Meet Mark! Mark is our Regional Distribution Manager and has been working with us for just under four years. Mark was kind enough to chat to us about his roles and responsibilities.

Talk me through a typical day.

Overseeing both the contract logistics and import / export groupage for my site means no day is ever the same.

I start the day by reviewing our logistics activities and checking to see whether there are any urgent enquiries from the previous night.

The team then holds a daily operations meeting to review our resourcing requirements and future activities; this helps us plan our inbound and outbound movements.

Weekly calls are also scheduled in with our customers to ensure we are providing the highest level of customer service.

Health and safety are also one of the largest responsibilities in my role, so I am constantly walking the warehouse to ensure our employees are safe.

What do you find interesting about your role?

I love how varied my role is, I never have a typical day, and everything is always so different.

Because we deal with multiple customers things are always changing; each customer has a different working model, and their requirements are unique to their business’. 

I enjoy the people and the atmosphere on my site, we all work as a great team and have a ‘can do attitude’; I enjoy the responsibility of looking after the site and my team.

What would you say to someone thinking of joining logistics?

It is a big industry with a lot of different aspects, and there is more to the industry than people realise. People often overlook the back-office administration and don’t realise how their work effects the supply chain.

What interesting changes have you seen in the freight industry over the course of your career?

The biggest changes that I have seen over the years is the development of Ecommerce. When we started seeing more production in China, we started seeing a large volume increase in exports and imports; this meant more distribution in the supply chain.

Technology has also moved on, with customers’ expectations and buying habits changing.

Many years ago, customers returned items to store, now with an increase in Ecommerce sales, returns are being issued online which adds another process to what we do.

Regarding contract logistics the fundamentals haven’t changed but the expectations and technology on how it is handled has.

An egg-stra special Easter for our friends at The Peter Pan Centre.

Colleagues from our Stoke depot kindly donated a variety of delicious Easter eggs to local charity, The Peter Pan Centre.

The local charity provides support for children with special educational needs and provides a wealth of assistance to the children’s families.

The charity will kindly donate the chocolate eggs to families who utilise the centre. Let’s hope the Easter eggs are all they’re cracked up to be!

We’re delighted to announce the arrival of sixteen new high spec vehicles to our ever-expanding fleet.

With an investment of £1.9 million we’re proud to upgrade our fleet with sixteen of the highest specification trucks, ranging from twelve to forty-four tonnes.

Our new arrivals will be hitting the roads delivering high value distribution services to all our customers.

@simarco

#newfleet #logistics #distribution

Last week we were delighted to welcome William to our North Staffordshire site as we introduced him to the world of logistics, all part of his school’s work experience.

Let’s see how William got on…

Tell us about your week:

I really enjoyed my week and got to experience lots of different aspects of the business – there is so much more to logistics than I realised. I started my week by learning what was involved in organising export jobs and I even had the opportunity to schedule some myself.

I spent a day on the road with a truck driver; this was by far my favourite. I got to experience the inside of a cab and what is involved in driving, delivering, and collecting.

I then spent a day working in the warehouse with the Contract logistics Team and learnt about picking and packing – the team were great and made me feel extremely welcome.

Towards the end of the week, I sat with the quotes team and learnt what was involved in quoting.

Do you have better knowledge of logistics?

Yes, I didn’t realise there were so many different aspects, and it was great to experience the business from all different angles.

Have we exceeded your expectations?

I really enjoyed my week; it was better than being at school! The people are friendly and made me feel extremely welcome.

Would you consider a career in logistics?

Yes, I would. I would be interested in doing an apprenticeship when I finish school, perhaps in business so it can help me develop into a vast choice of career opportunities.

I thoroughly enjoyed being here, and I felt I learnt more as it was hands on. Being thrown into the everyday workings made me feel like part of the team and it opened my eyes to what it is like in the working world.

Simarco celebrate two years of climate change with the Ecologi project.

14,310 trees planted, 175 tCO₂eavoided and twenty-nine projects funded over the course of a twenty-four-month period with our continued dedication to the support of the Ecologi project.

Ecologi, a family run business with a passion to address environmental impacts and restore nature has funded the planting of over 60 million trees and prevented the loss of 2.5 million tCO₂e with the aid of their 40,000 members.

Over the course of our two-year period our CO₂ avoidance has helped prevent the equivalent of 135 long haul flights, 527 metres² of sea iced saved or 435,639 miles driven in a car!

We are delighted to report that we have aided the planting of 14,310 trees across eighteen Ecologi projects, including:

1. 5,612 trees at the Mangrove planting project in Madagascar
2. 2,732 trees at the Flourishing Future for Gewocha project in Ethiopia
3. 1,456 trees at the Forest Restoration project in Kenya

We are wholeheartedly committed to doing what we can to build a sustainable world around us, prioritising both people and the planet.

Today we mark the celebration of International Women’s Day; a day where we raise awareness and celebrate the achievements of women to drive gender parity across the world.

Team Simarco is proud to be an organisation which brings equality and diversity to its workforce, and we are committed to support and develop our employees at all levels in our organisation.

Today we introduce Steph, a Warehouse Picker from our North Staffordshire Depot.

Can you share your journey into the world of warehousing? What inspired you to pursue a career in this field?

I have worked in warehousing for fifteen and a half years and I love it. I have tried office-based jobs, but they didn’t suit me as I enjoy getting involved. I have been with Simarco for 8 months now; I am with a great team, and we all mix in to get the job done.

What does a typical day look like for you?

My role is really varied – no day is ever the same (which I love). I start my day by checking our system and seeing what orders need processing. Our customers all have different requirements, from different pallet types to personalised labels, so it’s imperative I know all the different processes.

When processing an order, I get involved with everything from packing, labelling, handballing, compliance control (making sure pallets and heights are correct, cartoon sheets are attached, and orders are processed correctly).

As I am out of the warehouse floor I am in constant communication with our office-based Contract Logistics Team to ensure that all orders are processed correctly and in a timely manner.

I have a great routine as I get to balance working and personal life.

Have there been any specific challenges you’ve faced as a female in the warehouse industry? How did you overcome them?

I am the type of person where I give as good as I get so I do not feel like I have ever been put in a position where I have faced a challenge due to my gender.

I really enjoy the warehouse atmosphere and there is always lots of laughs and jokes; it’s all about getting involved and working together not against one another. 

What advice would you give to young women who are considering a career in warehousing or logistics?

Warehousing and logistics are not just a male dominated environment; there are lots of women who also work in this industry and there are many skills you can learn along the way.

My job role is diverse, which means I get to learn all elements of logistics and there are great opportunities to learn a variety of skills.

If you need help on a task – ask! It doesn’t matter whether your male or female everyone needs help at some point in their working lives.

It’s also about teamwork; if you have a great team who all muck in and support each other then it doesn’t matter the gender.

Last week we welcomed BMX Champion Ruby Moores to our North Staffordshire depot to hear all about her 2024 race plans.

Thirteen-year-old Simarco sponsored Ruby Moores from Stoke-on-Trent popped down during her February half term break to tell us all about her up and coming trip to America.

Next month Ruby will be travelling to the United States to race at Rock Hill BMX Supercross Track where she has been invited to compete with an American BMX Team.

Rock Hill Supercross Track is also home of the 2024 UCI BMX World Championships where Ruby will be competing in May to defend her World number 5 title! This is a fantastic opportunity for Ruby, and she is extremely excited about racing on the American scene.

To add to her busy schedule, Ruby will also be competing in the British National series which takes place over ten rounds starting next month in Manchester, The British Championships in August, regional competitions throughout the summer season and she is also hoping to race a European cup round during the race season. Wow, what a line up!

Team Simarco is proud to be part of Ruby’s exciting year ahead and we can’t wait to hear all about her first international BMX trip.

All the best Ruby!

To celebrate National Apprenticeship Week, our Senior Leadership Team hosted a lunch for all our Apprentices.

The lunch was the perfect opportunity for our Apprentices to showcase their work, feedback on their learning and development and celebrate their achievements so far.

Our Apprentices also got the opportunity to delve into the lives of our Senior Leaders and discover what they have been up to in our organisation. 

HR Director, Sairah Knight said, “Here at Simarco, we have long valued and appreciated the role of apprentices in our continued success. This was not only a lunch, but an opportunity for the Senior Leadership Team to demonstrate both our support for but also learn from our amazing apprentices”.

Simarco Stoke were delighted to spread the gift of love yesterday as they wore purple in support of local charity, the Peter Pan Centre.

The Centre, a Newcastle-Under-Lyme based charity is an organisation which specialises in the education, care, and development of children with special educational needs.

Simarco celebrated the day of love, by joining the organisation on their annual ‘Wear it Purple’ for Valentines Day fundraising campaign; Simarco’s donations go a long way in supporting the foundation and giving families and children with special needs the best support and start in life.

The centre supports the development of their children by offering bespoke care and development sessions which focuses on growth, communication, and social skills. With charities such as this being an integral part of the community we will always be dedicated to the support and commitment of community-based projects such as the Peter Pan Centre and we wish the charity and its children all the best this Valentines Day!

We’d like to say a massive Congratulations to Phoebe who has recently passed her NVQ Level 3 in Business Administration – what a fantastic accomplishment!

Team Simarco is committed to the learning and development of our employees and always go above and beyond to support career development within the business.

We are so proud of all our apprentices and thank them for their hard work and contribution to our business each day.