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Supporting the Monsoon Accessorize Trust

Apr 28, 2024 | ,

The Monsoon Accessorize (MA) Trust was formed in 1994 to give back to the communities that the business source from. It has financed 262 sustainable development projects around the world, to deliver life-changing support to over 240,000 people and with your support it could do even more.

Helping women and children through education, health and income generation, the MA Trust has also supported emergency relief campaigns in India, Ukraine and most recently the Earthquake in Turkey and Syria, as well as for charities in the UK, such as  Grenfell.

The genesis of the MA Trust came after founder, Peter Simon’s overland journey to Asia, where he developed a strong compassionate interest in supporting women and underprivileged children, by tackling the key issues of healthcare and education.

Over the last 25 years MA Trust have worked with over 200 partners to deliver some life-saving and impactful developmental projects; from supporting survivors of domestic and sexual abuse by building a refuge centre to creating a sustainable livelihood for elderly women.

Since its formation in 1994 the MA Trust has raised over £7 million, providing grants for education, tackling poverty and community healthcare, while also running charitable projects that generate income and empower people.

This year, The Monsoon Accessorize Trust turns 30 and to celebrate this milestone and especially their projects and people on the ground, they are running a charity week from Monday 20th to Sunday 26th May, with a target of £150,000 to give back to vulnerable communities.

As a valued partner of Monsoon Accessorize we have contributed towards their target and would like to invite you to celebrate with us by making a contribution to the Monsoon Accessorize Trust. Simply click HERE to make a donation.

From raffles and pub quizzes, to sponsored marathons and charity bike rides, there are many ways you can help contribute to the cause. Click HERE to get the MA Trust Fundraising Pack.

 

India office workers

Strengthening global partnerships: India

Apr 17, 2024 | , , , , , ,

Metro’s main board recently completed a multi-city tour across India, as part of a strategy to fortify existing partnerships with key suppliers and to carve out new avenues for growth, by direct engagement with prospective customers.

The visit spanned several major cities including Mumbai and Bangalore, with multiple engagements and discussions focused on exploring opportunities within this key market.

The carefully curated itinerary and interactions were aimed at reinforcing the supply chain robustness, quality and continuity of the products and services offered.

Positive engagement with Jeena, Speedmark, 20Cube and Hapag-Lloyd strengthened existing relationships and laid the groundwork for future collaborations. The agenda was clear: to reinforce Metro’s commitment to its partners and to explore avenues for mutual growth and development.

India, with its vast industrial landscape, is a pivotal market in key verticals including automotive, industrial, retail, and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and it is the potential for growth in these areas that triggered discussions on long-term strategies and partnerships that would benefit all parties.

Signalling the board’s intent to expand Metro’s regional footprint, meetings were held with several large prospective customers, which focused on understanding their needs and aligning the business to support their success in the longer term.

The visit is a testament to the company’s proactive approach to business development and recognition of the importance of strong partnerships. By investing time and resources into these face-to-face interactions, the company is setting the stage to drive continued growth and success in the economically vibrant market in India and the wider sub-continent.

As a business we have several promising leads and look forward to further developing these opportunities through strengthened relationships that solidify Metro’s presence in these key global markets. The road ahead is promising, and with the insights gained from this tour, the company is well-positioned to navigate the complexities of this market with confidence.

We look forward to sharing future updates.

Our commercial and operations teams work closely with our partners across India and surrounding regions, processing air, sea and sea/air shipments.

If you have any questions, rate requests or would like any further information on our capability in India, please EMAIL our Chief Commercial Officer, Andy Smith.

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Metro is a certified Great Place to Work

Apr 17, 2024 | ,

Metro has been officially certified as a Great Place to Work, in an accreditation that recognises our commitment to create an outstanding, rewarding workplace, with a strong focus on building a positive culture and supporting individuals.

Great Place To Work (GPTW) Certification recognises employers who create an outstanding employee experience and is dependent on the successful completion of a two-step process that includes surveying employees and an audit of their workplace.

Anonymous employee feedback, independent auditing and expert analysis determine the certification outcome which, if successful helps job seekers identify an employer that genuinely offers a great company to work for.

The Great Place to Work team applies data from thousands of organisations to gain deeper insights, with targeted feedback and benchmarking to encourage continuous improvement. 

We wanted to see how we compared to industry peers and other businesses, but also to listen to where we can improve, so that we can be the ’employer of choice’ for the next generation of logistics and supply chain professionals.

Going through the GPTW certification provides a comprehensive measure of employee engagement, trust, wellbeing, HR and management practices, with Metro’s combined scorecard 40% above the threshold required to become Great Place to Work certified.

Metro’s Managing Director, Grant Liddell said “This is another important milestone in Metro becoming the employer of choice in our industry and I am personally delighted to know that my colleagues enjoy our work culture, feel safe, valued and treated fairly.” 

“I know that Metro is a great company to work for and this certification will attract new talent to share that experience, because it gives our HR team a recruiting advantage. They can demonstrate a globally recognised and research-backed verification of positive employee experiences that define a Great Place To Work.”

If you, or someone you know, would like to work with a progressive colleague-focused business, please EMAIL Paul Moss a CV, with covering letter.

metro tech

2024 tech road-map

Mar 20, 2024 | , , ,

Metro has been innovating leading-edge supply chain management, tracking and business-process technology for 20 years and in 2024 we will continue to increase our ability to integrate with stakeholders, share real-time data, accelerate workflows, automate processes and optimise our customers’ supply chains.

In 2024 we continue to focus on the core pillars of our technology strategy:

  • DigitalisationThe continued adoption of digital technologies that improve processes and create new opportunities
  • Digital twin: Creating indistinguishable digital counterparts to the physical supply chain
  • Platform Engineering: Accelerated development in customer facing applications
  • Big data: Integrate, manage, and analyse to uncover and deliver business value

The last quarter planning of 2023, including our cross-functional workshops, provided the springboard and momentum to start delivering against our product roadmap objectives, with the team achieving early successes in 2024 including:

January

  • Deployed comprehensive updates to our vessel tracking capability in MVT Track & Trace to provide customers with enhanced visibility, deviation reporting and insights resulting from the Red Sea crisis disruption
  • Development, launch and deployment of bespoke applications to provide enhanced control, visibility and regulatory compliance in specific parts of the supply chain for FMCG, Retail and Industrial & Manufacturing customers

February

  • Successfully completed the final cut-over from our legacy TMS to CargoWise CW1 product and initiated a continuous improvement programme to identify where we can drive further optimisation of business processes, with a blend of technology and automation
  • Successfully completed multiple system integrations to both customer facing (x6) and 3rd party (x1) systems
  • Initiated our ISO27001 information security accreditation, to demonstrate our commitment to compliance and cyber security practices in building customer confidence of our technology offering

March

  • Launched enhancements to our CW1 TMS and CUDOS customs platform application which further improves our customs clearance times and service delivery to customer
  • Further development to the Metro rebranding and new website, that showcases our services and commitment to deliver for our customers

These early successes spur us on to continue the delivery of our ambitious 2024-2025 plans.

We are excited to announce that we will be expanding the technical solutions team and, as part of our global strategy, we will leverage our wholly owned office in Chennai, India to base local developer talent to accelerate the pace of delivery.

We are confident that complementing our existing team with a cohort of colleagues in India will bring valuable insights, expertise, and creativity to our projects and help us achieve our vision.

If you know any high performing developers in India who are looking to join a dynamic, forward thinking and technology focused freight forwarder, please encourage them to submit their CV, via our careers page.

We are excited for what 2024 will bring and how our technology roadmap will aid the delivery of Metro’s strategic objectives.

Metro is leading the industry in developing the technologies and platforms that simplify and enhance optimal supply chain management.

Visibility, control, environmental, and customs modules, blend together with integrations of critical digital trade documents, including electronic bills of lading (eBL) to provide an unparalleled supply chain platform.

EMAIL Ian Powell for further Information on our digital capabilities and how we can support your global trade and business growth ambitions.

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