A mouth watering combination

Bondelivery has a customer portfolio of blue-chip companies that would make most hauliers’ mouths water. General manager, Val Smith revealed some of the secrets of the company’s ongoing success to John Loughran.

You really have to hand it to the people at Bondelivery. Operating from sites at Belfast, Aldergrove and Dublin, the company has built up an enviable reputation throughout the 32 counties for warehousing and distribution. The Bondelivery name has truly become synonymous with added value warehousing and distribution on this island.

Val Smith modestly puts the company’s success down to hard work, pure and simple. “We work very hard at building relationships with our customers large and small. We work hard at giving the customer added value. We work with the customer from placing the order right through to the delivery.”

This is not cliche. Bondelivery has more than 50 blue-chip companies on its books. House-hold names in ambient foods, white / brown goods, hanging garments, electronics and tobacco related products have all benefited from Bondelivery’s superior levels of customer service.

A cursory look at the company’s customer portfolio reveals that it has diversified into a number of niches. Val revealed the rationale in this thinking. “Northern Ireland is a very small market with only 1.5 million people. You need to develop into more than one market. We started out delivering tobacco related products, diversified into ambient foods, then electronics, hanging garments and finally white and brown goods. I believe the company has a better long term future through diversification.”

Bondelivery’s central philosophy of giving the customer added value hasn’t been diluted in the diversification process. To the contrary it has been strengthened. The company’s entry into the white / brown goods market has seen it deliver unrivalled levels of customer service. Its home delivery and installation service shows the lengths to which the progressive company will go to facilitate customer needs.

The company’s commitment to diversification and delivering exceptionally high levels of customer service is graphically illustrated in one prestigious contract in the white brown / goods sector. In a dedicated central warehouse, the company stores 7,000 individual product lines, comprising more than 50,000 units for the one customer.

A state-of-the-art computerised stock management system has been installed to facilitate the smooth flow of goods into and out of the warehouse, as well as warehouse binning, order picking, shop allocation and customer home delivery.
Running a fleet of 60 trucks (7.5 tonne and 18 tonne rigids) Bondelivery has developed a highly skilled and highly motivated driver base. The company’s policy of promoting from within has payed rich dividends. “Many of our drivers started off in the warehouse. We believe in promoting from within. We also take part on the ROSPA Driving Awards whereby our drivers receive extra training to develop their driving skills. Consequently we have a low turnover in staff.”

Apart from having an indepth geographical knowledge of Northern Ireland and the Republic, the company’s drivers all trained in home installations in a wide range of products.
This high level of staff training permeates throughout the whole operation. Val enthused: “We have a good team of people who have a good understanding of the business. That goes from the security staff right through to management.’

Bondelivery’s parent company McBurney Transport has proved to be an important ally in developing its preferred niches. McBurney Transport’s international dimension has allowed Bondelivery’s customers the option of utilising a comprehensive trunking facility as part of the overall package.
“We both have our own identities but we have a very close working relationship. We can factor in McBurney’s resources. They are the haulage specialists while we concentrate on warehousing and local distribution,” Val elaborated.

McBurney Transport is highly visible throughout Northern Ireland, the UK and the rest of the continent. This high level of visibility can have a reassuring effect on potential customers. “Some multi-nationals are reassured by the fact that we can call on the resources of McBurney Transport. Twinned with McBurney’s we can offer a comprehensive logistics package ranging from trunking from the UK or the Republic and delivery to our central warehousing facilities. We can also provide order picking, stock control, platform deliveries, groupage and pallet handling.”

Bondelivery has achieved its high level of success in the domestic market through researching, developing and implementing highly innovative growth strategies. “We have worked very hard to get where we are. I believe we are sensible as a company. At present we are consolidating so that we can give the customer the best possible service and the best possible value for money.”

However, Bondelivery is constantly looking at the marketplace. This most progressive company won’t rest on its laurels. Further expansion will take place in a planned and logical fashion.