Learn how family-run Zoom Courier Services uses CX to find loads, reduce empty mileage and build repeat customer relationships.
Tristan Bacon — Published 3 August 2026
When Gareth Armstrong and Kelly Bowman joined Courier Exchange in January 2025, Zoom Courier Services consisted of the two of them and one van.
Within three weeks, the work they had secured through CX had already covered the cost of their membership.
Since then, the family-run Bradford courier company has completed almost 1,300 CX jobs, added a second company van and built a network of drivers capable of covering work across the country.
“We started with just me and Kelly in one van,” says Gareth. “We now have two regular full-time drivers and up to 30 subcontractors based from Aberdeen down to Truro, across to Brighton and everywhere in between.
“That growth is all due to Courier Exchange.”
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Before launching Zoom Courier Services, Gareth had spent much of his career working in sales and marketing. He decided to buy a van and begin working as a sole trader, despite having no plans at that stage to build a nationwide courier operation.
Kelly had recently finished working as a personal trainer when she began joining Gareth on deliveries. The pair enjoyed working together and decided to turn the operation into a shared business.
“When I met Kelly, she had just finished working as a personal trainer and started going out in the van with us,” Gareth explains. “We decided to start Zoom Courier Services because she wanted to be part of it all, and it went from there.”
Their backgrounds are a reminder that starting a courier business doesn’t necessarily require years of previous transport experience. However, it does require a willingness to learn, work long hours and gradually build a dependable customer base.
Zoom soon became a wider family operation. Gareth’s brother Conor joined the business just a few months after Zoom started using the Exchange and now manages operations from home, supporting the drivers and keeping jobs running smoothly while Gareth and Kelly are on the road. Kelly’s son Ashton joined the team this year, helping to search for work and allocate jobs to drivers.
Today, Gareth and Kelly are the company’s directors and both continue to drive. They operate two company vans, supported by two dedicated self-employed drivers who use their own vehicles and work exclusively with Zoom.
Beyond that core team, the company has relationships with up to 30 subcontractors positioned in different parts of the country.
Before joining CX, Zoom Courier Services carried out work for a large multinational company. That provided valuable early experience, but the amount of work available could change significantly outside its busiest periods.
“When that work slowed, we were left doing little bits here and there,” says Gareth. “It was difficult to get a foot in the door because the industry is so competitive around here.”
The immediate challenge was finding enough suitable work to keep the van moving. A long-distance delivery could also leave Gareth or Kelly hundreds of miles from West Yorkshire without a paid load for the return journey.
Other couriers Gareth knew recommended Courier Exchange. Having seen the progress they were making through the platform, Gareth and Kelly decided to join under the Zoom Courier Services name in January 2025.
“We decided to give it a go, and we’ve never looked back. As soon as we joined the Exchange, we started flying. We were receiving work and calls from Aberdeen down to Plymouth, Brighton and everywhere in between, and we began making good contacts.”
Joining CX gave Zoom immediate access to a much larger pool of courier work, but Gareth is clear that building the business still required effort.
As a new member, Zoom had no feedback on its profile and was often competing for work against established courier companies with long trading histories.
“If you bid for a job with no feedback and another company submits the same price with a lot more feedback, the customer is likely to choose them,” Gareth explains.
The team concentrated on completing jobs properly, communicating with customers and gradually establishing its reputation. They used their company profile to explain how Zoom operated and spoke directly with other members whenever the opportunity arose.
The approach produced a rapid return. Just three weeks after Zoom joined, Gareth received a call from CX confirming that the company’s earnings through the platform had already exceeded the cost of its membership.
“We couldn’t believe it. But it’s like anything else: you get out what you put in. If you’re willing to put in the hours, you will get more rewards from it.”
Zoom Courier Services has now completed almost 1,300 jobs through CX.
That volume has helped the company develop a visible reputation, but Gareth and Kelly believe their communication is what encourages businesses to use them again.
The team answers the phone at all hours, confirms when goods have been collected and keeps customers informed throughout each delivery. If traffic adds even ten minutes to the estimated arrival time, Zoom contacts the customer rather than leaving them wondering where the driver is.
They also photograph the goods after loading and again at delivery, creating a clear record of how each consignment was handled.
“When we complete a job, we ring the customer to confirm that the driver has collected it,” says Kelly. “If there are any delays, we contact the customer to let them know.
“We also take photographs of the goods on the van and photographs when they are delivered. I think that level of communication and evidence sets us apart.”
After successfully completing a job, Zoom may ask the customer whether they would be willing to leave fair feedback. This has helped the business build the social proof that customers look for when comparing quotes.
For growing courier businesses, consistently delivering a good service and generating more customer reviews can make it easier to compete without always being the cheapest option.
“There are a lot of Bradford courier companies, so building your reputation on CX is key,” says Gareth. “If you do everything properly, communicate well and follow the correct process, your reputation develops and helps you stand out.”
CX is now part of Zoom’s operation from the beginning of the day until the team finishes at night.
“CX is open from the minute we get up in the morning until the minute we go to bed. We use it constantly.”
When a driver is completing a long-distance delivery, the team doesn’t wait until the van is empty before considering what happens next.
Around an hour before the driver is due to arrive, Kelly, Ashton or Conor begins searching CX for suitable work near the delivery location. They consider where each job is heading, what vehicle is required and whether the load will move the driver towards home or into another area with more opportunities.
“The team at home looks after the drivers,” Kelly explains. “They search CX for jobs, update customers and plan ahead for work after each driver has delivered.”
A smaller job can sometimes be just as useful as a long-distance load. Zoom may use it to reposition a van from a quiet location to a busier town or city, where the driver has a better chance of securing their next major job.
The CX live map also helps the team understand how many other drivers are available in an area. Zoom can use that information when deciding which jobs to quote for and how best to position its vehicles.
“If one of our drivers is travelling somewhere, we can see how many drivers are likely to be seeking work there,” says Kelly. “That helps us decide how much to bid for jobs and how to keep our drivers moving.”
For Zoom, finding the next job is not only about increasing the number of loads completed. It also helps reduce the cost of travelling long distances with an empty van.
“If a driver is travelling south, there are jobs available in many different areas. We can find a load for the journey back, so the driver is paid in both directions rather than travelling home with an empty van and covering dead miles.”
The team may not always find one job travelling directly from the delivery point back to West Yorkshire. Instead, it can build a route using several jobs that gradually move the driver in the right direction.
This approach helps Zoom avoid empty return journeys, cover more of its fuel costs and keep its drivers earning while they travel between different areas.
Drivers occasionally need to wait for the right opportunity, but CX gives the team more options than simply returning home empty.
“They may wait half an hour, an hour or sometimes a couple of hours,” says Gareth. “But CX gives us the option to bid on work that takes them where they need to be next.”
Many of Zoom’s customer relationships began with a single job posted on CX.
Once the team has completed work for another member, it stays in contact and lets the company know when a Zoom driver will next be operating nearby. Some customers have created WhatsApp groups with the team, making it easier to discuss upcoming requirements.
The resulting jobs are still booked and managed through Courier Exchange, but the relationship allows both businesses to plan ahead.
“We contact companies around the area and tell them when we’ll be there and what size van is available. A lot of those companies give us work heading back north or further south.”
One relationship started when Zoom completed a job around Plymouth and Exeter. The customer was impressed with the service and subsequently began using the company for further work.
That initial CX load developed into regular multi-drop journeys covering between 600 and 900 miles. The relationship has continued for several months, with Zoom completing the work around once a week.
“We complete one job for a company, they like the way we conduct ourselves, and then they notice us bidding on their next job,” Gareth explains. “We now work with many companies across the country.
“CX has opened a lot of doors for us.”
As Zoom’s workload has increased, the company has developed relationships with subcontractors throughout the UK.
Alongside its two dedicated self-employed drivers, Zoom can contact up to around 30 additional drivers when it needs coverage in other areas.
“If we receive a call for a job anywhere in the country, we can contact them to see whether they can cover it,” says Gareth.
Ashton and Conor help manage that network from the back office. When work becomes available, they identify the most relevant driver and allocate the job according to the vehicle, location and delivery requirements.
Trust is essential when work is being handed to someone hundreds of miles away. Zoom uses company profiles, member feedback, the CX directory and Trustd to review the drivers and businesses it works with.
“Everyone is verified through CX, so you are not dealing with just any unknown person. That gives us more confidence in the companies and drivers using the platform.”
Trustd also enables Zoom to check that drivers have the relevant documentation and goods-in-transit insurance. These checks support the wider process of finding reliable courier subcontractors who can represent the business properly.
Growth has meant managing more drivers, jobs and invoices at the same time.
Zoom uses SmartPay as its main invoicing and payment system, giving the business greater predictability over when it will receive funds for completed work.
For a courier company, waiting for customer payment terms to pass can make it harder to cover fuel, pay drivers and plan future investment. SmartBook (part of SmartPay) gives Zoom a clearer payment process without requiring Kelly and Gareth to repeatedly chase invoices.
“The invoicing process is very simple. You create the invoice and it is sent directly to the customer, which reduces the amount of administrative work.”
That time saving is increasingly important as the family divides its responsibilities between driving, dispatching, supporting subcontractors and developing the business.
Since joining CX, Zoom Courier Services has developed from Gareth and Kelly sharing one van into a broader operation consisting of:
Gareth and Kelly continue to spend much of their time driving, sometimes leaving home on a Monday and remaining on the road for ten days or two weeks.
The vans carry foam mats, sleeping bags and basic cooking equipment. When space allows, the back of the van becomes somewhere to sleep between jobs. When the vehicle is full, Gareth may sleep across the front seats instead.
The lifestyle can be tiring, particularly during cold weather, but it has also taken the couple to places they may otherwise never have visited.
Kelly enjoys watching dolphins when work takes her to Aberdeen. Gareth names Devon, Cornwall, the Isle of Skye and the Scottish Highlands among his favourite locations.
“It doesn’t feel like a job. It feels like I’m driving around with my brother or my girlfriend, taking a constant road trip around the UK and getting paid for it.”
Zoom Courier Services is already considering another van and plans to bring more people into the business.
The long-term ambition is to create an even wider network of dependable drivers, giving Zoom the ability to respond to customer requirements in more parts of the country.
As the company grows, the challenge will be maintaining the same communication, reliability and family-run service across a larger operation.
CX will continue to help the team find work for additional drivers, build relationships with other courier companies and manage capacity across the UK. The next step will be applying the same principles Zoom used to build its first vans and driver relationships to growing and managing a larger courier fleet.
“We want to push the business as far as we possibly can, while always being honest and meeting our deadlines,” says Gareth.
“CX is helping us expand. If you’re serious about working in the courier industry, there’s nothing stopping you.”
Be your own boss. Set your own hours. Make your own money.
Zoom Courier Services began with Gareth Armstrong working as a sole-trader courier. Kelly Bowman later joined him on the road, and the pair developed the operation into a family-run courier business.
Zoom Courier Services joined Courier Exchange in January 2025. The business recovered the cost of its CX membership within three weeks.
The company has grown from one van to two company vans, two dedicated self-employed drivers and a wider network of up to around 30 subcontractors across the UK. It has completed almost 1,300 jobs through CX.
The team uses CX throughout the day to find loads, plan drivers’ onward journeys and reduce empty mileage. It often begins searching for the next job around an hour before a driver completes their current delivery.
Zoom has turned individual CX jobs into longer-term customer relationships by communicating proactively, completing work reliably and keeping in contact with companies operating in the areas its drivers visit.
