Blog 1

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Fly London

Fly London was established in 1984 employing 50 staff.  It’s head office and production are located in Portugal.  Fly London are the tenth largest shoe manufacturer in the world.  Their products are sold in more than 3,000 multi-branded stores with seven flagship Fly London stores in London, Portugal, Dublin and New York.  Fly is present in almost every country in Europe, in Asia, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. 

Their other brand Sofitnos, although only started production two years ago, will reach 15% of their total sales in 2016.

Simarco currently deliver between 400 to 4000 cartons of shoes per week to small shops and palletised loads to high street stores.

Our experienced operational team ensures that all deliveries are closely co-ordinated ensuring the delivery is fulfilled.   Communication and accuracy has been the essence of this account and the operational team has full transparency regarding tracking and proof of delivery.

TESTIMONIAL

“We have received a first class service from Simarco who have adhered to our stringent delivery requirements.  Simarco have never let us down since working with us.  Receiving good business relationships and excellent communications with the operational team gives us a first class service all round!”

Alfredo Baros – “ Don’t Walk, Fly!”

Steelite International Ltd

STEELITE INTERNATIONAL LTD

Steelite began manufacturing in Stoke over 100 years ago and the invention of the reinforced plate began in the Potteries and are now global market leaders with a reputation that is respected worldwide.  They currently employ over 1000 employees worldwide, 850 of which are based in the heart of Stoke.

Steelite currently export to over 140 countries worldwide.  Their commitment to outstanding quality and service in overseas markets has been acknowledged by the queen.

TESTIMONIAL

“Simarco is made up of a dynamic, forward-thinking team of people who have helped to lead and support us through the most difficult of times.  The normal day-to-day service they offer/provide is what one would come to expect.  However, it is their refined, proactive and intelligent solutions that really sets them apart in the industry.  All this whilst engendering a relationship of trust and authenticity. It is always a pleasure to speak with any member of the Simarco team.”

Rob Price – Global Operations Director

Konica Minolta

Konica Minolta issued a request for pricing (RFP) in August 2015 for the UK distribution to their 100+ dealers located throughout the United Kingdom.

This RFP was designed to establish the right Partner to work alongside Konica Minolta to deliver a world class service to their customers. Konica Minolta’s reputation in the market place can be greatly affected by the service levels provided and they pride themselves on the service delivery to their customers and this was an important consideration in their evaluation process, alongside cost. We receive between 1-8 trailers per day from Europe made up of pallets containing multifunction devices, printers and their ancillaries and distribute on a 24 or 48hr basis across the UK. Goods are received into Simarco’s warehouse between 12-6pm daily and we guarantee next day delivery throughout the UK.

OUR COMMITTMENT

The following SLA’s and reports form part of the three year agreement we have obtained with the customer.

• Delivery within agreed time frames (24hr, 48hr, timed) – 99% average across UK
• Number of failures for any postcode area no more than 2 in any month
• All pallets to be delivered with no damage to the stock – 99.5% average across UK
• Operational requests and questions to be answered and resolved within 2hrs – 99.5%
• Issues requiring investigation to be acknowledged within 2hrs and resolved within 24hrs. – 99.5%
• Scanned hard copy POD to be available 24hours after the delivery has been made – 100%
• Daily status report showing for example, successful deliveries, reasons for failed deliveries
• Monthly KPI to be provided by 5th working day of following month showing SLA performance and volumes of movements completed.

We receive and deliver more than 19,000 pallets per annum, an average of 75 per day, all these pallets are handled through our Witham warehouse where an experienced Account Manager is fully responsible for the operational handling of this account.  This is backed up by our proactive Customer Service team who track all the shipments and ensure that POD’s are received in time in line with the SLA.

TESTIMONIAL

“Simarco were selected as part of a procurement process of which they achieved the highest overall score in categories around pricing and quality. During the process, they also stood out for the customer centric approach which is a particularly good fit for Konica Minolta and the type of deliveries they will be completing.

Implementation was over 3 months, where all aspects of communication, process, training, and documentation were completed on time, resulting in a seamless switch from one carrier to the next. There is an ongoing issue regarding the set-up of an EDI, throughout this time, Simarco have gone above and beyond by booking the jobs manually. Since implementation Simarco have delivered the customer centric approach and are exceeding their SLA’s.”

Kevin Dean – Transport Manager

AA-rated BRC Accredited Warehouse Facility

Simarco’s final BRC audit takes place in August.  The provisional audit has shown we will obtain an A-Rated Accreditation.  We are on course to improve this to AA status when the final audit take place.

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AEO-C status

Simarco is pleased to advise that our AEO-C status has been Revalidated

AEO-C Status means that HMRC have rigorously tested and inspected our Customs Clearance procedures and certified that Simarco meet their highest standards for accurate, professional Customs Clearances.

Now, more than ever before, Companies trading Internationally need an accurate, high quality company to handle their shipping and Customs Clearance requirements.

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One to watch – Simarco Worldwide Logistics

16 April 2021

Interview with Trevor Scott, Managing Director

Simarco Worldwide Logistics – Established in 1997, Simarco is a prominent, mid-sized privately held forwarders operating in the UK, generating revenue of £50m + annually. Recently highlighted in the Sunday Times Profit Track 100, Simarco’s growth is not going unnoticed.

Providing international Air, Ocean and Road freight forwarding services, local UK distribution and warehousing solutions, Simarco manages cargo of all descriptions with a particular expertise in the retail, automotive and industrial markets. With offices located across the UK, they have five distribution centres offering more than 320,000 sq.ft of high security warehousing, as well as an owned fleet of vehicles that provides clients with a nationwide distribution service.

This thought piece will discuss how Simarco navigated the challenges of Coronavirus and the Brexit transition – events affecting many of our connections in the last year.

Coronavirus

Given Simarco’s focus on European groupage, the Covid outbreak in March 2020 had an immediate impact as Europe went into lock down. By the end of April, EU volumes were down by 50%, but due to an agile and flexible approach by the management, these numbers have rebounded strongly over the course of the year.

Simarco addressed the challenges headfirst, winning numerous Air Freight and Warehousing contracts, handling and distributing supplies globally of Personal Protective Equipment culminating in being awarded the prestigious BIFA Air Freight Services award in 2020.

With the UK’s impressive vaccine rollout aiding the economic recovery, Simarco are expecting demand to surge, as the hospitality and retail sector looks set to reopen in the UK. This resurrection is likely to drive greater volume through their existing contracts.

Many people will ask whether Covid accelerated the death of the high street, given the shift towards Ecommerce. Simarco believe this trend will continue, but a major issue prohibiting the pace of this change is the complicated customs formalities following Brexit, which is affecting the flow of goods.

Given the added complication, Simarco are seeing greater bulk shipping into regional hubs of the UK for onward delivery into the EU. Simarco are servicing this via their contract logistics warehouses located throughout the UK and Netherlands, as a result of the rise in B2C requirements.

Brexit

As the Brexit deadline passed in July 2020, Simarco activated contingency plans and came out the blocks early in terms of recruitment. Taking a regional approach, 20x customs staff were hired, and a further 10x administration & finance. By October 2020, another 20x new staff members were recruited and trained across the various branches, in preparation of what was to come.

Even though this was 3 months in advance of the Brexit deadline, it enabled Simarco to stress-test systems, contact regular shippers and delivery points to obtain information for customs clearances, as well as attuning staff to the culture and pace of the business.

From mid-October the Board of Directors started to work full time on engaging with customers virtually, and provided advice in terms of paperwork, commercial terms, and a range of options available to ensure their businesses would have limited disruption.

Simarco prepared for the worse, planning for a “No deal” with full duty on exports and imports and the impact that would have on warehouse capacity as well as cashflow. When the deal was completed on Xmas Eve, like the entire UK logistics industry, the Simarco team were relieved to see that this trade deal would limit duty payable on some goods of non-EU origin.

The drastic change in procedures in the UK and the EU simply left businesses in the dark. It is well documented by the industry and business, that January was nothing short of a disaster. Like every other logistics provider, Simarco thought they had planned for every scenario, but what came to fruition was unexpected and businesses simply were not ready.

Following a turbulent start to 2021, Simarco found smarter ways of working in February both internally and externally. Remodelling their internal processes by improving data flow through integration of systems, as well as providing additional training for staff. As customers and EU partners were starting to understand, Brexit was not just an issue for the UK logistics industry, but for everyone in the supply chain and they all had to play a part in moving goods in a compliant and legal manner.

Where are they now?

The trading trends are as Simarco had forecasted, lower UK export volumes with an increase in the number of units per job, as customers ship more cargo less often to reduce costs. UK imports have increased and look to remain buoyant until full border controls are in place. As a pre-cursor, UK exports have faced full border controls in Europe since January 2021 so when the change also happens in the UK, Simarco are in a positive position, knowing what to expect.

Moving into April, the situation has stabilised, and customers have greater knowledge, expectation and understanding of the importance of logistics companies within their supply chains.

These new challenges have further elevated our industries importance to both exporters and importers in the UK and Europe and Simarco will continue to embrace challenges by investing in people and processes.

Published on April 16, 2021

Luke Mitchell

Head of M&A Deal Origination at Connect Corporate Finance

Important Pallet Network Service Charge

30 April 2021

Dear customer

In Q1 of 2021 and to the present day, the distribution market has experienced several notable disruptions being: –

• BREXIT and issues arriving with Customs formalities.
• COVID and the shortage of LGV drivers as workers were either shielding, off with COVID or furloughed.
• Domestic trading, where traders switched to UK / UK trading post BREXIT and International trade deals.
• Easing of lockdown, where the distribution market has seen a very significant spike in road transport demand with the reopening of the high street and the hospitality sectors as they not only restock for their forthcoming trading but dispose of redundant stock.

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SIMARCO WINS PRESIGEOUS AIR FREIGHT AWARD

25 January 2021

BIFA’s annual awards took place today and we are delighted to announce that Simarco received the 2020 BIFA Air Cargo Services Award.

During 2020 Simarco’s Airfreight Operations team assisted many Global companies with the movement of PPE Equipment, telecommunication equipment for families to stay in touch and lifesaving hospital equipment for the Nightingale hospitals and more.

Working with one client, in particular whose customer, a major healthcare distributor in the USA for soap dispensers, based on several thousand items per year being supplied by ocean freight. At the beginning of last year, due to the COVID outbreak the US customer requirements changed significantly.

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Irish Customs Update

06 January 2021

Northern Ireland Customs Clearance

Following the finalised Brexit Agreement, we now have a clear understanding of the processes required for Northern Ireland Customs Clearances.

 As from the 1^st January 2021, to guarantee a smooth door to door transit for shipments to Northern Ireland, Simarco will be processing all Northern Ireland Customs Clearances “OnLine” from our Terminals in Witham and Stoke via the TSS System.

 

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