Davies Turner boss: U.K. logistics consolidation benefits medium players
The wave of merger and acquisition activity within the British transport and logistics industry over the last few years is good news for medium-sized players, according to an executive with the country’s largest independent freight forwarder, Davies Turner Plc.
Philip Stephenson, joint managing director of family-owned Davies Turner, said the growing industry consolidation leaves more room and opportunities for flexible operators to offer “bespoke,” or tailored services that customers won’t find with smaller operators or giant corporations.
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Philip-Stephenson |
'We feel that the bigger the multinationals become the better, because they leave business openings they cannot take on but which we can move into. We believe that there are going to be many such opportunities for us over the next few years,' he said.
Stephenson’s words come at a time when one of the United Kingdom's longest serving logistics firm’s, Christian Salvesen, is subject to a '254.4 million ($519.4 million) takeover by French road transport group Norbert Dentressangle.
Davies Turner has 1,000 employees in the United Kingdom, 23 freight hubs and '130 million ($255 million) annual turnover. It provides a multimodal range of services through three main trading divisions:
' Davies Turner Air Cargo.
' Davies Turner & Co., which covers sea freight, overland trailer services to Europe and beyond, as well as logistics, warehousing and supply chain management services.
' Davies Turner Worldwide Movers, which specializes in international relocations and fine art packing.
Stephenson said Davies Turner’s size allows it to still offer personal customer service without compromising on other standard services such as Web-accessed tracking and tracing.
'We have spent a lot of money and time in getting IT right. However, we also want our staff to be accessible as human beings. While some things are best done and confirmed by e-mail, others are best-discussed one to one,” he said.
'Customers who buy services on price alone can be disappointed with the service levels they achieve, and risk their supply chain becoming disrupted if the companies do not have the financial muscle or international network to survive in the long term.”