Ten senior fellows of the IOC talk Covid challenge, peak one, peak two, getting the packages delivered.
Words at the heart of the keynotes. ‘In this together, great credit to couriers on the road, lifeblood of delivery. Key workers, exceptional service.’ Talking numbers, many new depots in lockdown, red amber green, five-year plan in five months.
Fellows explain uniformity of delivery, tailored bespoke service, full force of lockdown in London, every day was different, logistics effect, local resilience.
IOC services to industry winner, Michael Holt Tuffnells, ‘It’s fair to say the UK parcel industry is the envy of the world.’
Second-generation IOC fellow, Rob Scott, GLH. ‘Credit must go to all the couriers on the road. Essential deliveries for everything, medicine, food, laptops for home workers, the whole shebang, delivered through thick and thin.’
The last words go to Brigadier Phil Prosser 101 Brigade, ‘we adapted swiftly and precisely to an unparalleled crisis.’
A snapshot of the summary headlines of the 2020 IOC keynote video
Alistair Cochrane Whistl, Covid challenge has been wide and varied, we have had to adapt, the one standout is our employees, they have stood out and helped us meet our customer promise. Key worker status has helped us get through.
Dwain MacDonald DPD, Fifty one per-cent up on pre-COVID, Peak two, Black Friday, our team at twenty thousand by Christmas. We opened ten depots in lockdown, touch wood our service has been exceptional, all this in our fiftieth year.
Gary West CitySprint, Covid, A period of significant change, the three Cs, customers, colleagues, couriers. A difficult time keeping health at the forefront of everything we do with the new restrictions in place. There is going to be requirement for more, we are in this together.
Carl Lyons Hermes, We got the right actions in place from the get-go. A new delivery method, contactless. Steep learning curve for a volume uplift as numbers doubled. We brought forward our five-year plan in five months. Recruitment plan for ten thousand couriers. New technology, geo delivery, electronic calling cards. Weekly red amber green status for sites. CNG and the environmental policy of environmental logistics.
Michael Holt Tuffnell’s, It's fair to say the UK parcel industry is the envy of the World. Resilience adaptability and flexibility. Flexibility from B to B to B to C was supported by agility and adaptability of our people. The environment changed for us from focus on dense industrial area delivery to rural locations as customers moved from workplace to home.
Jon Bunting Smiths News. An incredible year, what we do is ‘the nighty miracle’ delivering media and news in the middle of the night. During Covid, we have not missed a single KPI. The best compliment is people take our supply chain for granted. Quality and capability, our colleagues have taken a great pride in deliver.
Tim Seagers, Crown Couriers, ‘We had to social distance very quickly, listening to customers, the business had to adapt as e-commerce took off. We worked to a tailored bespoke service. I am immensely proud of our team, customer feedback has been fantastic, it shows what people can achieve when they work together.
Rob Scott, GLH. Covid has shaken us all, great credit must go to all the couriers on the road. Essential deliveries for everything, medicine, food, laptops for home workers, the whole shebang, delivered through thick and thin. The industry has adapted so well, we should be very proud of the sector as a life blood keeping the country delivered.
Stuart Godman, 2019 to 2020 was strong, Q1 was fantastic until pandemic, massive challenges in London. We felt the full force of lockdown in London. Tough and challenging, a lot of pressure on everyone to deliver business as usual.
Tony Mannix, Clipper, At the outset of pandemic, retail stores could not open, we placed our resources to assist with grocery and then NHS & PPE. The real challenge was keeping people safe, everyday was different, our buzz words are agility and ability. The real challenge was being fleet of foot. Ten billion items of PPE as we faced the second stage of Covid. Online has become very significant.
Talking military, Major Dave Fraser, Royal Logistics Corps, 101 Brigade, Iron Vipers winning a National Courier Award for logistics effect, local resilience forums to deliver medical supplies to the NHS. The final words to Brigadier Phil Prosser, ‘To adapt swiftly and precisely to an unparalleled crisis.’
