Jet Speed Couriers

Logistics is Vincent’s passion – and the CX app is helping him do what he loves most in the world (not to mention find the most fulfilling and interesting work). He can get his goods to their destination and find his next job quick as a wink… perfect for the man who owns Jet Speed!

Logistics has always been my passion. I’ve never wanted to do anything else and it’s what I do best. There’s something very satisfying about moving goods – particularly when I know that the parts in the back of my van serve a higher purpose.

A few years ago, for example, I began working for a contractor which supplies emergency parts to the RAF’s fleet of Search and Rescue helicopters. And while I’m only a small part of the supply chain, every time I switch on the TV and see a brave crew scooping a sailor up from angry seas, it gives me a thrill.

I remember the phone call that woke me at 3am on a Saturday morning, the one asking me to travel down to Truro, pick up a part and take it wherever it was needed. When I’m on the road, it’s quite humbling and inspiring to know that when the vital component I’m delivering is fitted to the helicopter it will be back in the air saving lives.

But if you’re a courier, how do you find interesting and fulfilling work like this? Firstly, having a good support network around you it crucial. In this respect, I’m particularly grateful to D.W Cook Transport, who really helped me to find my feet in the early days.

Secondly, while I’ve always been fairly resourceful, and pride myself on having quite a large network of contacts, there’s no way in the world that I could have found these opportunities off my own back. As an owner driver, I’m fully focused on getting goods from A to B and then finding my next job.

To win a plum contract like this, requires time – and it’s time that I don’t have. For instance, I’d have to be vetted by the contractor, by the Ministry of Defence and my skill set and suitability assessed. That process could take weeks or even months and all the face-to-face meetings would take me off the road.

Just as well then that Courier Exchange allows me to have my cake and to eat it too. It’s one of the biggest freight exchanges in the UK and in my view the best because it gets me access to some of the largest logistics companies in the UK. They can see all the feedback posted about my same day delivery business, Jet Speed Couriers.

In fact, they can examine the feedback for every job that I’ve completed in the seven years that I’ve been a member of Courier Exchange. If you treat every job as if it’s your first as I do, and your feedback from those companies you work for backs this up, then you maximise that opportunity to work with interesting people, on exciting projects that would be virtually impossible for an owner driver to secure on their own.

As well as putting me in front of some of the largest transport businesses in the country, CX gives them access to businesses like mine. You may think big logistics operators with dedicated despatch teams don’t need the little guy. But believe me they do. It’s reliable and trusted SMEs -that’s small and medium-sized businesses to you and me -that give them the confidence to take on large contracts in the grocery or manufacturing sector.

Why? Because by using the Live Availability Map (LAM) they know exactly where we are and when our vehicles are likely to become empty. They take it for granted. But imagine if suddenly that visibility was taken away from them. Imagine if they were unable to access the extra capacity and experience and professionalism that we provide.

It’s fair to say that some of them wouldn’t be able to operate, and those still able to would most likely incur much higher costs. But the Exchange ensures that we all get our fair share of loads.

Another point worth mentioning is that the Exchange lets me be me. In other words, it allows me to run my business the way I want it to be run. Working through the Exchange means that I can choose who I work for, and who works for me when I post loads, which I do around thirty times a month.

And while I love the flexibility that CX gives me – in that I can work the hours that I want – it also allows me to create a profile telling my customers who I am and what I do best.

In my case, before joining the Exchange I spent many years working in warehouse distribution Before the recession hit a decade or so ago, I was a warehouse manager for a large manufacturing company. So when I moved into freight in 2011, I was able to use that experience to my advantage.

Leicestershire, where I’m based, is a hotbed for logistics. Two of the largest distribution centres in Europe – Magna Parkin Lutterworth and Dirft in Rugby – are close by and much of the work filters through them. But they can be confusing places to be for inexperienced couriers, as they’re as big as small towns.

So to know them inside out like I do gave me an edge. Why? Because I had a good understanding of their layout, and how they worked, I was always able to guarantee that that collection or delivery -which is the single most important part of a job -was always smooth and efficient. It may seem a small thing, but first impressions really count. Proving that I could deliver a professional service really helped me to build my reputation in the early days.

Nowadays, that’s not so much of a concern. I’ve built a large network of clients that I trade with, and win around 70% of my loads from direct bookings. If you’re not familiar with the term, that’s loads that go from member to member without ever touching the Exchange. For me, they show the Exchange and those who belong to it at their most dynamic. For those who benefit most from direct bookings are also the most agile members and most trusted members.

Okay – so CX’s tracking technology can greatly improve your chances of being in the right place at the right time, but on the other hand, no amount of technology can build a reputation. That’s up to you. And so when contractors place direct bookings, it’s feedback record that counts. That means demonstrating energy, enthusiasm and commitment for every job.

As the famous saying goes, you don’t have to love logistics to deliver a professional service. But to do it well, it certainly helps.

I know if we can’t cover a load at short notice, we can post it on the Exchange and make sure it gets done.

Kevin Matchan, Co-owner

With the regular earnings I received from working through CX I’ve been able to turn Lost & Found Couriers into a profitable business. Since joining the Exchange, customer foot-fall has risen by 95%, while demand for the company has tripled.

Darrin Armstrong, Managing Director of Lost & Found Courier Services

But how has the Exchange helped us? Firstly, their technology has opened new doors. How? Well, as there’s just me and one other self-employed driver on the books, without CX we’d have to turn down a third of the job requests that we receive each week. However, with Courier Exchange giving me access to 43,000 vehicles in the UK, we can simply post the load on the system and within twenty minutes of doing so the lost item is on the road with a driver, who’s been fully vetted.

Secondly, as we’ve got bigger, the Exchange has given us the confidence to broaden our horizons, and has given us the capability to do so too. For example, if we didn’t have the Exchange, we might have to turn down a job-say from Heathrow to the Manchester – because as much as we’re passionate about reuniting sentimental items with their owners – it just wouldn’t make economic sense for a London-based courier to take this job on. However, with the Driver App we can now win a backload home, which covers all fuel costs and makes the round trip pay.

Thirdly, the Exchange has helped us to change the pattern of demand, in the sense more jobs no longer originate in Heathrow, where we’re based. Again, if we didn’t have the Exchange, there’s no way we would contemplate taking a lost item from Manchester to the Lake District. But if we post it on CX, the smart load matching system will find us a driver based in the north-west who is able to make the delivery to Kendall on our behalf.

With CX behind us, we’re excited about the future. But who wouldn’t be? After all, what area of logistics can you return a phone or tablet to its relieved and grateful owner, and at the same time reunite them with memories that they thought they’d lost forever?”

The Exchange is a fantastic forum for gaining business and increasing capacity. It has helped increase profits and reduce costs in a very big way.

With a varied but mainly industrial customer base Planet Logistics can deliver whatever the client wishes, from aviation parts to window frames and spares.

Courier Exchange enables them to accept jobs which if they were not part of a trading network they would almost certainly have to refuse. The Exchange also offers peace of mind with David knowing he is calling on a collection of vetted, reputable drivers and companies.

Courier Exchange has enabled Planet Logistics to build valuable industry contacts, helping the business through the recession while retaining the ability to offer capacity should extra customers come calling.

As a member of CX Quickshift has been able to expand their business, finding them work when they need it and high quality drivers when they don’t have capacity to fulfil all their delivery contracts.

With over 25 years behind them, the same day delivery company is a proud member of the Exchange, the world’s largest trading hub for the same day and express freight industry.

Glyn Hawkins, Transport Manager for the firm based in Littleborough, Lancashire, said: “Courier Exchange has proved to be a very good tool for us, not just providing us with work but the ability to expand our business and get loads outside of our capacity.”

“For instance, we used to deal with hazardous chemical deliveries but it got to the point where we weren’t getting enough work to make it worthwhile keeping our drivers’ training up-to-date.”

With Courier Exchange, we can always find capacity and sub-contract any jobs that come our way to appropriate and qualified drivers.

Glyn Hawkins, Transport Manager

Quickshift is a truly versatile logistics company. While a lot of their work involves delivering plastics and composites for specific industries, they can ultimately deliver anything at any time. Established by Managing Director David Malcolm 29 years ago, the firm boasts a fleet of vehicles ranging from small vans up to 7.5 tonne trucks and employs a number of drivers and three office staff.

Glyn said: “Years ago most of our work revolved around the textile trade but things have moved on and the textile industry has declined. Over the years we have shifted just about everything, you name it we will deliver it.”

Quickshift’s experience and varied fleet marries perfectly with Courier Exchange, an online real-time network which allows its 5,400 plus members to trade loads and journeys while sourcing available or part-filled vehicles returning to base.

Glyn can quickly search for capacity if there is a job his drivers cannot complete or reduce dead mileage when drivers need backloads. “Courier Exchange has been a brilliant tool for us. It’s helped cut down on the number of empty vehicles on the road. Obviously this wasn’t great for us and it wasn’t great for the environment either as it was wasted mileage.”