Simarco launches Sustainability Champions Group

04 July 2022: We are pleased to announce that Simarco has launched a dedicated group of Sustainability Champions. This group will support Simarco community to make positive changes in response to the UN sustainability development goals and play a massive part in helping Simarco become a leader in sustainability.

Any member of staff can be part of this group. The most important thing is their passion to create change to improve Simarco’s environmental, social and economic impact.  The champions will lead by example and inspire others to take positive steps to create wider change towards a sustainability future. 

Apart from driving sustainability actions, developing their skills and influencing positive changes across Simarco, Sustainability Champions will support in:

• Developing sustainability culture by encouraging colleagues to become aware of sustainability (people, planet and prosperity) and follow the practices/policies that support our sustainability strategy. 
• Promoting sustainability by encouraging effective resource use and helping colleagues do the same.
• Communicating objectives and plans to make sure we keep them fresh in everyone’s minds and keep the lines of communication open.
• Reporting progress while keeping up to date with what is happening in Sustainability inside and outside Simarco.
• Collecting ideas, questions and feedback on sustainability from their department or site.

Management Training Presentations – 9th June 2022

Today was a real milestone for the 9 Managers of Simarco International Ltd who have been attending the bespoke 12 month Management Training and Mentoring Programme I created just for them in line with the aspirations that Trevor Scott and Simon Reed had for this group of Managers.  The milestone reason?

It was the final session of the programme and, in three groups of 3 Managers, they made presentations to Simon (CEO), Trevor (MD), Stephen Emler (FD) Dave Knowles (European Ops Director), Sairah Knight (HR Director) and the rest of the team. The presentations demonstrated their journey, how they had implemented the learning individually and within their teams, ideas to promote the Simarco culture and the way forward for them and the company from here. It was innovative, inspiring and enlightening!

As well as a day of Presentations, it was also a day of recognition of the hard work and application of the skills learned in a practical and effective way, which has allowed each of them the opportunity to expand their horizons within the company and be an active part of its growing future.

As a group, we are all going to miss our monthly training days but I know that this is not the end for these Managers, it is just the beginning. I have observed the wonderful transition of each of them, coming onto the course as Managers and, through the application of our work, evolving into Leaders of their teams who inspire, upskill and set great examples to those team members. I am truly proud of their achievements and particularly in the way they have allowed their mindsets be open to change, new ideas, ways of working and being collaborative and supportive as a group.

The Managers came from Simarco sites around the country: Witham, Stoke, Manchester, Bristol and Gloucester. They got to know each other, recognised the challenges of being countrywide and worked hard to form supportive relationships, bounce ideas off one another, address thorny issues and innovate for an improved way forward. It was a joy to witness!

To conclude the day, each Manager was presented with a framed certificate and they very kindly showed their appreciation to me with flowers and chocolates, which was lovely. Catherine Swann, Chris Martin, Jennie Roe, Liam Byrne, Marisa McFerran, Richard Jackson, Scott Hutchison, Steven Wherrett and Stuart Watt – thank you for being amazing participants, engaging with enthusiasm and optimism, applying the skills learned and for making the journey enjoyable, lively and fun! Congratulations to you all and I know you will continue the journey in ‘challenging yourself to be successful!’.

Tina Dulieu – Coaching Dynamics

Earth Day 22 April 2022

It seems only fitting to let you know that Simarco has become a member of Ecologi a climate positive environmental organisation who fund climate projects and tree planting around the world.  Their mission is to reduce 50% of global CO2 emissions by 2040 and responsibly plant billions of trees every year.  We are proud to say we will be part of their journey to help reverse climate change.  We have started planting our own forest and already have over 5,000 trees.   Click here to see where our forest is making a difference  https://ecologi.com/simarcointernational655

You can also be a part of this collective action by clicking the link below and follow the instructions….

https://ecologi.com/simarcointernational655?r=623c43481644e1fb9a934c6e

Celebrating 25 Years in business…..

2022 is an exciting year for Simarco celebrating 25 years in business with which Simarco has gained the reputation as one of the UK’s leading independent freight operators, offering logistics services and supply chain solutions to a global customer base.

Simarco operates from seven sites in the UK.  The Head Office remains at Witham and another six sites at Bedford, Bristol, Gloucester, Heathrow, Manchester and Stoke-on-Trent with distribution and warehouse facilities operating from Witham and Stoke-on-Trent.

We pride ourselves on great customer service, our team are always on hand to provide dedicated client support, and our state-of-the-art technology ensures we provide proactive real time and system reporting, as well as 24/7 online access to cargo so that our customers and partners remain in full control of their business.

Our main objective is to ensure that we always meet customers’ requirements regardless of size of shipment, location or time constraints.  We are a dedicated partner providing the logistics journey, offering flexible and effective supply chain solutions in the office, in the warehouse and out on the road.

Simarco are committed to a sustainable future and strive to increase the long-term environmental, social and economic value for all stakeholders. Our participation in the United Nations Compact Network and our adherence to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals help us accelerate our commitment to achieving sustainability across our supply chain.

“Thank you to everyone at Simarco for playing their part in our success.  And thank you to all our partners for their business and support over the years.”  Simon Reed, Chief Executive.

United Nations Global Compact Network 

Simarco International Ltd is pleased to announce that we have joined the United Nations Global Compact and the UN Global Compact Network UK — a voluntary leadership platform for the development, implementation, and disclosure of responsible business practices.

With this announcement, Simarco joins thousands of other companies globally and in the UK, committed to taking responsible business action to create the world we all want.

The UN Global Compact is a call to companies to align their operations and strategies with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment, and anti-corruption, and to take action in support of UN goals and issues embodied in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Launched in 2000, the UN Global Compact is the largest corporate sustainability initiative in the world, with more than 12,000 companies and 3,500 non-business signatories based in over 160 countries, and 69 Local Networks.

Simarco is proud to be a part of this prestigious network which is crucial to our 5-year road map to achieve our sustainable vision to create and enhance environment, social and economic values.

Ukraine Conflict Impacting Logistics

The conflict in Ukraine is already starting to impact logistics across all transport modes, with the potential for more disruption to come.

The most obvious being the impact rising fuel prices are having on costs. Following the UK and US oil ban on Russia and escalating sanctions, many experts are predicting that oil may rise to a record high of $200 a barrel by the end of this month. This would be double the cost of the beginning of this year.

UK & European Road Transport

We are regularly receiving updates on fuel surcharges and/or increased costs, due to the hike in fuel costs. The situation remains very fluid and pricing could potentially change weekly while hostilities continue.

Ocean Freight

Bunker rates have increased by one-third already this month, which will impact ocean freight costs – especially on longer routes such as Asia/Europe round trips. Lower demand from Asia had seemingly pointed towards an upcoming reduction in rates, which may be curtailed by the soaring fuel costs.

Air Freight

Fuel is also impacting air freight prices, which are generally on the rise since the conflict started. No fly zones over Ukraine, Belarus, and parts of Russia are also impacting some flights to and from the Far East.

Rail Freight

Rail freight services, to and from China, generally travel through Russia and either Ukraine or Belarus. While some services are operational, many shippers and importers are avoiding this mode of transport for fear that shipments may be snagged due to sanctions.

Needless to say, all services to and from Ukraine, Russia and Belarus have been impacted by the conflict or the sanctions.

The Simarco team continue to monitor the situation closely. In the meantime, should you require further information, then please do not hesitate to contact us via sales@simarco.com.

Championing International Women’s Day

It is International Women’s Day today, a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. To mark the occasion, we would like to thank and honour the many women in our organisation who continue to play such a critical role in our ongoing success.

One such trailblazer in Simarco is paving the way for more women to move into HGV driving, as she determinedly moves towards gaining her own HGV1 driver’s license.

Laura (pictured below) is aiming to be one of the 2% of heavy good drivers that are women.

Laura joined Simarco in November 2021 to work in transport as a van driver, although her intention was to achieve her class 1 driving licence.

After just a few months, Simarco recognised Laura’s ambition and have worked with her to help her complete her ADR course and achieve her theory tests for Class 1 driving.

She is now receiving advanced driver training, which starts with Class 2 driving theory and practise and progresses to Class 1.

Laura has always had a passion for driving and Simarco’s support alongside her own determination has led to her being close to achieving her goal in the next few months.

With the industry very short of drivers, increasing the number of women in HGV1 cabs could be critical to the global supply chain over the coming years.

Laura remains extremely grateful for the support she has received from Simarco, and is a great advertisement for other women considering a driving career.

Larson Juhl UK

Larson Juhl UK have a lengthy and trusted relationship with Simarco for their import requirements form the suppliers we source from in Europe mostly from Italy.

We have always had an efficient and professional service which has helped us maintain a consistent and reliable service to our customers.

We have always enjoyed a good working relationship as they are always responsive and helpfulWe are kept updated, through their tracking and informative data, and the trucks arrive on time.

During these continuing difficult times their willingness to help solve issues is very much appreciated

We look forward to many more years of excellent service from Simarco.

BOSS DESIGN

“Boss Design have worked with Simarco for many years and have always found them to be professional in their service, the staff are always willing to accommodate any special request we have and are quick to resolve any issues we face.”

Daren Jackson – Boss Design

DOMUS TILES

“We at Domus Tiles have been working with Simarco for several years.  We find the whole team to be friendly, professional, efficient and very helpful.   We do a huge amount of Italian road freight with Simarco weekly, using them for the majority of our direct to site and time sensitive deliveries due to their consistent reliability.  We also use them for all of our large format and slabs, due to continued careful handling of our special, very fragile and breakable loads.  Changes to delivery addresses and a whole host of other issues from customers are always handled quickly and expertly.  Over the years Simarco have always managed to save us from our even most challenging requests and even the most ridiculous request is handled with grace and humor.

We also use Simarco for the vast majority of our other Europe collections such as Portugal, Hungary, Spain and Turkey and we never fail to be impressed.

We look forward to our continued and very happy relationship with Simarco in the future.”

Caroline Morris – Purchasing Supervisor