Experienced business executive Peter Birks has taken over as CEO at loss-making British parcels carrier Tuffnells tasked with restructuring the business to return it to profit.
Birks, who took over the Connect Group subsidiary last month, has a wealth of experience in both distribution and retail, having held senior executive positions at successful companies such as Premier Farnell, Staples and 3M. His knowledge in the logistics industry will be invaluable to driving Tuffnells forward into FY19 with an invigorated customer-centric approach, the group stated.
This is the latest management change at Tuffnells where Allan Blakeley joined the company as Operations Director in September.
Tuffnells, which specialises in bulky parcels and freight, made an adjusted operating loss of £5 million in the year ending September 2018 compared to an adjusted operating profit of £12 million in the previous 12-month period. Revenue dropped by 4.4% to £175 million, with a disappointing second half-year, according to Connect Group.
The business has suffered from high turnover of drivers and depot managers over the last year, impacting on its service and performance. Operational performance was further undermined by the delivery and collection of Pass My Parcel volumes that also put pressure on core service. The parcel shop business is being transferred to DHL Parcel UK.
“With hindsight, the integration of the Group's operations and sales & marketing functions led to suboptimal service and a weakening of controls at a time when our competitors were more aggressively targeting our customers. The actions we have taken to strengthen management, improving service and accountability were implemented too late in the year to make a meaningful impact on peak trading,” the group admitted.
“In the light of the lessons learned, we have reintroduced dedicated operational and commercial management to Tuffnells. This supports a structured approach to recovery that will continue to address historical under investment in order to introduce a standard operating model, attracting and onboarding high quality revenue and achieving a more flexible cost to serve. A sustainable recovery will take time to achieve in full but we expect to see a gradual improvement to performance as the actions are implemented over the course of FY2019.”
