Bell Transport & Logistics: Turning flexibility into growth with CX

When Simon Bell launched Bell Transport & Logistics in 2019, the transport industry was changing fast.

It was the start of the Covid period. Simon and his business partner had both been made redundant from their jobs as transport managers, and demand for delivery services was rising quickly.

At first, Bell Transport operated as a multi-drop business.

But as more drivers entered the door-to-door market, Simon saw an opportunity to move into something more specialised.

“Before Courier Exchange we just operated a multi drop business,” says Simon. “Through that time we also gained a couple of regular customers who wanted longer distance work.”

Those longer-distance jobs opened up a new route for the business.

They also created a new problem.

Vehicles were travelling further afield for Bell’s own customers, then coming back with nothing on board.

“We were diversifying away from the door to door market and going further afield with our own customers vans,” says Simon. “We needed something to fill in the dead mileage for the vehicles coming back.”

That is where Courier Exchange came in.

Turning empty journeys into paid work

Bell Transport has now been a Courier Exchange member for 3 years, and it’s an integral part of their daily operation.

The team uses it to post loads, find return loads, fill empty journeys, and keep vehicles moving when their own customer work is quieter.

“We use CX daily now for load posting,” says Simon. “We move on our own customers work backloads, returning empty mileage for drivers who’ve gone out with our own customers jobs.”

That flexibility has helped Bell Transport make better use of every journey.

Instead of sending vehicles back to depot empty, the team can use CX to find suitable work on the way back.

And when customer bookings are quieter, CX gives the team another way to keep their trusted drivers busy.

“Even if customers jobs are quiet then we can use CX to pick jobs up just to keep drivers busy,” says Simon. “So it’s got a multitude of uses.”

A trusted local network, backed by CX

Bell Transport is based in Edwinstow, near Mansfield, and works across Nottingham, Mansfield, Leicester, Derby, South Yorkshire and beyond.

The company has built a trusted network of around 10 regular local courier subcontractors who support the business day to day.

These are drivers Bell can rely on. They know the standards. They know the customers. And they know what the business expects.

Most operate their own courier vans, giving Bell Transport a flexible network of trusted local capacity.

But as the business has grown, even that trusted subcontractor base cannot always cover every booking.

Stephen Bell, Commercial Manager at Bell Transport, manages customer relationships and bookings. For him, CX gives the team the extra flexibility they need when demand spikes.

“If I need a driver in 30 minutes and I haven’t got a driver, that I have on my books around, I could post the load, have a driver there in 30 minutes if I put a time limit on it. And they will come.”

That means Bell Transport does not have to be limited by the capacity it has immediately available.

When customer demand rises, CX gives the team another way to keep saying yes.

How Bell Transport puts customers first

Bell Transport has grown by building relationships, not just completing jobs.

For Stephen, that starts with how the business treats its customers.

“Bell Transport is set apart because we don’t see customers as numbers on a spreadsheet,” he says. “We see customers as people.”

That customer-first approach shapes how the team uses CX.

The platform gives Bell Transport the flexibility to take on more bookings, respond quickly when customers need support, and offer reliable coverage beyond its immediate subcontractor network.

Stephen says that flexibility has become central to how the business operates.

“Having that in your back pocket has made us grow exponentially and it’s brilliant.”

From repeat business to fivefold turnover growth

The biggest day-to-day difference for Bell Transport has been workload.

CX has helped the business access more work, build relationships with repeat customers and reduce wasted mileage across the operation.

“CX has dramatically increased our workload, both by dealing with repeat customers,” says Simon. “We’ve got now repeat business from them.”

For Bell Transport, CX is not just a way to find one-off jobs.

It has become a source of ongoing opportunity.

The team can fill empty mileage, find backloads, take on more customer bookings, and keep trusted drivers earning.

“Being able to fill vehicle dead mileage has brought more jobs in and it’s increased our turnover fivefold,” says Simon.

How payments are simplified with SmartPay

As the business grew, Bell Transport also needed a simpler way to manage invoicing and payments.

SmartPay helped take manual admin out of the process.

Instead of paying invoices one by one, chasing updates or managing everything across different systems, Bell Transport can now handle payments in one place.

“SmartPay’s made a massive difference to our invoicing process,” says Simon.

“The amount of time it saves us as a company, not having to manually pay invoices, not having to chase invoices. Everything’s there on one dashboard, hours of time saved.”

For a business working with regular subcontractors and CX members, that matters.

It keeps payment processes simpler, reduces admin time, and helps the team focus more time on customers, drivers and the next job.

Recognition built on flexibility

Bell Transport’s growth has not gone unnoticed.

In 2024, the business won three awards for its same-day and next-day delivery services.

Then in 2026, Bell Transport was named best nationwide delivery service in the Midlands.

For Stephen, CX has played an important role in that journey.

“Bell Transport has transformed with the use of CX,” he says.

“And I think that the CX is definitely a cornerstone of that, because without the CX’s flexibility, we can’t be flexible with our customers and we can’t give them exactly what they’re looking for.”

That flexibility has helped Bell Transport grow without losing the service standards that made customers trust them in the first place.

Looking ahead

Bell Transport continues to expand its customer base and service offering across the East Midlands.

The next step is moving into more specialised transport, including chilled transport vehicles and larger trucks.

It is a natural evolution for a business that has already moved from multi-drop into longer-distance same-day work, built a trusted subcontractor network, and used CX to create more opportunities from every journey.

With 6 years on Courier Exchange, 153 positive reviews, SmartPay supporting the payment process and CX helping the team stay flexible, Bell Transport is well placed for continued growth.

“CX enabled us to grow our business and offer flexibility to our customers that we weren’t able to do before,” says Simon.

For Bell Transport, that is the real value of Courier Exchange.

It helps turn spare capacity into opportunity.

It helps turn dead mileage into paid work.

And it helps the business keep saying yes when customers need them most.

Frequently asked questions