Transport Manager delivers tips to Newbury Business Group
West Berkshire's foremost networking organisation, the Newbury Business Group, met this morning in the Oak Room at Donnington Valley Golf Club, more spacious than our normal room, there was a flurry of excitement that the move might be permanent, so I explained that rather like MPs and their expenses, we had simply nominated the Oak Room as the networking group's second home and would not be using it again - but would continue to make expenses claims!
The one minute presentations that we all make at this Friday morning meetings often follow a fun theme. Someone will mention an idea about their business and other members will strive to make it relevant to their business.
So naturally the bar was set rather high this morning when Mark Arrowsmith from Snappy Snaps in Newbury used his one minute to talk about deaths. The shop has been helping people publish their order of service for funerals and it it seems that all too often no-one has a nice photo of the person who has died. Hopefully that means those of us who have used Neale James, the group's photographer, are destined for a long and healthy life.
It was amazing how many members managed to bring the morbid subject of death into their one minutes, from replacing staff who had died, through to providing wills, beating inheritence tax and being sure to measure how you manage your time during your life. It displayed just how talented our members are!
Speaking of talented members, the 10 Minute Masterclass today gave us a terrific insight into the work of Paul Jacobs, who is The Transport Manager.
An Aussie who has been here in the UK for 20 years, Morgan PR has been lucky enough to work closely with Paul through his partnership with another of our clients, Sadie Lynes. Together with Adrian Scott of Companion Computers we created a website: www.horseboxregs.co.uk which helps horse owners ensure regulations that have been introduced to improve horse transport safety.
Paul revealed the changes in legislation that will make his expertise even more needed by those operating commercial vehicles, however he also had some top tips that impacted on all the members' businesses.
"Have you been with the same delivery company for long?" asked Paul. "They will have upped their prices by 10% each year and unless you have asked to renegotiate you are probably paying way over the odds for everything you send."
He also urged us to not always use the same couriers as different companies offered better prices. Those who are offering the best prices for small parcels are probably not the cheapest when send a pallet of goods.
He also implored us to consider where everything had to be sent 'next day delivery'. Often customers do not need or expect it, yet those who send out deliveries will assume that next day is the only option. Paul stressed that the world rarely ended if a parcel took a few more days and that it would save more than a few pounds.
Of course, another option that he revealed was to actually use The Transport Manager to manage our delivery services. Through its Freight Forwarding service Paul and his team can leverage their expertise to get the best prices for our deliveries. The small fees this service attracts are normally less than the savings that their knowledge can deliver for The Transport Manager's clients.