Big K Products UK Ltd, which has been importing charcoal products into the UK from global sources for the past 40 years, sells a range of both summer and winter fuels along with outdoor living products.

Big K originally imported pre-packed products to supply the restaurant market but expanded in to the home barbecue market since it grew in the early 1970s.

Martin Zuill, Big K transport operations manager said: “We’ve been working with Jack Richards for three years now and they’ve more than proved their logistics capability.

“So much so, that we’ve decided to award them with the contract to distribute all of our pallet network products throughout the UK.”

Dominic Purslow, Jack Richards & Son depot principal, said: “We’re delighted to be handling the pallet network distribution for Big K products and we’re looking forward to handling our 5,000th consignment for them later this year.

“It’s great to be working with a professional and like-minded local company.”

Jack Richards & Son, which was founded more than 50 years ago, is one of over 100 members in the Palletways UK pallet network.

All members are independent transport companies, who share each other resources to distribute goods via the network to the market faster and more cost effectively.

Harlequin will deliver Kellogg’s products from its depot in Manchester to retailer RDCs, wholesalers and cash & carries nationwide.

The consortium which comprises Currie European Transport, Jack Richards & Son; John Raymond Transport, R Swain and Sons and Prestons of Potto was set up by former Jigsaw Solutions founder Paul Smith in July 2011.

“The fact that Kellogg’s, one of the world’s best-known and most iconic brands, has opted for Harlequin as its transport supplier, speaks volumes. We will deliver around 15,000 Kellogg’s loads this year, from Scotland to the south coast, and are confident that our unique structure will enhance the service provided,” he says.

Smith tells Commercialmotor.com that a second deal is due to start in the coming months, with “two or three”  further deal set to follow later in the year.

Dominic Purslow and Darren Besant head up the division that serves businesses and private individuals with thousands of small and large consignments every day. The pair had identified a need for a more intuitive system that would give warehouse and fork lift drivers a much more immediate level of consignment recognition.

Dominic Purslow said, “We palletise a huge variety of loads, from a quarter size pallet for a householder with a large item that’s too expensive using normal parcel carriers, right through to multiple pallets for business customers exporting across Europe. So clear and immediate identification as those loads arrive into our dedicated warehouse is a real benefit – to us and our customers.”

In conjunction with specialist software company, eDatachase, a system was devised utilising the simplicity of immediately available off-the-shelf equipment, combined with small but significant technical changes. The result is the ability for every consignment coming into the Jack Richards facility to be scanned accurately and that information to be shared instantly across the business. Dominic Purslow explained, “The ability to scan freight simply and accurately, and at the same time deliver a clear, easy to read display right across the business means the chance of identification error is significantly reduced. The opportunity for communication error is also minimised, giving us a much higher level of accountability and a resulting high level consistency service.”

The business unifies the firepower of five of the UK’s top 100 hauliers behind one cohesive brand. This provides logistics buyers with a viable alternative to being “just another number” on a global super corporation customer database.

Harlequin Logistics offers UK manufacturers and retailers centralised management expertise, state-of-the-art systems, and the simplicity of a one-stop-shop organised through a single point of contact.

Its innovative structure also ensures customers retain speedy access to decision makers and strong local relationships, whilst avoiding the global corporations’ huge levels of central overhead.

Peter Brown, managing director of Jack Richards, said, “We are fortunate to have Ian Riches as our in-house trainer. Ian has been with Jack Richards for 35 years and has retired from full-time driving to take up the CPC driver training role. To date he has completed all Unit 1 courses with the haulage fleet drivers and is some 50% of the way through Unit 2 with them. This rate of success for our drivers, who are all to be congratulated, means Ian can now help other fleets in the area when he has time – though that tends to be Saturdays only.”

Overall, figures in the UK transport industry continue to give rise to concerns at the slow progress being made in the CPC introduction. Analysts say there is a real danger that many fleets will find themselves with unqualified drivers who cannot go on the road until they have completed their courses. The danger is that the knock-on effect, of last-minute pressures on training companies to deal with the predicted bottleneck, could well lead to some fleets failing to meet contract obligations.

Dominic Purslow joined the company in 2005, having previously been working as its Operations Manager. Over the last three years he has helped oversee the restructure of the Pallet Division, introducing a number of fresh initiatives based on advanced new IT systems. These have enabled the business to expand significantly and it now offers a multiple service portfolio that handles palletised freight across the UK and Europe, and now includes storage and bespoke logistics solutions.

Commenting on his appointment, Peter Brown, Jack Richards Managing Director, said, “It is a real pleasure to be able to hand over the management reins for this part of the business to a capable and dedicated manager like Dominic. Our pallet services, from a single one-off quarter pallet to regular volume consignments, have grown in recent years to form an important part of our strategy for the future development of the Jack Richards operations.”

“The move,” says Oliver Mitchell, general manager of the business, “is in keeping with our stated objective to keep the whole fleet at three years old or less. It also means that with the more efficient engines in the new trucks, we will be producing even fewer emissions than ever, so this also sits well with our strong environmental policy.”

The Jack Richards fleet currently numbers some 185 tractors, with over 350 curtainside trailers completing the haulage set up.

The company’s pallet services also employ specialist high volume trailers, with a further fleet of 18t rigid trucks and 3.5t vans.