Summary
• Examining transport solutions is key in this financially difficult market.
• Environmental concerns are becoming more important.
• Outsourcing can reduce costs.
• Ryder has supplied DAF trucks to AVS Fencing and Woodstock Timber.

Against a background of constantly changing and increasingly tougher legislation governing the operation, maintenance, speed limits and emissions of delivery vehicles, a growing number of companies in the timber trade are outsourcing their commercial vehicle requirements.

Getting timber products from a warehouse or yard to a customer’s premises on a timely and cost-effective basis is a prerequisite to the success of any business running a transport and delivery operation. Vehicle breakdowns, unreliable drivers and ineffective unloading equipment will not be tolerated by customers for very long before it starts to have an adverse effect on the company’s standing, reputation and, ultimately, its bottom line.

With business and government increasingly focusing on environmental issues, it is also important to take a long hard look at the impact your transport operation is having on the environment and work with your solution provider to look at ways to reduce your carbon footprint as well as operating costs.

Transport audits

Ryder has an ongoing programme of auditing the transport operations of a wide range of manufacturers, processors, wholesalers and retailers. In many cases these audits have identified where changes can be made to loading patterns, delivery routes and even truck body styles and dimensions that will significantly help to reduce the company’s environmental impact. In addition, the audit process also can identify areas where changes to vehicle specifications and operational patterns can significantly reduce overall transport costs.

One of the companies that has taken advantage of Ryder’s transportation expertise is AVS Fencing, the rapidly expanding specialist supplier of fencing and decking materials.

“We started outsourcing our vehicle requirement to Ryder seven years ago and are now working through a programme of replacements and additions to cope with an upturn in business,” said financial director Mike Webb.

Streamlining deliveries

“Our core business is delivering to contractors’ yards or their customers’ sites and our business is very dynamic in that today’s orders are tomorrow’s deliveries. Ryder has helped us identify areas where we can streamline the delivery process and make it more efficient, such as the increasing use of 18-tonne trucks with Hiab cranes which enable much quicker turnaround times to be achieved.

“We’ve opened two new locations during the past year and now have eight key locations across Surrey, Sussex, Cambridgeshire, Essex and Hampshire.”

As a result of strong business growth AVS plans to double the size of its business during the next five years and has already added further DAF 7.5-tonne and 18-tonne trucks, supplied on contract hire from Ryder, to its fleet to cope with increased demand for its fencing, security and landscaping products.

Many firms in the timber trade across the UK are finding that the hassles of operating older vehicles, or vehicles of insufficient carrying capacity, are proving a detraction from their core business. However, the more dynamic businesses are finding that acquiring new vehicles can be relatively hassle-free and, in turn, can deliver many benefits to the company’s operation.

Inverness-based Woodstock Timber has been supplying and delivering a wide range of building, timber, joinery and flooring products to trade and private customers for the past 16 years. However, with a growing customer base across the Scottish Highlands, Woodstock found that it needed larger and newer delivery vehicles to keep pace with demand.

“We’d always purchased used trucks for our delivery operation but we found that the pressures being put on them by customer demands and servicing and maintenance schedules were beginning to detract from our core business,” said managing director Donald McMillan.

Roadside checks

“We also found that older vehicles were frequently being pulled over for lengthy VOSA roadside checks and this often played havoc with our delivery schedules.

“So we spoke to another timber merchant in the area and asked if they had similar problems and, if so, how they had dealt with them. They told us that they had outsourced the supply of their trucks to Ryder and now had a streamlined transport operation.

“We contacted Ryder and as a result have now put a new DAF 15-tonne GVW curtainsider into service which has not only delivered tangible benefits to our delivery operation but it has also boosted our company’s image.”

With a payload of almost 10 tonnes, the new truck has delivered cost reductions to Woodstock’s delivery operation and is proving a real boost to the ongoing growth and success of business in Scotland, said Mr McMillan.

Whether you operate a single truck or a whole fleet, the pressures being put on your business in terms of environmental impact, meeting legislative requirements and effective cost controls and budgeting are immense.

With the current challenging financial climate it’s never been more important for firms of all sizes to refocus their resources on their core business, and with the wide range of outsourcing options and solutions now available, there’s never been a better time to take the hassle out of transport.