Andy Martin - YRC Logistics EU

As part of our aggressive development and expansion plans I am very excited to have 2 new additions to our sales team. We have recently developed a new sales recruitment process and we believe the new selection criterion is very challenging and only the very best will succeed through the various interviews, tests and activities. Only a couple of weeks ago we had a seemingly positive candidate who performed well in the first interview, but their weaknesses were exposed in the second interview & activity. We also have seen some candidates who did not want to return for the second interview as they did not feel comfortable presenting YRC Logistics back to us, which is concerning considering this will be part of there normal job function. In the past I believe we may/would have employed these candidates and it would have been a costly mistake. In short we are continuing to upgrade our skill set and only the very best will be accepted. So it is with great pleasure that 1 person has already made it through this new process and I know that he will contribute to the continued success of YRC Logistics EU.

Mike Metcalfe (London Heathrow)

Mike has 25 years experience in transportation and sales, he recently joined YRC Logistics from one of the largest independent commercial vehicle hire and sales company’s where he successfully used his consultative sales skills to secure large fleet contracts with major transport logistics’ companies in and around LHR.

Previously involved in logistics and transportation as well as extensive experience in the domestic parcel industry, Mike was responsible for heading up the national sales team for Interlink Express Parcels Ltd the first successful franchised national parcel delivery Company working closely with the MD implementing a national sales strategy which led to the company being successfully sold for £50 million. Mike has worked for some key names where he has successfully used his sales experience in providing solutions for a myriad of clients and industry sectors. In his current role Mike’s primary focus is on securing substantial sized clients that will contribute to the continued success of YRC Logistics EU.

Labels: Freight, Global Development Managers, New business, Sales, Staff

At 46 and with worn out knee joints I am frustrated that I could not look to run the London Marathon or a similar event. I have recently been thinking what could I aim to do in a few years for a personal challenge and to raise some money for a worthy charity.

During my holiday I swam in the sea every day for some exercise as our swimming pool was too crowded. I set a route which was about a mile and completed this daily. I wanted to push myself more and I completed a pier to pier swim which was just over 2 miles but with the tide drifts probably a bit longer.

By coincidence I watched a TV film on Friday night where a middle aged guy who was made redundant from a ship building yard decided to swim the English Channel. I have now started to research and realise I would need to work towards this and around my 50 birthday may be a goal to attempt the swim. I would love to hear from anyone who has attempted this?

As a passionate Leeds United fan I have always been grateful to a past era of geniuses that played in the Don Revie period Lorimer, Gray, Bremner etc. I know that may be a dangerous statement as for some reason Leeds are still the most despised club in England.

In any case my love affair with Scotland will continue when I visit our truly world class operation in Glasgow next week. I have just seen the results from one of our largest clients, with stock held in our facility worth of over USD 3 million dollars, we recently transferred onto Oracle and we then performed a full physical inventory check with them. The result was a stock discrepancy of USD 2k, less than 0.07%.

At YRCL we are passionate about providing outstanding client service and in true YRCL tradition, I cannot wait to meet the Scottish team later this week to celebrate with them.

Labels: Core Values, Freight, Scotland, Staff, warehouse

On 20th December 2007 YRC Logistics entered into a definitive agreement to acquire one of the largest ground transportation providers in China. This has given YRC Logistics extra services in China with 30,000 clients, 1,800 employees, 3,000 trucks, over 190 facilities in 80 cities with full transportation and distribution capabilities. In addition to the joint venture with one of the largest freight forwarders in China, JHJ, in 2005, this now gives YRC Logistics tremendous scale in China. As you may have already read in my blog, we are actively recruiting China experts, to be based in our European offices to cope with the extra demands. This really is an exciting period for YRC Logistics and staff that are interested in the fascinating market with China. To find more about our China capabilities please click http://www2.yrclogistics.com/yrcwlogistics.aspx?pgID=1046 or call 0800 6129374

Labels: China, JHJ, transportation

I am back and refreshed from a 2 week family vacation in sunny Spain and being an avid sports fan I am keen to start watching the Olympics. I did manage to catch the opening ceremony and what an awesome experience that must have been if you were there live. I am actually going to China in September as with our growing China presence we are setting up the next stage in Europe for our China Business Development team. I am also really excited to view YRC Worldwide advertised on tv during the Olympics coverage, they can also be viwed by following http://yrcw.com/press/video/index.html. All the speakers are YRC Worldwide staff and a few are from YRC Logistics EU. I just hope I don't lose them to television contracts!

PS - we are still looking for more China logistics experts to join our fast growing team please contact muhammad.shah@yrclogistics.com or leave a comment for more information.

Labels: China, Freight, Olympics, Staff

Before I went on Holiday, I ordered 2 new tyres for my car and arrived at 0820, 10 minutes before opening, to try and beat the queue at a well known tyre specialist. lets call them Fit Fast.

A middle age guy came in to the Fit Fast after me explaining he had some work completed yesterday, which took hours, and had order another tyre to be fitted today. He advised to Fit Fast he was told to arrive at 0830 and he would be given immediate service. Guess what? There were already 10 people in front of him. In an open reception he blew a gasket (excuse the pun) and after much shouting asked for his money back on the tyre he had ordered and duly drove away, presumably with his bald tyre.

I could understand his anger but actually felt very sorry for the receptionist. They obviously were not trained in how to deal with this guy, there was no private area to discuss the issue so it was very public, very embarrassing and the receptionist obviously did not have the power to change anything. To me, as I am sure to everyone in a service industry, it is very simple - communication.

From a customer point of view a timed booking system would be ideal but I can understand in this environment why that may not viable. How about clear information on how the walk in system works, some visuals to show the peaks each week/month so customers can make informed decisions on the best time to avoid large queue (this would actually help with Fit Fast's own time management), a private room to escort clients in case there is a problem, training and empowerment to staff to solve these type of simple problems. Like I said as well as feeling sorry for the angry customer I did really feel sorry for the staff member as he obviously had no chance of solving this and I am sure the same could happen tomorrow. How long is he going to stay at that job?

Labels: Communication, Service, Staff