Courier Exchange: Uncovered loads and exciting opportunities in a thriving Midlands Courier Market

CX: the benefits of belonging to a freight exchange platform

“So how has it benefited me? Well, when I was in the Royal Navy, I missed a lot of family life because I was at sea for many months at a time. From a family perspective, the Exchange has given me the freedom and flexibility to work for who I want, when I want and where I want.

Secondly, as I previously mentioned, the biggest barrier for any courier thinking of going it alone is ensuring that the work’s there. But CX solves that problem in one fell swoop. Imagine if I gave you a contact book containing the numbers of 6,000+ professional drivers and courier companies? That would cost 1000s of pounds, right? You’d think so. But CX gives you this virtual contact book for a fraction of that.

Thirdly, by giving the members access to driver feedback, CX puts merit above name. This has been important for someone like me, who has vast knowledge in planning, but little direct logistics experience to call upon.”

CX technology has given me an edge

Mike Puplett

“But what really stands out is the technology of the mobile app. For me, the Live Alerts feature is the backbone of the app. It knows my position, my status and also takes into account that I’m driving a small van. But what’s really clever is that while I’m delivering a load, it’s working in the background looking for my next one. By sifting through all the loads available to me in a set-radius, it sends notifications to my mobile phone as soon as they come in. That means that I don’t have to ring my contacts on the off-chance that there might or might not be a load. Instead. CX gives me certainty that there will be.

Leveraging operational efficiency on Courier Exchange

Talking of sustainability, I really like the fact that the Exchange has created a digital invoicing system. While many logistics companies still require paper copies of both PoD and invoices, I think in a few years’ time everything will be digital. Perhaps the biggest selling point for me, however, is the time I save. For anyone who has never used the CX accounts feature, it’s not that I can send an invoice and my PoD by email that’s really smart. Rather, it’s the fact that it’s an intelligent invoicing system and creates the invoice on my behalf, populating it with information as I drive. No typing, no editing. I just send it with the signed PoD to the load poster when I’m done. What could be simpler than that? I’d urge anyone who is thinking of a career as a courier driver, to seriously consider joining CX, you won’t look back.

Nick explains, “I’d been driving vans for ten years. I worked mostly in multi-drop delivering and collecting around the west end of London. It got to a stage where I knew every back route and post code worth knowing in Soho, London, and the south-east. But it was only when I became a transport planner that I began to spot which type of vehicles were in most demand. I realised very quickly that there was a shortage of Luton tail-lift vans and that if I bought one and became a sole trader, I could do quite well for myself.”

After three years in the job, Nick took the plunge and decided to go it alone. He bought his first van – a Luton tail-lift – and began looking for work. But, as many budding entrepreneurs have found out, it’s one thing to spot a lucrative niche, but another to take advantage of it.

As a new operator, how do you get in front of new clients without a proven track record of running a business? And how do you convince a contractor to give you the job when they already have someone they trust on their books?

At first, like every new business, Nick faced an uphill battle to win clients. But not for long. Nick, you see, had been using Courier Exchange in his job as a planner for the last few years. Not only did he know his way around the app, he knew the most profitable routes, the best paying companies and, most crucially, the ones that always needed a Luton tail-lifter. He also had another advantage.

After three years as a planner, in which he used the Exchange to cover jobs on and to find his driver’s backloads, he learnt about areas that would be good to visit in the country to gain backloads and also what price to charge when quoting for work.

A year on and Nick has a developed a large customer base, ranging from contractors who specialise in carrying expensive antique furniture to those delivering components to high performance vehicle makers. His clients are split between both clients from Courier Exchange and customers he found himself.

And in providing a service for his clients, Nick has a few rules which he sticks to all of the time.

Always quote competitively. Secondly, always update the Driver App when setting off, when onsite and when delivered. Thirdly, always be polite and respectful to customers.

Nick, Owner at Nick Of Time Logistics

Nick mostly avoids long distance routes and works between London and the home counties. He starts his day by using CX to take jobs from either Berkshire, Hampshire or Middlesex, near to where he lives, into central London. Once he arrives in town and has dropped off his first consignment, he then looks for work in central London using the Driver App, or accepts loads from regular clients. When finished for the day, Nick uses the Exchange’s smart matching system to find a return journey which takes him as near as possible to his local area.

He says, “Around 60 percent of my work comes from CX. It’s introduced me to large clients in the automotive and aviation industries, and customers in the events and real estate sectors. I get regular work form each one and it’s really helped me to expand quickly. I definitely wouldn’t have been able to grow as quickly as I have done without CX.”

But Nick says that the vast network of contacts he has built up using the Exchange – plus his refusal to take short cuts have helped him to forge new opportunities.

He says, “Pre-planning really goes a long way – particularly when you are transporting fragile and delicate goods,” he says. “It’s not just about covering the furniture in polythene bags to protect them from dust and damage. The item that you’re delivering has to be secured to the van in such a way that it doesn’t move about, but not strapped down so tightly that it marks or chips the furniture while in transit. That’s not easy to achieve and takes a lot of preparation to get right. Many drivers ignore this and hope for the best.”

But not Nick who always “makes sure the item is heavily protected before setting off”. One day his diligent approach was recognised by a warehouse manager and rewarded in the best possible way.

Nick explains, “I was carrying an antique furniture bar for a contractor I was working for through CX. I’d taken great pains to surround it in foam and blankets. I then made sure it was securely strapped down before setting off. However, when I got to Bordon the warehouse manager asked me where the packaging was. I told him that the furniture had been strapped down in such a way that it could not be moved or marked.”

“After inspecting it more closely, he saw that I was right, apologised and shook my hand.  I thought that was the end of it. But the warehouse manager picked up the phone and asked if the company, that I was subcontracting for, could allocate me more work. I now do 10-15 white-glove jobs for the supplier where we unpack, inspect and install the item of furniture before removing all packaging. It’s specialist work and not everyone’s cut out for it.”

However, Nick says that his experience transporting precious goods proved invaluable to his success and has become an important niche for him. As well as antique furniture he also carries scale model buildings for a retail design firm.

Explains Nick, “I’ve transported about 30 of these scale models including one of the Shard. They’re about four feet high, lightweight and very delicate. The work is quite challenging as the models have to be taken apart and re-assembled at the delivery point. However, once they’re put back together again, my biggest worry is moving them safely to the room they’re being displayed without breaking, scratching or marking them.”

“Often this means doing a detailed recce the day before. And sometimes it means thinking out of the box. For example, we would normally use the goods inwards entrance to make deliveries, but for a model being exhibited at the South Bank Centre we used the front door instead because the loading bay wasn’t wide enough for the plinth to fit through. So after walking three different routes, I decided that actually climbing the steps and taking the model through the front door was the easiest solution.”

Perhaps then that’s first and last time that anyone has managed to manoeuvre the Shard – London’s tallest building – through the front doors of the South Bank Centre, but Nick Reakes has proved he’s an expert in moving fragile and unwieldy consignments.

Signing up to CX is probably one of the best decisions that we have ever made… the platform adds around 70 percent to our annual turnover.

Stewart has always known he’s wanted to be a courier and, since downloading the CX app, he’s been able to find his ideal work/life balance. He can choose his own hours and, with the app’s technology, ensure that he makes a decent wage each month. We’ve made self-employment that much easier!

“I consider myself very lucky in that I’ve always known what I wanted to do. I love driving, love vans and love logistics. I’ve been in the courier game for almost twenty years now, have delivered to every London postcode, and have absolutely no regrets.

I think perhaps the most rewarding aspect of my job, is that on a personal level, customers value the work that I do, and rely on me for their deliveries. But it’s good to feel part of something bigger too. I may be one man in a van, but, when I jump into my vehicle each morning, I’m proud to be one of the hundreds of thousands of drivers who keep the UK’s freight transport supply chain on an even keel.

However, it’s a tough gig. Van drivers are some of the hardest working people in Britain. For the last 18 years, for instance, I don’t think that I’ve had a Saturday off, and some parcel delivery companies will even fine you for being ill.

With a partner and two young kids, I decided to make a change. I was fed up with the long hours and frustrated that I was often doing the lion’s share of the work for little reward. I wanted more control, more flexibility in my working life. I found that when I started my own business, SB Same Day Couriers, a move which I owe largely to Courier Exchange (CX).

Why? Because CX has immediately given me a much better work/life balance. The App gives me the flexibility to choose my hours, and most importantly, its smart loading matching technology, ensures that I win enough loads each month to always earn a decent wage.

Stewart

Today’s Friday – the busiest day of the week on CX. Suddenly my phone rings. It’s a large logistics contractor from Peterborough. They’re inviting me to quote on a multi-drop load -picking up in Rochester -which is only a 20-minute drive from my house in Greenhithe -and delivering to various addresses in Croydon. I know most of the Croydon postcodes because I used to do regular collection and delivery drops for a large parcel carrier for many years.

I quote for the job and my bid is accepted. After saying goodbye to my kids, I grab my flask of tea, my phone and jump into my Citroen Relay. Before leaving, I click the ‘on my way to pick up’ button. This allows the contractor and its Croydon-based customers to check my real-time position on the Courier Exchange’s Live Availability Map, which means I don’t have to field any needless calls when I’m driving.

I then head out of the drive and switch my radio to LBC. A couple of hours later, I’ve finished my deliveries. I take a sip of tea from my flask, update my status yet again on the app and wait. I’ve programmed the CX app to let me know about any load that falls within a 30-mile radius of my home, and this always seem to generate quick results.

It’s 11.30 am and as LBC discusses Brexit, another one of my regular clients, Red Spot Transport, calls. They ask me to quote on a multi-drop delivery in London. Thanks to my 18 years couriering across London, I know every inch of the capital, and jobs like this are meat and drink to me. I put in a quote and get it. It takes me several hours to complete all of the delivery drops, but luckily for me I manage to finish before the rush hour really begins to kick in.

Every day I set myself a target to earn at least £200. Today, the two jobs have made me much more than that and so I decide to head back home. However, I set my status on the CX app to ‘going home’ in the hope that I can land a backload. My phone finally rings. However, it’s not a business call that I was expecting. Instead, it’s my partner. She seems a bit flustered. She says she’s struggling to make the school run. I tell her not to worry and assure her that I can easily cover it.A quarter of an hour later, I’ve picked up my eldest daughter and am asking her about her day.

Okay, so I missed out on the backload today, but CX has given me something much more precious -the freedom and flexibility to work on my terms and no one else’s, which means I can always put my family first. That, for me, is the greatest selling point of Courier Exchange membership…”