Spring UK preparing for a surge in volumes

Spring UK has revealed that it expects the amount of items it will handle between now and Christmas to be 25 % higher than during the same period last year.

Robert Dundas, the firm’s Head of Sales and Marketing, said that weekly parcel volumes were also forecasted to more than double over the course of the next month.

He added that the appointment of a new tier of senior management, new services and consequent change in approach had resulted in a dramatic transformation of Spring’s domestic operations.

“The increase in business has been considerable since the start of the year and the feedback which we’re receiving is that the systems which we have put in place and the way that we now work with clients is certainly finding favour.

“A growing proportion of the orders placed with UK e-tailers is from European consumers and those businesses – both large and small – need capable delivery partners to deal with them.

“During the last 12 months. we have enhanced the enormous pedigree which we already had with services that offer customers more choice and greater simplicity.

“However, all that has combined with a subtle but important shift in the mindset of clients.

“Given that we function as a broker – dealing with international deliveries via the most reliable networks – our role is quite different to many other logistics operators and it’s that which has seen us become something of a trusted advisor to more and more brands.

“They recognise that good parcel delivery is more than just about price but the kind of quality service we offer which adds value to what they do.

“We believe that new strategic alignment and the focus on innovation and excellence is paying significant dividends, something which is born out by our expectations for this peak season.”

Mr Dundas described how changes to Spring UK’s management structure had played a critical role in “re-energising” the company, which is wholly owned by Post NL.

Key appointments made during this year include the decision to make Gary Redfern-Smith and Craig Lee Spring UK’s new Head of IT and Head of Channel respectively.

The firm’s new approach has also been accelerated by the launch last month of a new joint venture  – SendMyParcel.com – which Spring believes will become the new standard in deliveries for online retailers.