What's in a name?
Commecial Director Phillip Jones wants P&O Ferrymasters to have its own identity in the marketplace
Ask the majority of people in the logistics industry what they think of when they hear the brand P&O and they will say “ferries”.
One man hoping to change that perception is Phillip Jones, Commercial Director of P&O Ferrymasters, the haulage and logistics arm of the Dubai World-owned group.
“People still think of P&O as just a ferry or cruise company – some people even think you’re P&O Nedlloyd,” he says.
Jones said the company went as far as considering a change of name to solve the problem, but decided against the idea because it would be costly and difficult to instantly roll out.
“It’s very frustrating. We’ve got a turnover of £500 million (US$739 million), we’ve got 4,500 pieces of equipment, 28 offices and 600 employees.”
Jones also tells IFW that P&O Ferrymasters wants to become as well known for its freight management services.
“The strategy for P&O Ferrymasters is to grow – grow its portfolio, expand the value-added services and move away from being perceived as just a full-load line-haul operator.”
Jones says the freight management side of the business is the most dynamic, and it recently won the contract to be lead logistics provider for the exports of construction product manufacturer Kingspan UK.
The company is spending £1 million on developing its IT systems to improve route optimisation and planning.
“The clients we are pursuing on the freight management side of the business expect their provider not just to manage their business, but to review it on a daily basis to see how it can be optimised,” he explains.
Jones also hopes that P&O Ferrymasters’ decision to join the Logistics World Alliance (LWA) – a group whose members pass business onto each other – will also help grow its supply chain volumes.
“LWA membership allows us to broaden our portfolio to clients, to say we are now part of a family that has the capability of offering the complete supply chain: from the raw material into the factory, factory to distribution centre, pick-and-the pack, value-added, then line-haul and inter-company transfers.”
So far this year, Jones says business has been improving. Last month, volumes were up by over 16% on May last year, with steel volumes, low-cost retail goods, own-branded fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and automotive volumes all doing well.
On a country basis, volumes from the UK, the Netherlands and Belgium are doing well, German volumes are flat and volumes in the Republic of Ireland, Spain and Greece are down.
And there are some black clouds on the horizon, one of which has been caused by UK exports. He explains that in the past, rates for eastbound shipments only contributed to costs, with profits made on the stronger westbound leg. But the situation has changed and logistics firms are having “difficult” conversations with eastbound customers about rate increases.
“Some customers have their head in the sand, refusing to accept it, using stalling tactics and tell us we’ll lose the business,” says Jones.
“But the consensus of opinion is that the market has changed dramatically in the last two months, with demand outstripping capacity – and that means the end of the cheap days.”
He adds: “We do not want to get to this situation, but sometimes you have to take the customer right to the wire. A point comes where you have to say ‘as of Friday, I will not position our trucks to load your goods’.”
Jones says other issues concerning the industry is the fear of a double-dip recession, fuelled by cuts in government spending and the impact on haulage rates.
“Will the double-dip come?” asks Jones. “You hear of austerity measures governments are bringing in, which mean that people aren’t buying equipment, no-one is building schools or another office block, which means no steel, no windows and so on.
“I don’t think anyone knows the answer, so we’ve got to work based on the fact that rates are hardening.
“We are approaching rates as professionally as possible. If the market drops in four weeks and our customers come back to us asking for 20% off rates, we will deal with that then.”
One man hoping to change that perception is Phillip Jones, Commercial Director of P&O Ferrymasters, the haulage and logistics arm of the Dubai World-owned group.
“People still think of P&O as just a ferry or cruise company – some people even think you’re P&O Nedlloyd,” he says.
Jones said the company went as far as considering a change of name to solve the problem, but decided against the idea because it would be costly and difficult to instantly roll out.
“It’s very frustrating. We’ve got a turnover of £500 million (US$739 million), we’ve got 4,500 pieces of equipment, 28 offices and 600 employees.”
Jones also tells IFW that P&O Ferrymasters wants to become as well known for its freight management services.
“The strategy for P&O Ferrymasters is to grow – grow its portfolio, expand the value-added services and move away from being perceived as just a full-load line-haul operator.”
Jones says the freight management side of the business is the most dynamic, and it recently won the contract to be lead logistics provider for the exports of construction product manufacturer Kingspan UK.
The company is spending £1 million on developing its IT systems to improve route optimisation and planning.
“The clients we are pursuing on the freight management side of the business expect their provider not just to manage their business, but to review it on a daily basis to see how it can be optimised,” he explains.
Jones also hopes that P&O Ferrymasters’ decision to join the Logistics World Alliance (LWA) – a group whose members pass business onto each other – will also help grow its supply chain volumes.
“LWA membership allows us to broaden our portfolio to clients, to say we are now part of a family that has the capability of offering the complete supply chain: from the raw material into the factory, factory to distribution centre, pick-and-the pack, value-added, then line-haul and inter-company transfers.”
So far this year, Jones says business has been improving. Last month, volumes were up by over 16% on May last year, with steel volumes, low-cost retail goods, own-branded fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and automotive volumes all doing well.
On a country basis, volumes from the UK, the Netherlands and Belgium are doing well, German volumes are flat and volumes in the Republic of Ireland, Spain and Greece are down.
And there are some black clouds on the horizon, one of which has been caused by UK exports. He explains that in the past, rates for eastbound shipments only contributed to costs, with profits made on the stronger westbound leg. But the situation has changed and logistics firms are having “difficult” conversations with eastbound customers about rate increases.
“Some customers have their head in the sand, refusing to accept it, using stalling tactics and tell us we’ll lose the business,” says Jones.
“But the consensus of opinion is that the market has changed dramatically in the last two months, with demand outstripping capacity – and that means the end of the cheap days.”
He adds: “We do not want to get to this situation, but sometimes you have to take the customer right to the wire. A point comes where you have to say ‘as of Friday, I will not position our trucks to load your goods’.”
Jones says other issues concerning the industry is the fear of a double-dip recession, fuelled by cuts in government spending and the impact on haulage rates.
“Will the double-dip come?” asks Jones. “You hear of austerity measures governments are bringing in, which mean that people aren’t buying equipment, no-one is building schools or another office block, which means no steel, no windows and so on.
“I don’t think anyone knows the answer, so we’ve got to work based on the fact that rates are hardening.
“We are approaching rates as professionally as possible. If the market drops in four weeks and our customers come back to us asking for 20% off rates, we will deal with that then.”
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