Leading courier business Pack & Send are heading into next year in confident mood, boosted by the opening of their first UK ‘Logistics Service Centre’ in January.
Pack & Send are on the move, both professionally and physically. Thanks to increased demand during the past year, Pack & Send decided to expand their offering by building their first ‘Logistics Service Centre’ in Milford Road, Reading, which will also house company HQ. And they are planning to open five more of these centres around the UK over the next few years, which will revolutionise the way in which Pack & Send do business.
The logistics service centre will be one of two ‘bricks and mortar franchise propositions,’ to sit alongside its already successful retail service centre franchise model. Typically between 5,500 and 6,000 square feet in size, these service centres will offer a broader range of customer solutions, including palletised storage, pick-and-pack fulfilment services, while also being ready and available to assist Pack & Send‘s retail service centres – when required.
The company’s CEO in the UK, Mike Ryan, is thrilled that the first of these new centres will be opening early in 2021. He said: “We’ve spent the past 12 months finding the ideal site, and the fit-out is now nearing completion. We’re pleased to say that this particular location also gives us the space to incorporate our head office too. Our franchise colleagues in Australia already have six operational logistics service centres.
“Due to the increase in demand for large high-volume shipments, we plan to roll out similar hubs from the south coast up to Scotland. Our initial franchisee training, that used to start at our Reading retail service centre, will now move to the new logistics service centre on Milford Road, as of January. This move culminates a year of rapid growth for our network, as our services were classed as essential during the various lockdowns.”
The site in Milford Road is 6,000 square feet and provides a broader range of solutions than their franchise retail service centres. The last six months of 2020 has witnessed a 37% increase in sales, on the previous year, while enquiries were up 60%. And Mike added: “With such a platform to build on, it is set to be a bumper 2021 for the franchise network. This past year, our franchisees have been providing services for both major corporations and small businesses alike, as they got to grips with the challenges thrust upon them by the pandemic.
“It’s great to see how resilient and committed our franchisees are. When people needed them the most, whether it was repatriating students’ belongings from university digs, or sending gifts to loved ones, or moving essential office equipment into people’s homes, our franchisees held the solutions. I don’t think there’s a university we haven’t worked with this year. And the results speak for themselves: Our Trustpilot reviews show that we are the best in the industry.”
About Pack & Send: Founded in Australia 27 years ago, they began trading in the UK in 2009 and have developed a thriving franchising network. The company manage packaging, freight and message-sending services for businesses of all sizes, as well as individual households and tourists. They deal with a range of goods from a 20-gram letter to a consignment weighing one ton. Their message-sending services include both hard documents and electronic transmission. They sell packaging supplies of any size or weight, while handling goods that are fragile, large, awkward and valuable.
