From Postcards to Full Loads
This article is an extract from the Autumn Edition of MER Magazine published in August 2019. You can read the full article as well as other articles from MER for free by becoming a member of Post & Parcel today.
MER speaks to Steve Stokes, Group CEO of The Delivery Group, about expanding the business, investing in green fleet and preparing for Brexit.
You have been in the business for 38 years – what excites you about your current role?
My role is wholly consuming but very rewarding. The Delivery Group now has seven hubs and over 500 staff. It is my job to continually provide the tools for our creative talent to keep pushing to new levels of excellence. We have to be innovative, creative, and work the assets to be competitive. But above all we have to provide a great service at a great price and look after our clients – many of whom have been with me for over 25 years.
What is your vision for the company?
We want to be a one-stop-shop – from postcards to full loads anywhere in the world. We want to be seen as the leading logistics firm with the best front-end in the market place, where customers are prioritised and we work in partnership to provide what they want. We want the customer experience to be the best it can be and for clients to stay with us because of the service they receive – that’s the best accolade any business could receive.
What principles do you run your company by?
Our fundamental principles are spelt out on the side of our vehicles PPP. People, Partnership and Performance. These fundamental cornerstones make The Delivery Group special. It’s a people business, we look after our staff; we work tirelessly for our clients, we are honest, trustworthy and consultative. We partner with our suppliers to offer best in class solutions worldwide. We partner with our clients in a consultative way to ensure we deliver for the needs of their business today, as well as plan for the needs of their business tomorrow. And it is this philosophy which enables our performance.
What’s the best piece of business advice you have received and by whom?
“Revenue for vanity, profit for sanity, cash is reality!” is the best advice I have ever received from Alan Jones – the European CEO of TNT.
Why did you invest in the new hub in Kent?
This was a natural move for us. Our London operations were getting larger, as we were having more and more success in the e-commerce market. We were running our vehicles from London to collect in Kent, and Sussex, and inject in to the final mile delivery supply chain. This work became so big that we needed to have a local hub to operate from to achieve our client’s wishes. We also have a hub planned for Bristol later this year and many more on the horizon!
What does the acquisition of ONEPOST mean to the company?
It’s a fabulous opportunity, with many synergies for both businesses. Add to that the wealth of added services we can supply to ONEPOST clients and the futuristic IT that ONEPOST have developed which we can harness for TDG clients it’s a marriage made in heaven.
ONEPOST have some super talented people and we admired from afar their customer-focused ethos. This takes us to a billion items a year and an on the road sales force of over 30 and without a doubt a force to be reckoned with – we are all very excited.
This article is an extract from the Autumn Edition of MER Magazine published in August 2019. You can read the full article as well as other articles from MER for free by becoming a member of Post & Parcel today.
