DPD has been listed in the prestigious Sunday Times ‘Best Big Companies to Work For’ list for the first time, it has been confirmed. The company will feature in the top 25 when the full list is revealed at the Best Companies awards celebration in London  on Thursday 25th February.

The Sunday Times 'Best Companies’ list celebrates excellence in workplace engagement and is widely acknowledged as the most searching and extensive research into employee engagement carried out in the UK. Lists are compiled based on employee opinions on how the company; supports wellbeing in the workplace, gives something back to society, shows strong leadership and teaming, provides opportunities for personal growth, and offers fair pay and benefits. Only the organisations with the highest level of overall employee engagement qualify for the 'Best Companies to Work For’ list.

Mike Baker Clydesdale (IOC Heads of industry speaker) reports the numbers exclusively for IOC...

Since the start of 2014, the industry benchmark for wholesale diesel prices, ULSD10, fell from around 50p per litre and hit a low point 12 months ago in January 2015 of around 26p. The price soon recovered to around 35p at the start of summer 2015, before falling by over half to a new low of around just 15p per litre in January 2016 due to ongoing concerns about oversupply and a gloomy start to the year in terms of global economic confidence.

These fuel price decreases have been so significant that there has been speculation that the Chancellor may look to cash in by increasing fuel duty to above the current rate of 57.95p per litre. Whether this will eventuate given that motorists have only recently started paying less than a pound per litre on supermarket forecourts remains to be seen.

 

Ultra Low Emissions TfL launch event  Jan 27th

A snazzy video with a Gnewt Hermes electric final mile delivery van set the scene for a positive exchange on an agenda for a healthier London at the LoCity launch Jan 27th.

Ultra Low Emission is far more than Euro 6, courier vehicles, small and light vans do not yet exist in the general marketplace and the 2020 timeline is racing towards us. IOC welcomed Transport for London's announcement of their January 27th launch event  of LoCITY – a brand new industry-led programme aimed at helping the freight and fleet sector lead the way in improving air quality and reduce carbon emissions.

IoC Chair Carl Lomas was on hand to listen to Mike Brown, new boss of TFL, responsible for 13 million passenger journeys a day.

 

Yodel has appointed former Arriva MD, Mike Cooper as its new chief executive officer. Mike will officially take up the position at the independent parcel carrier on 1 February 2016.

New CEO for Yodel appointed following a successful Christmas peak for Yodel, which saw the national courier award winning carrier handle 22 million parcels between 22 November and 24 December while achieving record customer satisfaction levels reported through the ‘have your say programme.’

Dick Stead, executive chairman of Yodel, said: “We're delighted to welcome Mike Cooper to the team. He has an impressive track record of galvanising people to deliver exceptional results and using consumer insight to drive a great customer experience. Mike will focus us still further on our ever improving service levels and provide impetus to Yodel’s growth ambitions.”.

Prior to joining Yodel, Mike spent nine years at Arriva plc, one of Europe's leading passenger transport providers, where he was deputy CEO and managing director. He also spent five years at easyJet as chief commercial officer, and four years at Thomson Holidays, where he was managing director of the direct sell business.

Exploding e-retail platform in the post Black Friday peak of 2015. It's not all parcels - pallets are going to home delivery. With a shift of pallets from classic B2B, in a recent IOC interview pallet network Pallex reported 30% of deliveries arrived at home address locations. Palletforce reported today central England investment in Staffordshire; 20 million to bring their facility to 50 million pounds, over 650,000 square feet and capacity for 30,000 pallets a night.

 

John Lewis has launched a recruitment drive for 60 jobs at the retailer’s third distribution centre to open at Magna Park in Milton Keynes.

e-retail figures for the end of 2015 in the post Black Friday peak were the largest seen. “I’m excited to expand our warehouse team here at Magna Park 3,” said Terry Murphy, director of national distribution centres at John Lewis. “Our third national distribution centre in Milton Keynes is absolutely crucial to ensure a seamless omni-channel experience for our customers, and we’re looking to recruit driven individuals who can manage this process.” This is the third national distribution centre that John Lewis has opened in Milton Keynes – Magna Park 1 opened in 2009 and Magna Park 2 opened in 2016.