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Specialist time critical logistics provider Bespoke Distribution Aviation (BDA) has become a Regulated Agent for the screening of cargo, following a significant investment in new screening technology. 

The company has announced that its BDA NightExpress division has passed the stringent Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Security Audit and is now able to process air cargo to meet all aviation security regulations. From its Coventry hub in the UK, BDA NightExpress is already screening its own outbound freight to its Ireland hub, as well as scanning inbound and outbound freight to its hubs in Frankfurt and Maastricht.

The move is part of a wider growth strategy for BDA which last year saw the company negotiate deals with such brands as Suzuki, Arvato STOK, GE Healthcare and Neways. The ability to screen outbound freight for Ireland, Netherlands and Germany is a particular boost considering recent growth in the Irish logistics market. As Irish consumers embrace ecommerce, spending €3.8m online every minute last year, the country currently offers strong potential for BDA in the etail, agricultural, medical and automotive markets that it serves.

Regulated Agent status has followed a six-figure investment by BDA in a cutting edge Rapiscan 632DV system for pallet and air cargo screening, which enables the company to perform its own dual-view X-ray screening of inbound and outbound cargo.

The machine, which has been designed for the inspection of pallet and break bulk cargo screening, utilises dual view technology to screen items. Coupled with the machine’s impressive image quality, this allows a high throughput of screened items.

BDA Managing Director Kevin Turner commented: “We have ambitious growth plans at BDA and becoming a Regulated Agent for cargo screening is a major step in the right direction for us. Not only does it enable us to become more self-sufficient as a company, but it also means that we can ensure the cargo we carry on our dedicated In-Night flights is both secure and protected.”

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A specialist time critical logistics provider in the UK is overcoming nightly battles against ongoing roadworks to record successful on-time delivery of goods from Europe into the UK...

Bespoke Distribution Aviation (BDA) which is based near to Coventry Airport is still managing to fulfil its orders and keep customers satisfied, despite ongoing disruption to its vital road network.

The roadworks, which are coming at a cost of £105m and won’t be completed until 2016, have caused major headaches to businesses and motorists alike, with some workers in the area complaining that they are extending their journey to and from work by up to two hours each day. BDA relies on its road network to meet critical delivery of spare parts and vital components for the automotive, media and agricultural sectors but is having to battle against the ongoing roadworks in order to deliver on time. The company recently arranged a private meeting with local MP Jim Cunningham to discuss the issue, during which it called for greater communication from the Highways Agency in order to minimise the risk of a knock-on effect to the global supply chain caused by late delivery of goods.

Although the company has implemented processes to help it overcome the disruption and is still successfully meeting delivery times, it stressed to Mr Cunningham the importance of the local road network to the freight companies in the area. Many of these operate during the night which is when disruption is at its peak.

BDA has eight gateway hubs for both air and road linehaul routes across Europe, including Germany, France, and Ireland. The firm flies freight into Coventry overnight in order to meet next-day delivery times. If this freight is then held up on the road network, it has a knock on effect on the wider supply chain. BDA is currently having to send numerous vans out on the road for deliveries in order to get the first vehicle onto the road earlier than normal.

European Managing Director Kevin Turner explained: “Many of the roadworks are taking place at night because there is an assumption that few people are using the road network at this time. We rely on the road network at night in order to deliver goods on time.

“We are still meeting our customers’ demands, we’re not losing any business and we’re still growing, but the night time temporary road closures - when we’re at our busiest - and constant diversions are costing us a lot of money, and this means we can’t employ more people. Some of the boxes we deliver contain time critical medical equipment and supplies that hospitals up and down the country rely on in order to treat their patients. If these aren’t delivered on time then this has a direct impact on people who are in desperate need of urgent medical care.

“The situation changes each day, and the major issue is a lack of communication between businesses and the Highways Agency and their contractors.”

Mr Cunningham felt that it wasn’t fair that businesses were being impacted in such a serious manner and stressed that the Highways Agency must do more to communicate with BDA and other businesses in the area.

He said: “Everybody understands that the roadworks have got to be completed, but we think there can be improvements in relation to flow of traffic - particularly at night time, when this company is doing business.

“With a bit of give and take we can mitigate some of the problems and it’s important that the Highways Agency have discussions with BDA and other companies in the area. We’re going to meet with them and put some of these points to them.”

Alison Brindley, Operations Director of Bespoke Distribution Aviation, outlines what we should be demanding from our logistics partners to ensure field service divisions run smoothly...

In increasingly competitive markets, businesses that supply and fit parts as part of their service contracts have had to up their game and the successful ones are achieving this and reducing cost, whilst adding value to their customer proposition by paying particular attention to their aftersales service.

As part of the aftersales process, field service engineers need to make sure that they have all the tools and spares parts they need to respond when a customer needs them. Operating a lean supply chain can add value to your business with a logistics partnership and keep field service operations efficient by ensuring reduced inventory levels and stock holding. The dynamics of the delivery requirements within the supply chain range from a requirement to move freight quickly in the case of urgent requirements for immediate repair, and not so quickly for slower moving stock for regular services. The challenge is to streamline the supply chain into a simpler process while continuing to provide customers with a simple and efficient next day delivery. Moving the outline of your supply chain to a multi level, more dynamic solution, which utilises air and road express movements can achieve a slicker supply chain needed to make field service engineers more responsive.

Give your field service engineers greater flexibility

A streamlined supply chain supports field service operations at all times and ensures engineers are equipped with the spare parts they need to complete repairs to your customer’s service levels. Make sure when selecting a logistics company that they offer a flexible and rapid service, the best levels of IT reporting and inclusive client support.  One way of achieving this is through In-Night, same day delivery of parts, which ensures that spares are readily available from point of order through to final mile delivery in the shortest time frame possible.  Whether your main supply comes from a European Distribution Centre (EDC) or from a local regional parts centre, supply chain management is key to final mile delivery and therefore a successful Service Level to your customer.

Eliminate the need for multiple regional warehouses

A streamlined supply chain that connects mainland Europe into the UK and Ireland, provide early morning deliveries into service engineers and dealerships pre7 and reduce levels of inventory, provides an improved first time pick rate and speeds up the delivery of spare parts. Faster in-night air movement and bespoke ‘final mile’ solution means that they can access spares early morning the very next day giving a greater number of daily engineer fixes, improving Service Level Agreements and delivering benefits to your customer’s clients.

Think about reverse logistics and spare part returns

A company that offers a streamlined reverse logistics and returns solution can provide additional value for field service operations. The priority for field service engineers is having the repair made before considering a quick return. A reverse logistics service delivered as part of the wider supply chain delivery ensures that field service engineers have their repair made quickly on site, before returning the defect part back through the supply chain in the opposite direction. For customers who have an issue after the repair has been made where a resolve is required due to a warranty defect, your field service team will want to organise for the defect product to be shipped back to the manufacturer under warranty, tested, dismantled and repaired or recycled. By having the repair made first as part of a reverse logistics service, engineers save valuable time out in the field. Closing the returns loop, the return of spare parts is achieved whether under warranty or just as part of the recycling of parts, is as much a feature of a good supply chain management as the initial delivery.

Transparency of the supply chain enhances customer communication

After sales service managers need to be confident that spare parts will be with their field engineers when they need them. They require complete visibility of the supply chain and a strong communication from the logistics company, so they can be frequently updated as soon as the next status of their shipment is available. By having access to this information platform, and a pro-active customer service in the logistics company, they can maintain effective communication with the customer, keeping them up-to-date during every part of the service process. The ability to communicate with confidence makes all the difference to your customer’s perception of your business.

Getting the geographical coverage you need

Working in partnership with a good supply chain provider that can provide a strong geographical delivery presence is key to reducing inventory costs and yet still provides you with quick and easy access to spares.  A supply chain provider that has strategically positioned operating gateways across a broad area, and that enables you to benefit from both air freight and road express services, delivers a seamless distribution service straight into the field.

There are a lot of tools available to help make field service operations more streamlined, responsive and effective. The industry is benefitting from new mobile technology all the time but often the greatest advantage to a business operating in the field service arena is getting the right level of a lean supply chain. Complete visibility throughout the supply chain and same day, final mile delivery of spares are key to responsive field service and satisfied, happy customers.

Time critical logistics provider Bespoke Distribution Aviation (BDA) have made a flying start to 2014 with a focus on their wider international distribution service, and the recruitment of a new European Managing Director to spearhead the operation.

The company who are based at Coventry Airport is going through a period of extended growth, which has seen the significant expansion of its night Air and Road operations with increased levels of distribution business over the past six months.

The newly appointed European Managing Director Kevin Turner, who is responsible for leading the continued growth of the logistics provider ,brings with him 25 years’ of experience in the Same Day and Next Day delivery markets.

With expertise in European Air and Road express services as well as Warehousing Solutions, the appointment of Turner aims to further strengthen the BDA team as they aspire to continue building their  international footprint across the next 12 months.

With a network of airport based hubs throughout the UK, Ireland and mainland Europe, BDA already operate an extensive end-to-end supply chain which allows for pan-European, time critical daily deliveries.

Turner will be based in the company’s Maastricht Air-Hub in The Netherlands, with the intention of developing the company’s overseas market presence. His  experience, having previously worked in European and UK distribution, logistics warehousing and air freight, will be a key advantage as he spearheads BDA’s strategy of increasing market share and growth across both European and International markets.

Turner commented:

“BDA has a great structure in place to allow it to grow its capacity throughout its UK, Ireland and European divisions. The company’s service offering is unique and tailored to every customer and this is why it is an international market leader for bespoke distribution services and supply chain solutions. The company has plans to increase its market presence further and I am excited to become an integral part of this.”

The appointment arrives at a particularly exciting time for BDA. The company are currently undergoing a period of unprecedented  growth with the purchase German Airline and In-night freight specialist NightExpress last year, as well as moving into new geographical markets and also a move into the B2C sector as a result of a new partnership with an established  e-commerce organisation.

BDA operate nightly cargo flights, which are then supplemented by daily road express linehaul routes, between its Coventry hub, Dublin, and Frankfurt in Germany. With flights five nights a week allowing them to offer a guarantee for overnight and early morning delivery for time-critical cargo. As a result they are particularly strong in sectors such as hi-tech IT and printing, materials handling equipment, automotive industries, medical equipment and agricultural machinery as well as more recently, direct selling e-commerce businesses.

BDA sales director, Steve Court stated:

“Last year was a fantastic year, during which we further established our infrastructure and platform for growth, and we are looking forward to continued growth and success in 2014.  He continued: “We’re growing all the time and with Kevin heading up our European division, we will continue to offer an unrivalled service throughout Europe and add value to the supply chain markets. We are prepared for a very exciting year ahead.”