APC Overnight fans the flames of success

Nationwide next day delivery services from APC Overnight are helping the Fire Protection Centre grow its business.

Offering a wide range of fire and safety products through its Internet trading arm, the company is expanding into new markets with APC Overnight providing vital supply chain support.

The Supply Centre works closely with the local APC Overnight depot in Goole – APC Direct Logistics - to provide next day deliveries to trade customers and e-commerce clients who purchase products from its two online stores.

These include the Safety Storage Centre, which sells safety storage cabinets, and the Fire and Safety Centre for fire extinguishers, safety signage and other fire and safety products.

“We are experiencing rapid sales growth from our online businesses and our customers expect a fast and reliable service. Therefore, our relationship with APC Overnight is very important to all our businesses. It is the backbone of our efficient fulfillment and supply chain operation, which is helping to keep our customers happy,” says Barrie Holden, managing director.

“We can rely on APC Overnight to ensure consignments reach customers on time and intact and we see the reliability of the service essential in upholding our business brands.”

Each week, the company sends hundreds of consignments through the APC Overnight network. The number of shipments is growing as the company reaches out to new markets through the Internet.

APC Shortlisted for Two Motor Transport Awards

APC Shortlisted for Two Motor Transport Awards

We are proud to announce that APC Overnight has been nominated as a finalist for two prestigious Motor Transport Awards – the transport industry’s ‘Oscars’. Our first category is ‘Fleet Van Operator of the Year’ which is awarded for “the highest levels of commitment to running a safe, efficient and high performing fleet”. We are also delighted to be nominated for the ‘Customer Care Award’ where the judges are looking for excellent customer care “which means going out of your way to ensure that your whole operation is geared to consistently exceeding your customers’ expectations”.

This year sees the 25th Motor Transport Awards, which are judged by an independent panel of experts drawn from the industry, celebrating the achievements of the industry and recognising innovation, outstanding service, efficiency and quality

Award for DIRECT LOGISTICS APC

Winner of the Business of the Year – (for 20-plus employees)

APC Direct Logistics winner of the Business of the Year for 20-plus employees at the Goole and Howdenshire Business Excellence Awards was APC Direct Logistics, based on Andersen Road in Goole.

A year ago, the overnight parcel delivery service began offering training and development opportunities to its 35 strong workforce, gaining NVQs in customer service and accounts in addition to courses in managerial skills, driving and forklift truck operating. General manager Neil Short said providing training opportunities for employees has improved the business in more ways than one: “It has had many benefits, it has improved customer retention, had a positive effect on the bottom line and improved morale.”
Of the 35 employees at the depot, Mr Short estimated that a third of them had all completed a course while working with the company.
The nationwide company has a Network of 120 Depots and delivers about 90,000 parcels overnight across the country. The Goole branch delivers to the DN postcode area using its 17 delivery vehicles.
Owner Karl Brown picked up the business award, with employees Sarah Talbot and Paula Millson, at the prestigious ceremony at Cave Castle Hotel in South Cave.
Winning the award has not just given everyone at APC Goole a boost, but has also spurred the company to achieve even more, as Mr Short said: “We plan to continue improving quality
and training.”

Keeping The Network Moving

Keeping the Network Moving
The recent arctic weather – the worst recorded for more than 30 years – was a huge challenge for everyone, with transport and delivery companies at the sharp end. We would like to thank all our customers for their patience and understanding while we did everything we could to keep the deliveries flowing.

Some amazing stories have come to light. One of our trunkers battled through driving snow up a steep single-track road to collect 300 festive turkeys for delivery nationwide. These weren’t the only Christmas dinners we rescued – deliveries of organic meat from Dewi Roberts Butchers were all safely made before 12 noon on a day that many airports around the country were closed. Mr Roberts described this as “top service”, which was echoed by Russell Downing of Sheepgrove Organic Farm who said that despite everything the weather threw at us, it was the best service he’d experienced from a delivery company.

Inevitably some consignments were affected. One of our depots was hit by 18 inches of snow in a single night while areas such as Scotland and the North East coast, as well as Gatwick and Kent, were badly disrupted for many days. But at every opportunity our teams worked evenings and weekends to keep things moving. We greatly appreciate the many unsung heroes in the network who quietly got on with their jobs and kept the whole system going.

The snow tangibly underlined our commitment to each other as a network. APC Area Managers were despatched to assist the weather-affected depots, while both the Hub and depots worked together to ensure we delivered our promise.

Some areas of the country are already experiencing more snow, and if another major freeze sets in we will continue to provide the excellent service people rely on. Please check our daily bulletins here on the website which detail the situation in different parts of the country, and of course your local depot is always on the end of the phone to help. We can’t control the weather, but we understand the importance of reliability to businesses who have chosen us as their delivery partner, so we are committed to providing the high level of service you have come to expect from APC.

The APC Overnight Network carried a record number of parcels during this time and our level of performance far exceeded the industry as a whole.

Ivor Skinner
MD, APC Overnight

1st December 2010

Electro Music Hit The Right Note!

Electro Music is planning rapid expansion of its burgeoning online business thanks to new web technology linked to a nationwide parcel delivery network operated by APC Overnight. The Doncaster-based music store was established in 1982 and has been operating online shopping since 2000; With thousands of items shipped nationwide each year, the company has launched a new website with integrated booking and tracking to boost customer service.

The combination of reliable rapid parcel collection by APC Overnight’s local depot APC Direct Logistics from Electro Music’s warehouse for overnight delivery and innovative web-based technology from NetDespatch underpins Electro Music’s emphasis on ‘good old fashioned customer service’, says Mark Taylor, the company’s website manager.

“We are acutely aware that many people now like to browse and shop online at all hours of the day and night. Musicians especially can be night owls! Electro Music’s sales are increasingly moving in that direction. Having the option of next day delivery to anywhere in the UK through APC Overnight is a big plus for our business,” says Mark Taylor.

“We value the flexibility to add items right up to collection time if needs be. We also like the ability to pickup and collect in one go. For example, we can arrange for replacement items to be shipped and delivered with the unwanted goods being picked up in one move, which is great for customer relations,” he adds.

APC Direct Logistics provided the on-demand booking and tracking system to streamline Electro Music’s distribution andadministration. Orders placed before 2pm each day are quickly processed with the web-based system building manifests and generating the parcel shipping labels automatically. The system also provides detailed end-to-end traceability of all parcels going through the system.

We cannot stress enough how vital the NetDespatch system is to managing our deliveries. Our warehouse manager has the system open all day to get instant status reports of en-route deliveries or to check on completed orders. The system contains vital information, from precise booking and pickup times, the arrival of our parcels at distribution depots and proof-of-delivery at the final destination. We can even view the signature of the customer on receipt. It’s a very fast and easy system to use,” says Mark Taylor.

Electro Music is run by musicians for musicians of all levels and experience. Whether it’s drums, guitars, keyboards or PA systems the company stocks and supplies a wide range of leading brands including Fender, Gibson, ESP, Ernie Ball, Pearl, Tama, Yamaha, Roland, Boss, Fostex, Zoom, Line 6, as well as a service and repair facility.

Ultimate Angling Nets More Customers

APC Overnight “Handled with Care” services and advanced NetDespatch web software are helping Ultimate Angling expand its nationwide Ultimate Direct online and mail order business. It sends thousands of parcels containing rods and accessories to every corner of the UK through the APC Overnight network.

Beginning six years ago as a small fishing tackle retailer with some online sales, the company now employs a team of eight angling enthusiasts to service its tens of thousands of Ultimate customers.

“We chose APC Direct Logistics in Goole as our next day delivery partner following many recommendations from other satisfied customers. We have never looked back. The company has a thorough understanding of our requirements and customer service is excellent. APC Overnight will also deliver on a Saturday if we need it and for high-value equipment we can use the company’s Security Service,” says Seb Blow, Ultimate’s General Manager.

Running alongside the Ultimate Direct order processing system is the advanced NetDespatch online booking, labelling and tracking system. This not only streamlines fulfilment it also provides security for each order.

“APC Direct Logistics set up our NetDespatch Velocity account. We use this to book collections, print labels and track each parcel. The system also provides proof of delivery with signature capture. It is very easy to use, effective and secure,” says Seb Blow.

“It runs in tandem with our back office system, which we use to process customer orders and create a pick list for the warehouse. The customer order details, unique customer IDs and delivery addresses from the pick list are then input to NetDespatch, quickly and easily. This intelligent online system speeds response and order fulfilment and helps with maintaining our high levels of customer satisfaction; about 70 per cent of our customers are repeat buyers,” he adds.

Ultimate is one of the biggest names in fishing. The company’s own brands – irange, ULTIMATE, PRIMEVAL, VISION and BADGER – command great respect in the coarse fishing world and are sought after by match, carp, and pike anglers alike.

Customers use the company’s website and mail order catalogue to select and buy state-of-the-art rods and poles, reels, clothing, seating and accessories. Angling is a huge sport in the UK, with an estimated 3 million anglers who enjoy coarse, game and sea fishing. Last year the environment agency sold over 1.5 million fishing rod licences.

APC Overnight’s Handled with Care services boost CNM Online customer service

CNM Online is benefiting from APC Overnight’s “Handled with Care” next day deliveries. Before awarding its parcel courier work to the local depot – APC Direct Logistics – the company was suffering costly breakages. Now, reports company MD Carl Simpson, products are reaching customers intact, as despatched from CNM’s warehouse.

“One of our key reasons for choosing APC Overnight was to reduce breakages. The organisation’s care and attention is saving us the cost of having to replace broken products and this also boosts our customer service levels,” says Carl Simpson.

CNM has a thriving online business supplying a huge range of electric appliances, hygiene hardware products, garden equipment and outdoor games equipment to over 100,000 customers nationwide. Many customers place repeat business with CNM because of their satisfaction with the products and end-to-end supply chain service.

Orders are captured by CNM’s sophisticated website and these are batch-processed using web software. CNM simply upload a data file produced by the website into the NetDespatch system to book collections, print shipping labels and track parcels. The software also provides proof of delivery. Once the day’s orders are complete, the local depot calls to collect the parcels for rapid delivery anywhere in the UK via APC Overnight’s network of over 125 local depots.

“NetDespatch frees us from manual input and it would be a mammoth task to fulfil orders without it. It is a useful tool and saves a huge amount of time that we can then dedicate to customer service. We can complete order fulfilment quickly and with the flexible service provided by the depot, our customers are assured of rapid delivery wherever they may be located,” concludes Carl Simpson.

APC Overnight Puts EcoStream Double-decker Trailer To The Test

APC Overnight is trialling the latest Don-Bur aerodynamic trailer in the first stage of a major project to replace its entire trailer fleet. The double-decker, curtain-sided “EcoStream” trailer is fitted with an innovative lifting deck enabling safer, quicker loading and unloading – and unique to this unit is the option to use the rear doors where access is an issue. Roll-out of the new slope-roofed trailers is planned for 2010.
The EcoStream trailers will complement the advanced DAF CF85 tractor units which APC Overnight has recently added to its fleet, enabling improved fuel consumption. Together, the trailers and EURO 5 rated tractor units will provide efficient transportation with reduced carbon footprint.
“The EcoStream is a cutting edge design that scores points all round for reducing emissions as well as improving safety. The upper lifting deck is lowered for loading and then raised to allow access to the area beneath, which not only improves safety but also speeds up the process. We were also keen to solve the problem of limited access to the decks which we’ve achieved by configuring the design to allow loading and unloading via the rear doors. This flexibility enables faster turnaround of the trailers,” says Syed Ziaullah, Operations Director, APC Overnight.

“Aerodynamic trailers are the way forward for APC Overnight. These trailers overcome the problem of inertia and rolling resistance, allowing the tractor units to perform more efficiently. Less drag caused by the trailer means better fuel consumption and lower emissions. This is important as our investment in EURO 5 rated equipment is enhanced with the EcoStream trailers, and even with older tractors there will be an improvement,” he adds.