With over 18 years of experience in the UK, Rhenus Home Delivery offers an industry-leading, two-person last-mile delivery service, which is consistently recognised for its excellence – and having made monumental progress in 2023, the fulfilment champion is all set for further growth …
“Our focus lies in delivering first-class quality and exceptional service directly to consumers, driven by our unique understanding of this final stage in the supply chain,” states Rhenus Home Delivery UK.
“Since 2004, we’ve cultivated a culture of enthusiasm within the company that remains true to our family ethos. With our networks in 11 countries and three more national partner networks, we are the European market leader in the handling of home and living goods on the last mile. We transport around 7 million consignments every year, including furniture, white and brown goods, and fitness and garden equipment.”
Golden year
Reflecting on the significant strides it made in 2022, Rhenus Home Delivery UK embarked on an ambitious trajectory last year, setting the stage for impressive growth and innovation. Building upon the foundation of the previous year’s achievements, the company continued to elevate its operations, foster employee development, and “revolutionise the customer experience”.
The commencement of the year saw the finalisation of crucial upgrades at Rhenus’ Magna Park facility, a new, 260,000 sqft facility in Lutterworth which operates as an integrated CDC, enabling its team to pick and distribute using a JIT methodology. In addition, this facility offers specialised storage solutions tailored to the needs of customers from a variety of industries.
Rhenus also launched its state-of-the-art training facility, The Academy of Excellence, which includes classrooms and showrooms staged to simulate a real-world home environment, including a bedroom, living and dining rooms, two-way stairs and an assembly zone.
“As part of our ongoing commitment and investment into developing and upskilling our employees, our dedicated training team has been delivering an array of courses,” Rhenus explains “Health & Safety, Microsoft Excel, Customer Service, Prince2 and tailored management courses, to name a few.
“As a company, we are passionate about progress. Our technical trainer has recently become certified as a Category 4 Instructor through AITT (Association of Industrial Truck Trainers). This enables Rhenus Home Delivery to deliver internal and external MHE courses.
“At the facilities, our training officers have successfully trained all of our two-person delivery crews to ensure compliance with our five-star service standards.”
Point of contact
As the year progressed, Rhenus Home Delivery UK remained at the forefront of innovation, introducing cutting-edge updates to its warehouse and transport management software delivery to facilitate next-day and JIT delivery services. This comprised two elements: the ability to plan jobs with a high degree of accuracy; and the ability of the system to intelligently plan routes throughout the day with minimal touchpoints from planners.
Furthermore, Rhenus introduced communication platforms such as WhatsApp to provide personalised and efficient delivery experiences. “By refining our communication methods over the years, we’ve minimised wait times and failed deliveries, while at the same time transitioning from dedicated delivery slots to choice-of-day delivery, and now offering next-day delivery, all contributing to an exemplary customer experience,” says Rhenus.
“Hence, we consistently maintain our stellar five-star review rating on Trustpilot, supported by over 15,000 reviews, and our top-percentile NPS score of 81. The launch of our next-day delivery pledge marked a pivotal milestone, offering customers nationwide an accelerated and transparent premium delivery service.
Waste not
“We also bolstered our sustainability efforts by collaborating with The Planet Mark to attain property certification for our Magna Park location. This achievement underscores our dedication to minimising our carbon footprint, and reinforces our commitment to environmental responsibility.
“Our ongoing partnership with The Furniture Recycling (TFR) Group has seen us successfully recycle over 300,000 mattresses in just over three years – a collaboration that has enabled us to achieve a cost- and CO2-beneficial way of dealing with this difficult waste stream, by not only having the solution to the products’ end of life, but also moving with the evolution in supply chain requirements, and creating innovative processes to help customers deal with challenges such as increased rates of returns from online sales.
“Sustainable logistics remains a top priority as we strive towards a net-zero sustainable future. Indeed, we have a group-wide bid to become carbon neutral by 2030.”
New direction
Last year, Rhenus Home Delivery UK welcomed Ashley Walsh as its new logistics director. Ashley came equipped with an impressive background from Ash Logistics, bringing a wealth of experience and expertise to the role.
“What adds a unique depth to this journey is the shared history and connections involved,” Rhenus explains. “Ashley’s long-standing relationship with our MD Vinny Riley and COO Lucie Riley, coupled with previous collaboration with Rhenus, laid the groundwork for this transition.”
On his experiences with the business thus far, Ashley says: “Rhenus Home Delivery UK embodies the essence of excellence and achievement.
“Upon my initial visit early last year, I was astounded by the dedication, meticulous planning and unparalleled ambition evident in creating a top-tier home delivery operation in the UK. The decision to join Rhenus Home Delivery UK was effortless, driven by their outstanding commitment to delivering exceptional services.
“Since officially becoming a part of its incredible team in August, I’ve been on a journey, immersing myself in our operations and collaborating with dedicated professionals across the UK. I’ve aimed to not only maintain but elevate the high standards set by the Rhenus Group, aligning with our ethos of delivering nothing short of excellence.
“The journey thus far has been nothing short of remarkable, and I am excited to continue our journey of growth and success in 2024.”
