IOC chairman Carl Lomas reports on the Royal Logistics Corps Foundation Launch at TfL March 2016.
What is more important, speed or reliability? Maj Gen Angus Fay talked about the valley of death between concept and capability. ‘We need last mile edge to beat our enemy.’ ‘A single data platform for everything logistics would be a game changer!’
Newly gowned fellows of the Institute of Couriers were guests for the Transport Banquet held at the Mansion House, by kind permission of the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor & Master Carmen, Mark Griffiths. The lavish annual event is an opportunity of highest level networking in transport. The new 2016 IOC fellows welcomed a chance to catch up on the recent IOC heads of industry event, there was much discussion about inner city final mile access for electric cargo bikes & the success of the Express delivery trailblazer submission with BIS. From DPD to CitySprint the talk was all final mile.
Freight in the city - the conference covered politics, from council to LEP, traffic commissioner to town planner. Top level logistics speakers, TfL to TfGM, networks and workshops . Multi-modal distribution parks. Warehouse to wheels.
Former Asda VP Ian Stansfield spoke with passion for solutions to e-retail and final mile. DHL and Clipper looked at consolidation to delivery. Trucks in the sunshine outside, trade show inside and over four hundred guests for the top level summit of pallet to parcel. Topic focus on pre and post consolidation, distribution centers local or regional as online continues to grow beyond expectations.
Ian Wainright (TfL),
Freight is complex, we need to demystify freight, its goods and services, we need to keep it simple. We want each region to work together, Manchester with London, with the Northern Powerhouse.
IOC chair Carl Lomas was at Derby University for 2016 logistics week to see student success and logistics excellence. Prof Ming Lim introduced Emily Key who finishes the undergraduate logistics course in Sept to take a role at DHL. 2016 year will see other undergraduates alongside Emily ready for work in the sector of e-retail at the heart of the East Midlands transport hot-spot in the inspirational postcode of the D2N2 LEP.
For all these stories and more go to Freight In The City News
Train the trainer conference at RTITB in the West Midlands looked at the answer. A full-house event of hauliers, trainers, awarding bodies and a traffic commissioner.
Trailblazer qualifications are headlining the transport news, both LGV and Express delivery courier, but who trains the trainers? To teach someone to drive a car you have to be a qualified instructor. There has long been discomfort in the heavy sector that no such qualification is needed in the truck world; the DVSA has a register but you don’t have to be on it and you don’t need any training qualification to teach truck drivers their driving skills.
RTITB launched their truck driver trainer standard in Telford. Carl Lomas, IOC chair, attended what was a big turnout. Hauliers, training providers, a traffic commissioner and awarding bodies were greeted with a display of heavy haulage from a yard full of MAN Iveco and Scania trucks.
IOC chair Carl Lomas was at Donington Park raceway for the Motorcycle Industry Association (MCIA) strategy day with member companies and the two-wheel dealer networks.
A focused delivery of data with a Bank of England insight into the economy. Launch of Parc data, knowledge beyond new registrations, second-hand and off-road for a full world view of two-wheelers.
Expert advice on electric - when is it not a push bike? Motivation big time with a look at the success of NEC Motorcycle live show.
This was a full house packed to the rafters, nearly 150 folk, free access to the Grand Prix museum and the roar of superbikes howling around the track outside. This was a two-wheel day not to be missed.
Institute of Couriers has welcomed a growing engagement to both regular and reserve army, exchanging employer communication to find job placement for troops exiting army to life in logistics, in reverse find heavy vehicle driver training via the reserve forces opportunities for commercial logistics individuals looking to move from warehouse to wheels jobs.
The army has long been recognised at the National Courier Awards, Defence Minister Penny Mordaunt presenting a courier silver C to RLC James Brennan in 2015.
The IOC was greatly honoured to accept an invitation from London district 151 regt to see logistics at the sharp end of the guns in Central London. IOC Chair, Carl Lomas and Tracey Worth were guests for the 41-gun salute to mark the accession to the throne of Her Majesty the Queen.
Cycle solutions for the final mile, Richard Armitage FCILT
e-Retail explosion seeks solutions to final mile. Population growth, demand for home delivery, inner city air quality, congested roads all seem to fit two wheel cycle, powered by pedal or electric.
There is nothing new about cycle couriers; during the eighties a motorbike courier who lost their licence for too many speeding points often reverted to leg power and added pedestrian zones and cut through paved areas to their street knowledge to complete deliveries in ever more concentrated zones of the inner city by pedal bike.
The cycle courier today is a green icon for client, brand and courier company; the further win is legal access to pedestrian zones, inner city areas of high density retail mix not accessible to fuelled vehicles.
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.
© 2025 Institute of Couriers