry that at the time was very much male centric, forming and building Transworld Couriers into a brand and business with a reputation second to none, handling the challenges, workload, hours, sacrifices and gambles you take with any new start-up was remarkable, we can fast forward 30 years and two months to today and her position and role at Citysprint,
Isabelle’s energy, resilience, drive, and passion for the courier industry is contagious, her passion to deliver the very best customer experience have not wavered, her values are the same today as they were back in 1991, to continue to deliver excellence.
She is an exemplary mother of 2 with a wealth of knowledge that she shares with family, friends, colleagues, and customers to ensure they achieve success. She is an inspiration to women and to those around her and a Great-Company critical asset. Isabelle is valued by customers and colleagues; the quotations below describe what I think about her as her GM and show how she embodies the organisational values and behaviours.
• Seeks to deliver excellence, seeing tasks through, and helping, supporting, and developing others.
• She sees how effective teamwork makes a difference, notices when people need extra support and can be always relied upon.
• She notices when the team needs a boost and acts upon it with her unstinting enthusiasm.
• She is highly professional, makes suggestions for improvement, but never forgets the importance of fun.
I could say that Isabelle is “doing her job” but what “makes a difference” is the way she does it; the compassion in times of crisis she shows for others, her commitment, drive, attitude, ethics, and values to deliver industry excellence.

 

 

 

Damien Montaque – Regional Manager , Technology services - Rico Logistics

 

IOC Chairman Carl Lomas comments

Damien has shown that he is an accomplished customer-focused regional manager, that can rise to any challenge and deliver, exceptional resilence to meet the customer needs. Well done.

 

 

Rico Logistics 20 years.

Damien has been in the industry for 20+ working at Concorde Logistics / DHL and now TVS SCS Rico Logistics. Damien has been instrumental with delivering services for our customers throughout the FSL network. Over the last 24 months he has worked well with ensuring that the FSLs within the London region are operating and performing and achieving the customer specific SLA’s
Damien was instrumental in the setup of SE16 and the services that it provides for Xerox and he has received the alcaldes for his application to service
Damien is an accomplished customer-focused regional manager with experience in generating revenue and meeting customer service level requirements.
He keeps a level head during operational challenges, evaluates opportunities and risks, and applies pragmatic solutions.
Damien possesses proven skill in strategic thinking and cross-divisional collaboration.

 

 

Road awards

 

Harjit (Harry) Singh - Onit Logistics, Heathrow ( award accepted by family members)

 

IOC Chairman comments

A courier who believes in what he does, commited to delivering customer satisfaction and never letting the company down, is a credit to the individual and to the sector.

 

 

He is the yardstick by which we measure all other couriers.

Harry has become one of the most professional couriers I have had the pleasure of meeting. Not all couriers are created equal, and this is very true of Harry. He may not know this, but when the airlines cut flights by up to 80% and our customers’ business all but ceased, the service Harry gave kept our competition away and brought us the time to restructure and survive.

This nomination is a very personal one for me. When we first started our business in late 2019 not only did we need faith in ourselves but we needed others to believe in what we were doing too. We got lucky...We met Harry.

Harry demonstrated from the outset all of the qualities we and our customers expected... Reliability, Flexibility and Proactivity. From the outset Harry delivered it all. His diligence and professionalism helped us through our first customer trial, and our second and our third. In fact, as I reflect Without Harry...we would not have been able to deliver on our word and may have no business at all. He is the yardstick by which we measure all other couriers.

He has developed an understanding of the intricacies and nuances of collecting and delivering into airlines that save both time and money for us and our customers. Moreover, when other couriers struggle to collect or deliver due to incorrect paperwork, he helps fix it for them, time and time again. When another courier delivered to the wrong address, we relied on Harry to use his connections to both find and re-deliver the package.

When we had a special project, such as stem cells collected from a London Clinic that need to be kept horizonal. We sent Harry. When we had an AOG delivery at 2am, from Heathrow to Aberdeen. Harry was up and on the case. Harry takes time to build relationships with regular collection points, ringing ahead to ensure waiting time is minimised, making sure we have the correct references, ensuring the correct contacts are present...all off his own back...all of which creates an exceptional customer experience. In such a short space of time

Harry, exceptional service he delivers for our customers every single day.

 

Phillip McGovern - GLH London

 

IOC Chairman Carl Lomas comments

As the only 2-wheels nomination to make it to the short list, Phillip McGovern has everything you want in a courier. He shows exceptional commitment to serving the customer.

 

 

Phillip is a great courier.

What makes a great courier? Philip is the answer. Reliability - Knowledge of the roads - A smile on the face for each and every customer. It sounds simple but it is not easy to sustain, we all know it requires self-discipline and a strong work ethic.

For years, Philip has been achieving this.

His words, “Despite whatever day you are having, it costs nothing to give a smile to your client and go that extra mile. Whatever the result, we will strive for perfection service.”

Philip has been providing courier services to GLH for seven years. At first he was a motorbike courier. He then switched to help us explore cargo bike technology being our first rider. We needed somebody who was fit, unfailing and knew the streets of London like the back of his hand and Philip fitted this profile like a glove. His help, patience and advice has been invaluable in allowing us to switch more and more to this new mode of transportation.
He is passionate about courier health and safety. As a cargo bike rider he states he is one of the few cyclists not to jump red lights and he has warned of the safety issues which have led to cyclist deaths.
There are no extraordinary one-off incidents, only the extraordinariness of his daily routine, going the extra mile on all occasions. Throughout his time as courier, he has brought considerable reassurance to both customers and Ops alike. This is despite recent significant personal health concerns for which he has needed to attend hospital appointments and have surgery.

We all know what happened during lockdown. We all know how we, as a nation, became dependent upon the courier for everything in our daily lives. We all know that couriers did not have the luxury of homeworking, they had to be out there for the nation’s people to make sure the nation kept going. Philip encapsulates this spirit and how we should be thankful for such services not just in the lockdown but long before as well, before couriers were better recognised for what they do day in day out in the media and the like.

 

Robert ‘Bertie’ Boyle - Yodel Leamington

 

IOC CEO Tracey Worth comments

Even through personal suffering, Bertie Boyle gave to others. The dressing of his vehicles for the customers delight was priceless.

 

 

Every season a decorated vehicle

An ambassador to our sector, Robert Boyle decorates his vans up for all different occasions, Halloween pictures (attached) he is highly recognised around the Warwickshire area receiving lovely feedback from all the customers he delivers to.
Robert has many themes to keep his customers happy, Halloween, Christmas, COVID, Mother’s day and Valentine's Day and so much more!!
Robert struggles with mental health and this helps himself overcome this with delivering happiness to others and he loves receiving positive comments while working and always goes the extra mile.

 

Abayomi Ekundayo  - Citysprint Manchester

 

IOC CEO comments

The only comment and one that speaks volumes is: we want fifty like him. Every delivery company's dream worker. Congratulations Abayomi.

 

 

We want fifty like him, quick but meticulous.

Abayomil is an excellent courier, quick but meticulous, especially when faced with several jobs. He is extremely dedicated and very focused in his approach to the work and always wants to provide the best possible service to his customers.

He is highly respected and liked by his fellow couriers. He has a great rapport and relationship with all the indoor team at the Manchester Citysprint Service Centre.

He makes himself available in OOH and can always be relied upon to do weekends. He has worked on most contracts for us and has done, and continues to do, a great job. He is a great asset to the controllers when those awkward jobs come in and provides cover for anything when he is on circuit. It’s fair to say you would like to have another 50 more like him.
He is always willing to do the trunk runs for the recent new business, Eurofins, TUI. He was also excellent when he did ECourier. He is the courier you put on something new when you want that great first impression and a job well done.

His vehicle is always clean and tidy, and he has just volunteered to have the new company wrap on it, which demonstrates his commitment and his pride for carrying out Citysprint work.
He is a courier who goes about his business in a professional manner, and he does it all with a smile on his face. He certainly is an asset to Manchester and the Citysprint Fleet.

 

Kevin Keegan - FedEx Paisley

 

IOC CEO Tracey Worth comments

Kevin has been such a support and credit to the depot. Making time for others and taking on responsibilites is commendable. He is a credit to his company and our sector.

 

 

Kevin puts himself forward for extra responsibility.

The Power Pad champion.

During the Purple PUD transition, Kevin put himself forward and asked for extra responsibility in becoming the ‘Power Pad Champion’ of Paisley station.

Part of our integration journey has seen our stations move from TNT to FedEx systems, a project we called Purple PUD, this initiative has been running throughout the country since September 2020, many of our team members have had to learn a new process and adapt to change in a short space of time. Although the responsibility lies with the management team to foster the change culture and support their teams through the transition, other individuals talents shone through and Kevin Keegan is a prime example.

During the Purple PUD transition, Kevin put himself forward and asked for extra responsibility in becoming the ‘Power Pad Champion’ of Paisley station. He attended the relevant training to enable him to help support his fellow colleagues and offer resolutions when required. Kevin was an extremely valuable asset during the first two weeks of GO LIVE. Kevin was taken off the road for these weeks where he made himself available to every driver prior to fleet departure and whilst out on the road. There was a specific hotline number the drivers could contact with any issues and Kevin manned the line for the entire day, supporting drivers whilst being a calming influence on the drivers he dealt with.

Kevin’s approach was such a success that when our neighbouring station was going through the transition, Kevin was asked if he would help support their GO LIVE weeks. He showed the same support, empathy and understanding in Bellshill station and was definitely a contributing factor to their smooth transition.
Kevin has a very approachable, friendly attitude towards everyone within the business regardless of which station or position they hold. He is always positive and will offer to help support wherever he can, whether that be supporting drivers on their routes or assisting in the office or other stations with Power Pad enquiries.

Kevin is open minded and open to change. He understands the needs of the business and the importance of supporting all of our colleagues through our current transformation. He has been a great support to the management team in the station and is very deserving of the National Courier Award. He continuously delivers fantastic results as a PUD driver and goes above and beyond with additional responsibilities to play a key role in the success of the business results.

 

Perry Ryan - Hermes Portsmouth

 

IOC Chairman comments

A very unusual delivery. Perry showed compassion and calm to take charge of a very difficult, sensitive and scary situation. Showing that couriers do more than just deliver parcels. Well Done Perry.

 

 

Driver Perry Ryan delivers baby.

Waterlooville courier lives up to job title of delivery after helping screaming woman give birth at Portsmouth home to baby Bella.

Deliveryman by name, deliveryman by nature! Meet Hermes super courier Perry Ryan who helped a customer he was delivering to give birth to her baby! Perry, who heard loud screams come from the customer’s property came to the rescue with his words of support and advice after calling 999!
Perry was at the door as mum, Bakhan Shoker, 30 saw her waters break,

Hermes Perry Ryan - Four Wheels Portsmouth depot, 29-year-old, who had ‘no idea what he was doing’, was left ‘shaking’. She couldn’t speak very good English but then I heard her say “baby baby baby”. I then realised what was happening and shouted through the letterbox and called 999. I was trying to calm her and reassure her’.

'Perry was so very helpful-what he did was so good’ 'He did such a good thing and I really appreciate it”.

 

Rupert Tufnail  - DPD Leicester

 

IOC Chairman comments

An industry first, over 700,000 deliveries in his career. This figure is amazing and takes an enormous amount of dedication and reliability to deliver. A sector first.

 

 

An unbelievable number – over 700 thousand deliveries

DPD awards a star for every hundred thousand deliveries a driver has delivered.
Rupert Tufnail, an Owner-Driver at Leicester depot achieved the incredible milestone of seven starts this year. 700 thousand, seven stars in 2020, he is the number one driver across the DPD network for most deliveries ever delivered.

Lee Cooke, DCM Leicester says, ‘Rupert is a legend, he is a huge team player and a massive asset to the depot.’

Rupert's total the day before the awards now stands at an amazing 739610 deliveries! Beat that!

 

Office awards

 

Paul Wildman - Operations Manager, FedEx Wellingborough

 

IOC CEO comments

Changing a management style to meet others is hard to do, but Paul empowered his new team and that showed true leadership skills.

 

 

Supportive to team families of deceased.

Over the last year Paul has been the sole Operations Manager during a period when Wellingborough station has experienced significant challenges and change.

During the pandemic and loss of two of our team members Paul played an instrumental part in keeping his team engaged ensuring that their safety was paramount. Paul offered support to the families of the deceased ensuring that they received the support available from the company.

Paul had regular meetings with a driver whose wife had died and left him with three young children, he tried every avenue to support him to keep him employed. We have also experienced mental health issues in the last year and Paul can offer a good understanding of mental health and awareness.

With a completely new team Paul has changed his management style from being a doer to a leader and has empowered his new supervisory team to lead from the front, he is a natural coach. Paul has led from the front ensuring his team understands costs and service and most importantly, an understanding of our people.

Paul has taken the lead role in health and safety and has worked alongside the Health and Safety Executive to ensure all of our staff have a safe working environment.

Paul has worked across all shifts and covered many weekends to ensure that some of our more challenging customers received a very good service. There are many changes going on throughout the business and Paul has been instrumental in ensuring that all staff are kept aware of the changes plus he has very strong relationship with the union representative. Paul has also started to reach out to the wider network to offer his support and also gain further knowledge.

 

Madeleine Burton - Operations Controller, Citysprint Portsmouth

 

IOC Chairman comments

Madeliene is a rare gem, shining her light with reliability - the key to her success and drive in our sector. Well deserved recognition.

 

 

A rare gem with total reliability.

Madeleine is a rare gem who consistently performs above and beyond, and is very worthy for her outstanding long term work ethic.

Maddie joined Citysprint on a temporary contract covering maternity leave, and it was always obvious from day one that she would not only end up staying, but make her way up the ranks very quickly. Soon came the customer support role, followed by Operations controller. She is keen to learn and attempt any knowledge gains where possible, including management training and I am confident this is where she will be heading towards very soon. Not only is Maddie one of the most reliable people I have ever come across, but she also possesses an abundance of ambition, and combines the two in a happy and friendly way that can only be described as “angelic”. This remarkable aura makes Maddie a real gem in the making.
In 3.5 years, Maddie has not had a single sick day, has never left any unfinished tasks and always puts her hand up to cover any work needed outside of her normal working hours. She is loved by all the couriers, colleagues, and customers.

In fact, every customer that has ever had communication with Maddie have only ever sung her praises, and in particular Wickes, of which the store manager had a lot of praise for Maddie and the team.
Maddie is one of a kind, a very rare gem indeed and deserves all the success that comes her way.

 

Rebecca Hunter - City Couriers Chesterfield

 

IOC Chairman comments

Single mother, 4 children and the drive to support the company growth from a start-up to £3million. She has the tenacity and drive that supports everyone else.

 

 

Team player balanced home life with work to build £3 million turnover for regional courier company

Rebecca joined Chesterfield-based City Couriers Direct Ltd from day one of the company. In the early days she worked from her kitchen table and has helped the business grow into a 3 million pound turnover company . She has embraced all aspects of the company’s functions - from invoicing to route planning through van collections, IT and marketing . A team player who has combined a busy home life ...4 young children with the challenges of developing a new business into a key strategic partner in the busy parcel delivery and collections sector . Rebecca has an insatiable appetite to grow as a person and is justifiably proud of her role in the development of City Couriers Direct. Rebecca epitomises everything good about a business determined to create new high standards in the industry and she rightly deserves this nomination.

Becki joined the company from day one and began as Office Manager . We operated from her kitchen table and Becki undertook the roles of Invoice clerk. Van collections . Journey planning . Cost analyst .IT manager . Client liaison etc. She was responsible for all the administration and oversaw the move to our new premises at Tapton Park Innovation Centre in Chesterfield. She has been at the heart of our exceptional growth as a business and was rewarded with the title of Communications Director earlier this year .

She is a single parent with four small boys which makes her commitment and dedication all the more remarkable. During my cancer operation and illness earlier this year Becki took on full responsibility for the company's management and is a dedicated individual with a reputation for professionalism and integrity. She oversees our strategic partnership with Hermes and is at the forefront of our company growth. I have no hesitation in recommending her for an IOC award......Thank you, and kind regards Darryl Claypole.

 

Sheila Bradley - Operations Support , FedEx Deeside

 

IOC Chairman Carl Lomas comments

Sheila shows a fantastic working relationship with her team, the go-to person when requiring resolution of complex issues. Exemplary skills we need in our sector, well done.

 

 

Professional adapts to any situation or task.

Sheila started with the company in August 2018. In this short time, she has demonstrated an immense ability to learn and develop her knowledge, skills and expertise for the benefit of both herself and that of others and the business.

Over this time Sheila has also been incredibly flexible; working all shift patterns within her role at a moment’s notice to cover absence, displaying great willingness to stay over to ensure duties are complete, even when outside of her usual remit, and inclusive of driving duties within the station.
In 2020 during the integration of our Chester and Deeside stations, (bringing two families under one roof) and throughout the integration of both operations teams, Sheila acted as a bridge between both. Sheila has been an absolute beacon of light and hope, displaying a ‘ONE Team’ ethos at all times.

Sheila has fantastic working relationships with all members of her team both internal and external and is often the go-to for drivers when requiring resolution of complex issues due to her honed ability. All this is testimony to how Sheila has developed her communication and operational abilities over such a short period of time, making her a formidable part of the team.

During recent times Sheila has also stretched her support to other stations in times of need, to support with clearing deliveries and to support with integration and training duties at other stations. All stations made comment on how good Sheila was during these times of support, again testimony to how she professionally adapts herself to any task or duty!

 

Shakur Razaq National Operations Manager – Technology Services Rico Logistics

 

IOC CEO Tracey Worth comments

Shakur has a track record of resolving customers' logistical challenges; no easy feat, but Shakur delivers.

 

 

Customer collaboration building delivery to over 1800 lockers to a thousand fixed sites

Shakur has been employed within the ‘In Night’ industry for over 20+ years and worked for Lynx Express and UPS before joining Rico Logistics in 2018. Since that time he has been instrumental in building and developing the TVS SCS Rico Logistics In Night network to deliver nationally Pre 7. The network expanded quickly and is now delivering to over 1800 lockers exchanges / 1000 fixed sites per night.

Shakur has strong team-building skills that have increased productivity and results with both local and remotely managed teams. He has created a positive and inspirations work environment establishing a can-do attitude within the In Night team

He has a track record of resolving customer’s logistical challenges providing a win-win for both the customer and Rico Logistics.

Achievements:
During the development period of the network, he has constructed a dedicated team to support delivering the service and is achieving excellent daily weekly SLAs of 98.7% and above for all services.
He has worked collaboratively with customers and his team to ensure that he peripheral areas such as the highlands are equally served with pre 8 SLA’s

Customers support testimony -
BT Final Mile recognise the role that Raz has performed for their service delivery and the true partnership has been exceptional and has delivered fantastic results that has lead to BT Final Mile having fast substantial revenue growth for their business within a 36 month period.

 

Craig Burton - Yodel

 

IOC Chairman comments

An amazing number, 1 million test kit collections in a month. Craig has showned he can deliver under pressure.

 

 

1 million test kit collections in a month - ‘This project is beyond anything anyone has witnessed’

Craig Burton, Client Operations Support Manager has been with Yodel for 25 years. Craig has been leading Yodel's support in an Ipsos MORI coordinated study to track levels of COVID-19 within communities through managing the collection of test kits across the UK, which surpassed 1 million collections last month. Speaking about the project, Craig said "I embrace every task with passion and dedication, but the importance of this project is beyond anything anyone has witnessed. It was fully supported by myself and the Yodel family, and the tremendous results fill me with such pride."

 

Andrew Clark - Operations Manager, Tuffnells Newport

 

IOC CEO Tracey Worth comments

Andrew's positive attitude and professionalism is evident in his dedicated actions throughout the pandemic.

 

 

His friendly nature shines through, even in a pandemic.

PPE to the NHS

Throughout the pandemic, Andrew has provided excellent support for our customers, helping to ensure the smooth running of our operation in a challenging time. Andrew’s key role in the delivery of vital PPE equipment to the NHS and local care homes stands out.

As a result of short-staffing due to COVID, Andrew instinctively recognised the critical nature of the task, spending two weeks with long hours in Tuffnells’ Bristol depot, dedicated to ensuring the equipment was delivered on time, ready to provide essential protection for those on the front line.

It's no surprise to witness Andrew’s dedication. Having worked for Tuffnells for ten years, his positive attitude and professionalism has always been evident, and his supportive and friendly nature shines through in his everyday interactions with team members. I’m proud to nominate Andrew for a National Courier Award, as he regularly demonstrates the best of who we are.

 

Rob Cottle - Smiths News, Birmingham

 

IOC CEO Tracey Worth comments

Standing ovation for the return to work is clear indication of the contribution Rob gives to his work, company and delivery.

 

 

Back from COVID

An inspiration to his colleagues, back from a long battle with COVID in early lockdown he returned to deliver.

Smiths News were delighted to welcome back in April their colleague Rob Cottle to the Birmingham depot , after overcoming a long battle with COVID-19.

The depot was upstanding for the return of their family member.

Everyone was so happy to see him back at work; he received a standing ovation from the team!

Wayne Foster, Hub Manager, said: “It’s so wonderful to have Rob back with us. His return has been a real shot in the arm for us and it’s great to see him walking the floor once more. You could really see the joy in his face as he was reunited with his Smiths News family. Listening to his story has been emotional for all of us.

“We’ll be supporting him over the coming weeks to settle him back at his own pace, and he will be continuing to take things easy.”

A warm welcome back Rob!

 

Military Awards

 

Military to Civilian Award

 

 

 

Nomination: Ex Sub-Mariner at top of the sameday game
Tim Seagers, Managing director of Crown SDS
Nominated By: Katie Burke, Crown SDS

From the age of sixteen Tim Seagers – founder and owner of Crown SDS (Service Delivery Solutions) - dedicated seven years of his life to the Submarine Armed Forces Division. Throughout his loyal service, Tim had learned key military values, such as respect, loyalty and self-discipline, that have inspired and enhanced his business’ ethos and professional work ethic.

Transitioning into civilian life, Tim discovered his aptitude for logistics and time-pressure supply chain services. He began Crown Couriers in 1990, which later rebranded to the now-known Crown SDS (Service Delivery Solutions), building the company from one man, a van and a mobile phone - to a fleet of over 2,000 drivers and creating jobs for 87 loyal team members.

With the ex-forces being an important chapter of his life, Tim reflects on the challenges of transitioning from the military into a civilian career – such as the mental health stigmas around employing service leavers.

Tim has gone on to support ex-forces employability fairs such as the British Forces Resettlement Services’ Employment Fair, where his team were able to support ex-services personnel with advice and guidance on pursuing a career within the logistics industry.

In support of service leavers, Tim Seagers, through Crown SDS aims to challenge the stigmas that ex-military leavers encounter upon leaving the armed forces. And with a reported 50,000 unemployed ex-services personnel across the UK right now, Tim has spoken out about the mental health stigmas around employability for service leavers.

Key quotes:

· "The leading stigmas that service leavers encounter would be that mental health is being misunderstood by UK employers in relation to hiring ex-services personnel."

· “Many employers associate service leavers with mental health issues that prevent them from functioning within a civilian career. We want to challenge this."

· "Our mission is to ensure that those who have served in the armed forces are not disadvantaged because of their dedicated service."

Tim’s work ethic, his values and demonstrated adaptability have taken him from his decision to leave the forces, to starting and growing a nationwide logistics business which recently celebrated its 30th year, showing the versatility of ex-services personnel to excel in any role or sector.

 

Military Reserve Award

 

 

 

Private Sarah Robinson 158 Regt RLC Bedford

Collecting test swabs with selfless commitment.

Private Robinson joined the Sqn in Mar 2018 with the ambition to be a driver in the RLC. She joined the Sqn with a passion, which she has maintained throughout. She pressed forward and completed the Alpha Course in May and the Bravo course in Aug of this same year. Before settling into a more sustainable rhythm in 2019, balancing the demands of her military and civilian careers.

Private Robinson started 2020 with self-determination, preparing for and completing her Cat C licence acquisition in Feb.

The Nation was then subjected to the COVID-19 pandemic. Private Robinson volunteered for Op RESCRIPT, delivering COVID-19 resilience to Defence activity in the United Kingdom. Working with 7 Regt RLC our partnered regular Regt she deployed to several locations, on the front-line collecting swabs to test for COVID 19. Her bubbly personality making her extremely adapt to the role and reassuring the general public on the process. she should be commended for her role within Op RESCRIPT for her selfless commitment to others during a demanding period.

Notwithstanding she completed her class 3 course in Aug 2020 while deployed, becoming a trained soldier and a crucial part of our non-regular deployable component. Challenging herself further, she has started an alternative career path as a Commissioned Officer.

An exceptional individual, demonstrating the highest values and standards of the British Army and is a most worthy nomination for recognition by the Institute of Couriers.

 

Military Distinction Award

Awarded to two recipients in 2021.

 

Regular Army - Private Lee Moulton - 7 Regt RLC

 

 

 

Private Moulton delivered Basic Life Support at the scene of a road traffic accident and was the sole reason why the injured person did not die.

Regular Army Private Moulton served as driver to the commanding officer Royal Tank Regiment. His military distinction, national courier awards recognises when he delivered life support at the scene of a road traffic accident and was the sole reason why the injured person did not die.

He joined the British Army in March 2017, completed his Trade Training at the Defence School of Transport Leconfield and was then assigned to 1 Regiment Royal Logistics Corps.

Pte Moulton deployed on Ex WARRIORS CRAFT to Canada, a Battle Group level exercise. This saw him provide support to the Royal Tank Regiment through frequent resupplies of ammunition and also serve as the driver to the Commanding Officer of the Royal Tank Regiment and Officer Commanding Ajax Squadron.

Pte Moulton then deployed for a second time in 2018 on Ex MAYAN STORM, where he provided support to a Specialised Infantry Battalion in Belize. Here, Pte Moulton was part of a small team charged with the movement and resupply of infantry soldiers across multiple training areas in country. This required a great degree of skill and determination in both operating and maintaining his vehicle given much of the driving was off-road and at night, and made all the more challenging by Belize’s notoriously unpredictable tropical climate. Throughout, Pte Moulton was a bastion of composure and competence, always being in the right place, at the right time, with the right equipment, thereby enabling the infantry to operate at pace and confident in the driver support they could call upon.

In 2019, Pte Moulton was deployed on Ex TIMBER FIGHT and Ex TIMBER TRUSS, where he assisted in both the formative and summative assessed exercises for new RLC Troop Commanders.

Throughout 2020 and in addition to his main taskings, Pte Moulton further demonstrated his capacity and commitment to the British Army through his work at the Regiment’s gym, where he trained and assisted with the delivery of physical training as a potential Physical Training Instructor.

Pte Moulton was thereafter assigned to 9 Squadron, 7 Regiment RLC on 14 December 2020. Quickly completing his Oshkosh Driver & Maintainer and Bulk Fuel courses, he has also worked as a Transport Manger Assistant (TMA) at Squadron level, before he became the TMA for B Troop, which is his current role.

In recognition of his act of selflessness and exemplary conduct, Pte Moulton was awarded the Chief of the General Staff’s Commendation.

 

Regular Army - Major Donna Smit - Officer Commanding Defence Courier Service BFPO

 

 

 

Despite the impacts of COVID. Donna was motivated to make improvements, working tirelessly with customers and stakeholders.

The continued success of the Defence Courier Service during these turbulent times is directly linked to the leadership of Major Donna Smit. His team have and continue to operate in some of the most inhospitable regions to the most stringent performance targets Places that many of you will not even heard of, nor care or dare to visit. In recognition of his exemplary service HQ British Forces Post Office nominate him for an IoC National Courier award in the military category.

Major Donna Smit commands the only professional courier capability in Defence for the movement of Protectively Marked Materiel (PMM) within the UK and overseas in support of global operations. They support not only the military, but the police, GCHQ, other Government Departments, and other agencies people are less inclined to discuss. Today there are over 30 military operations ongoing around the globe; embassies and consulates continue to require support and DCS is perhaps busier now than at any other time. The service is a highly assured operation working to the most stringent security regulations and protocols. The consequences of failing are potentially extremely serious, therefore DCS work to a zero-error mandate: no mistakes, ever.

In his first year as Officer Commanding (OC), he has led with authority and purpose during a period of extreme complexity, challenge and uncertainty. Last year DCS couriered over 64,000 secret, or higher, items of which over 3,000 were to overseas locations, despite the impacts of COVID. Donna was motivated to make improvements, working tirelessly with customers and stakeholders to derive and refine the implementation of new business plans, customer supplier arrangements and the performance regime necessary to deliver considerable business efficiencies, never letting DCS rest on its laurels.

His tenacious and hard-working ethos, tackling every problem, however mundane, with equal determination has paid dividends in service provision. With a rapidly gained understanding of the nuances of the PMM environment, he networks intelligently, delegates sensibly and has an excellent eye for detail. BFPO has also benefited hugely from his abundance of soft skills; engaging with his team, listening to their concerns, rectifying what he could quickly and putting together solid action plans or engaging other agencies in order to get the best out of his team. He has also worked effectively with outside organisations to maintain the highest professional standards.