BIFA add Metro to critical Brexit list

Driving road freight excellence

Mar 11, 2024 | , , ,

Into his second year Metro’s European Director, Richard Gibbs, updates us on his mission to develop the infrastructure, systems and services that will provide the best European transport solutions, for effectiveness and cost efficiency. 

“Metro has expanded its European road freight platform considerably in 2023, growing the dedicated commercial and operational team by 12 and we are forecasting the continuation of this trajectory in 2024, with a 100% further increase in shipment numbers.

European road freight, cross-trade movements and associated customs operations are managed by teams located at our Global HQ in Birmingham, Manchester and Desford.

These dedicated road freight teams leverage their extensive knowledge, market expertise and unrivalled customer service to deliver efficient, road transport solutions, with full visibility and dashboard control available via the MVT supply chain management platform.

It is the teams’ attention to detail and focus on the little things that achieves the ideal balance of lead-time, capacity, frequency and cost, to transform standard road freight services into something very special, that meet every supply chain need.

Departing daily from around the UK and Europe; our secure full load services embrace general cargo, temperature-controlled, garment logistics and out-of-gauge shipments.

Larger part-load movements, over 1,500 kilos, are collected, transported and delivered on the same vehicle which ensure maximum reliability, security and speed.

For urgent shipments we provide an all-in price, transit time and booking for European Express van shipments, including guaranteed next day delivery.

With defined departure and delivery dates, our groupage services are the perfect economical solution for smaller cargo loads. Reliable door-to-door solutions, with easy booking, seamless customs processing and online tracking.

Cargo is received continuously at our midlands hub and continental freight centres for daily groupage departures to and from destinations across Europe, with Q2 expansion of groupage services to/from France/Germany/Benelux/Turkey and Iberia.

Continued growth in customer demand and team members means the team in Manchester has recently increased its office footprint (see pics below) and their road freight colleagues in Desford are in the process of relocating to a new location, which is 500% larger in Earl Shilton, Leicestershire.”

To learn more about our European capability, including FTL/LTL, groupage, express, customs brokerage (CuDoS) and distribution (DDP) solutions EMAIL Richard Gibbs.

Metro etching

Metro’s Business development Director

Feb 21, 2024 |

With over ten years in commercial management, we are very pleased to welcome our new Business Development Director, Emiliano Muco BSc (Finance). Since graduating from the University of Hertfordshire Emiliano has held a variety of roles with some of the biggest names in freight forwarding and brings a wealth of experience covering all modes and geographies.

Emiliano joins the business at an exciting time, as Metro undergoes its biggest transformation in years, with new leadership, new senior management team, new branding, enhanced technology and a renewed focus on people development, customer service and business growth.

As Metro moves forward, Emiliano’s wide ranging experience will be invaluable in developing our full portfolio of services, encompassing global multi-modal transport, customs brokerage, supply chain management, 4PL and contract logistics.

Talking about his new role, Emiliano said. “With a large forwarder’s capability and a small forwarder’s customer focus, Metro already provides its customers with significant benefits, but when you combine those USPs with their leading-edge technology, it takes the Metro proposition to a whole different level. I am genuinely excited by my opportunity here.”

Grant Liddell, Metro’s managing director. “We welcome Emiliano to the team and wish him every success in his new role. His skills, experiences and accomplishments will be invaluable in helping us to increase our market share, customer base, and profitability. Emiliano will play a pivotal role in developing our service portfolio and driving revenue growth by identifying new business opportunities and expanding Metro’s presence in our markets.”

As of the middle of February, Emiliano is six weeks into his new Metro role and just four weeks away from his first baby’s due date!

If you need a second opinion on a logistics question or have a tender coming up soon, there is still time to EMAIL Emiliano before he starts his paternity leave.

Ellerman boxes

Our unique transatlantic shipping line

Feb 21, 2024 | , , , ,

We have been supporting bi-lateral UK/USA trade, with air and sea freight services, for over four decades, which is why we are so excited by our in-house shipping line, Ellerman City Liners, transatlantic capacity deal with the world’s biggest shipping line, MSC.

Ellerman’s weekly sailing United States Express Service (USX) is supported by our own offices and delivers some of the fastest containerised transit times available – direct to Philadelphia from just 13 days – and because it utilises non-congested ports and terminals, port clearance and inland movements are seamless too. 

USX is the only direct service operating to and from Jacksonville, serving the Baltic, Scandinavia, Europe and the United States, with four calls on the East Coast, including Philadelphia.

The MSC and Ellerman City Liners agreement utilises a combination of MSC capacity and our own independent vessel between ports, with a set weekly volume and an option to increase as required, covering dry and refrigerated containers.

Pasquale Formisano, Senior Vice President of MSC, said, “I’m very pleased we’re extending our strategic partnership with Ellerman, one of the shipping industry’s great names. This agreement is all about efficiency. Guaranteed cargo means we can operate at maximum capacity and, therefore, minimise the environmental impact of each TEU we carry. The more we can do that, the more we can reduce emissions.”

Peter Andrews, Commercial Director of Ellerman, said, “We are delighted to announce this co-operation with MSC, the world’s largest shipping company. This agreement allows Ellerman to operate with greater efficiency, reducing our environmental footprint whilst also broadening our geographical scope in both Europe and the United States.”

The agreement covers routes between ports in Sweden, Poland, Lithuania, Germany, UK, Belgium and France, and ports on the Atlantic Coast of the United States, from New York to Florida. It also includes the capacity to extend services to include routes around the world.

The Ellerman US Express (USX) service has a complete port rotation of Klaipeda – Gdynia – Gothenburg – Bremerhaven – Felixstowe – Antwerp – Le Havre – New York – Philadelphia – Norfolk – Jacksonville.

ELLERMAN CITY LINERS – United States Express Service 
– Fast and reliable transit times with a weekly service
– Tailor made end to end solutions
– Direct port calls in Scandinavia and Baltics 
– Own offices in Spain, Portugal, UK and Germany 
– All equipment types offered
– Only direct sailings to/from Jacksonville
– Fast & reliable transhipment options 

To learn more about our USX solutions, please EMAIL Chief Commercial Officer, Andy Smith.

Header image reproduced courtesy of Ellerman City Liners

BIFA trophies

Freight industry award finalists

Feb 7, 2024 | , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The British International Freight Association (BIFA) is the trade association for the freight, logistics and supply chain management sector. Their annual Freight Service Awards are the industry’s most contested and highly sought trade awards, because peer recognition is the ultimate accolade.

BIFA’s 35th and biggest Freight Service Awards – with over 500 attendees and a 30% increase in award entries – took place three weeks ago in the City of London, with Metro overcoming the increased competition, to be selected as finalists in the Sustainable Logistics and Specialist Services categories.

Grant Liddell, Metro’s Managing Director. “Our solutions, technology and customer focus are truly leading-edge and being selected as finalists in BIFA’s Freight Service awards yet again is recognition of that capability and is an independent endorsement of the value that we deliver consistently.”

Metro’s submission for the Sustainable Logistics Award described how a client’s commitment to create more sustainable supply chains was supported by three Metro initiatives, that focused on their critical air freight channel.

Over a two-year span Metro created:
1. A cloud-based tool to measure and monitor the CO2 emissions of every shipment
2. Became the first UK forwarder to invest in the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) programme
3. Participated in Sustainable Flight Challenges to generate CO2 savings exceeding 37%

The critical insights gained from the Sustainable Flight Challenges were invaluable in developing the operational templates that are now paving the way for a more sustainable air freight channel for the featured client.

Metro’s focus in the Specialist Services Award category was to highlight the value that we add, to enhance the freight element, and the difference that makes to our customers.

The Metro entry, chosen by the judges as a finalist, outlined how, at a time of limited transport capacity, a car manufacturing client’s finished vehicles were safely shipped to international markets, using a solution that reduced transit times, cut costs, lowered emissions and avoided disruption at destination.

By building connectivity between Metro’s supply chain management platform and the client’s ERP system, together with visibility of critical supply chain milestones, the client could grant their dealers direct access to Metro’s visibility tools, providing reassurance on vehicle orders in transit.

With Metro’s solutions the client could continue delivering customer orders in a challenging environment, with the solution running for over 12 months, to protect tens of millions in sales.

If you would like to learn more about the solutions highlighted here, please EMAIL Andrew Smith, Metro’s Chief Commercial Officer. 

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