KSM Couriers - Torque Case Study
Case Study
It would be an understatement to say having the right van for a small courier business is fundamental to its success. But it is definitely true for Bradford based KSM Couriers who were the first Courier Exchange member to take advantage of the new 'Torque' member service van deals launched recently.
KSM Couriers is a typical small courier company. Totally committed to customer satisfaction, this family run courier business has the additional bonus of carrying 'transport in the blood'. Karl Stephen McMahon (KSM) has been driving Class 1 Heavy Goods Vehicles professionally for 18 years but in 2004 decided to go out on his own as a courier owner driver. Using some of his wife's redundancy money to buy his first van -a Blue Iveco Daily- it gave the fledgling courier business the right transport van for the start of their business.
KSM started out with one customer but has now developed eight key accounts which has enabled turnover to grow 500% by June 2006. This also meant that, far from spending more time with the kids at home following her redundancy, Karl's wife Katie now has a full time role in the courier business as well. KSM also employs a full time subcontracted courier driver to cope with the workload -often three van loads every day of the week.
This success also caused an issue in finding the right vehicles to help support and build the express courier business. Karl had targeted the Sprinter as the marque that could give him the right payload, operational flexibility-100,000 miles warranty and reasonable running costs. But, having recently been let down on delivery by the local dealers, KSM turned to the new 'Torque' member service for Courier Exchange members. 'Torque', as an exclusive members-only service, offers great deals on the most popular transport vans available in the UK. On the other hand, being an independent supplier with up to date information on all makes & models, it can provide your express courier with a totally unbiased view of the best transport van to suit your needs and budget as a freight company. The new service gave KSM a further 5% off the best price they were able to negotiate and the new Sprinter 315 with a high roof extra long wheelbase air conditioning and cruise control is now Katie's pride and joy as she navigates her home patch of West Yorkshire averaging 800 miles a day.
A typical day for Katie is having dropped the kids off at school, and collected her first courier load in Batley we are off to Bradford to the depot of a major parcels network to pick up an electric golf buggy. As this involves a two-man lift, Katie pops in at home to pick up her Dad who acts as an extra 'pair of hands' when required. Having recently retired from his career in transport he is only too happy to help his daughter and son-in-law build their express courier business. Needless to say the delivery point is a home address up a very narrow entry. This does not phase Katie who manoeuvres the long-wheelbase high roof Sprinter with ease in and out of the cul-de-sac demonstrating that transport vans can be as easy to drive as a car if handled correctly. We have time for a coffee break to get the next instructions over the mobile phone. Running a mobile courier office is just another complication in Katie's anything but 'average' day and with the admin run from the dining room of the house VAT returns and PODs often have to wait until the early hours of the morning. "We are looking for an office but Karl likes to keep control of everything so running everything from home is the plan".
Back on the road, Katie is complaining about the state of the roads, the potholes and the amount of traffic. "These are the two main bugbears of the job," says Katie. And it is getting worse for any courier owner driver. With KSM's main client, an air venting supplier, they travel throughout the UK delivering equipment to new build and refurbishment sites, they have found that arrival times of a delivery service can vary by up to 2 hours even in the early morning. "The best bit of motorway is definitely the M6 north of Preston", Katie muses. She is also not happy about the lack of professionalism in the transport industry which leads to everyone 'cutting each others throats' to stay in the courier business.
But stay in business they plan to do. "We are working all hours and doing this for our kids' future," says Katie and with the help and support from the family, neighbours and friends somehow she manages to squeeze every courier delivery in by Friday evening. The weekends are definitely for the kids and Karl, not for the courier business, Katie concludes.