Metro Archives | Page 23 of 32

<strong>Client wins Exporter of the Year at the British Business Excellence Awards</strong>

Nov 16, 2022 | Exports, Metro

The premium mixer brand, Fever-Tree, has been named the winner of the “Department for International Trade Exporter of the Year Award” at the 2022 British Business Excellence Awards, in recognition of their exporting ability and a glowing accolade of Fever-Tree’s innovative spirit.

Fever-Tree began its journey in 2005, when its co-founders spotted that premium spirits were growing in popularity and that a similarly premium mixer was needed, to really enjoy the ‘premium’ experience.

Exporting has been a core Fever-Tree growth strategy from the earliest days, when the Fever-Tree team worked with UK Trade and Investment, the Government department then dedicated to enabling businesses to export.

In 2006, when they wanted to accelerate Fever-Tree’s overseas expansion, they participated in the UKTI Passport to Export programme, to help them prepare for new international markets, including Dubai and India.

Flavour and quality are of the utmost importance and the reason why Fever-Tree is now the no.1 global premium mixer brand, growing at twice the rate of the wider premium category, with 68% of annual turnover coming from export sales in over 50 countries.

Describing what the Exporter of the Year Award was seeking to commend, the awards committee explained:
“In partnership with the Department for International Trade, we were on the lookout for great ambassadors for British business abroad, those companies that have achieved the highest and most sustainable levels of international growth through exporting.”

Broadcast legend Sir Trevor McDonald OBE, who expertly hosted the awards:
“This winner’s expansion is what really impressed the judges here, with a clear plan that was executed strategically resulting in 35% revenue growth in Europe alone. Their UK products are now carbon neutral - a clear goal to achieve this globally by 2025!“

Craig Armstrong, Global Logistics Director for Fever Tree, recognised Metro’s support. “Please pass on my thanks to the Metro team for making sure we got critical stock to our key markets”.

Fever-Tree continue to work with UKTI to grow and promote the Fever-Tree brand overseas and are looking forward to breaking into new markets such as China, South Korea and South Africa.

The Lloyds Bank British Business Excellence Awards celebrate the resilience, innovation and creativity of the UK’s business community, with a year-long programme of content, networking events, roundtables and judging, culminated in a glittering awards ceremony in central London last week, with over 1,000 business leaders attending.

Over the past four decades Metro has crafted multi-modal export supply chains to help UK exporters like Fever-Tree optimise existing and break into new international markets.

Our hyper-secure, cloud supply chain management platform MVT, gives our exporting customers a USP, that they can share with their own customers, to provide data, real time visibility, and an array of online management tools to manage their inbound supply chain.

To review your situation, future aspirations for global growth, or for advice on entering new markets, please contact Chris Carlile or any of the Metro client team, to discuss your options and achieve your export objectives. We know how to assist in achieving your goals and leave you to the business of focusing on producing and selling your products.

Image courtesy of British Business Excellence Awards

Generation Logistics – a future career in the freight forwarding sector

Oct 5, 2022 | Metro, Training

An initiative by members of the logistics sector, trade associations and the Department for Transport (DfT), Generation Logistics launched this summer aims to build on the sector’s pandemic-linked profile boost and tackle the industry’s long-term recruitment issues.

Logistics providers played a critical role throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, delivering PPE, maintaining the global flow of essential goods and providing essential services - as key workers - during this most challenging time in our history.

By raising awareness of an industry often overlooked by those seeking employment, Generation Logistics will highlight the accessibility of those opportunities across all ages, locations and educational backgrounds.

Despite the sector’s high profile during the pandemic and employing over 2.6m people, the campaign’s research shows that 90% of the country has never considered a career in logistics.

The DfT has put £345,000 into the campaign which will be based on a new web portal carrying careers advice as well as job vacancies and will focus on demographic areas deemed to be “inclined towards taking up a role in logistics”.

Industry supporters have contributed an additional £350,000 and the campaign is backed by 24 private sector sponsors and 15 trade bodies including the RHA.

A particular focus for the campaign will be positively changing perceptions currently surrounding the logistics sector and - as a priority - addressing the shortage of skilled staff in roles like technicians, mechanics, warehouse staff and in new technology such as robotics and automation.

Generation Logistics is aimed at 16 to 24 year olds wanting to join the industry at any level from entry to degree, by showcasing the different career opportunities and roles that are available in the logistics sector.

One barrier to recruiting and training new talent for the industry has been a lack of suitable apprenticeships, but the logistics industry has now paid £700m into the Apprenticeship Levy and drawn out just £150m. Generation Logistics is a way of bringing more people into the industry.

The Department for Education (DfE) has also allocated £34m to fund skills bootcamps for HGV driving, though there have been fears that money might be being wasted due to DVSA bottlenecks in HGV driving tests.

Using a host of media tactics, and with a comprehensive information and recruitment hub hosted online, Generation Logistics is set to challenge perceptions about the opportunities which the industry provides.

Backed by businesses and trade associations from across the sector, supported by funding from the Department of Transport, the campaign is set to raise awareness of the roles available with groups that are currently under-represented in the industry, including those returning to work after a career break or those hoping to switch roles to a longer term career.

To help raise awareness the campaign is engaging multiple social media channels, including LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat and TikTok – search @GenerationLogistics or visit the hub at www.generationlogistics.org.

We are committed to attracting and developing the careers of the next generation of forwarding professionals.

Our training team helped design the 1st International Freight Forwarding Specialist Apprenticeship and now operate one of the most established apprenticeship programmes in our sector.

Working directly with universities, we offer comprehensive undergraduate placements, for students to experience the world of freight forwarding and join an expanding pool of potential post-graduate recruits.

We maintain personal development plans for all our personnel, to reach their potential and our Training & Career Development Manager, Colin Smith, leads the regional Young Forwarder Network for BIFA.

Golf day success despite clash with The Open Championship

Jul 21, 2022 | Metro

Metro’s golf day planners’ unintentional clash with the Open championship at St Andrews, proved not to be a critical issue, with competitors excited to be playing a course that has hosted numerous international tournaments, including the British Masters and the English Open.

The inaugural (as in first ever) Metro golf day, saw 20 competitors - a blend of customers, partners and colleagues - gather at the Forest of Arden Marriott Hotel & Country Club, in the heart of the country, to play the renowned championship Arden course.

With perfect weather and temperatures reaching 74° players had the chance to reinforce working relationships, on a more personal level and for Metro, an opportunity to thank customers for their valued support.

All in all, the golf day has proven to be a fantastic way to mix business with pleasure and given the overwhelmingly positive feedback from customers, the event will be repeated in 2023, possibly with some interim events!

Unlike the competition being contested at the same time, on the Old Course, birdies and pars were somewhat elusive on the Arden Course, although, after a competitive round the eventual winner did card a very creditable 35 points, which is just one stroke over a nett par round.

Congratulations to our worthy champion Mr Peter Kang and to the 19 competitors who qualified for the 2nd Metro Golf Day in 2023.

More to follow…and if you are partial to a round or two of golf, please make contact with Tom Fernihough, who will share any opportunities that we have for further events, that we will be organising, to alleviate the day-to-day stress and strains of the logistics environment.

Protecting employees and the environment

Jun 16, 2022 | Environment, Metro

Critics often dismiss Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as a gimmick, or short-term marketing ploy, but we are committed to give back and CSR is not just a responsibility it is our duty to society, which is why core environmental and employee welfare initiatives are continuous, with no timeframe to end them.

For the real cost of living

The longevity and experience of our team is a critical success factor for the business and highlights our commitment to a rewarding work environment, training and career development.

We are proud of our staff-retention and internal promotions, but we still need to attract new talent to join the business and see the freight forwarding industry as an attractive career choice, which us one of the reasons Metro is an accredited Living Wage employer.

The real Living Wage is the only UK wage rate that is voluntarily paid by over 10,000 UK businesses who believe their staff deserve a wage which meets everyday needs. It enjoys cross-party political support, with half of the FTSE 100 and big household names also accredited.

Signing up to the ‘Living Wage’ is a moral and ethical commitment by our management to (continue to) always do more than the minimum, which is why we haven’t even had to change anything to become accredited, as we already met all the criteria.

In committing to ensuring all our people, including third party contractors, will always be paid a wage that meets everyday needs, we join other major organisations including KPMG, Burberry, Nestle, Aviva and Google.

Achieving carbon neutrality

The UK’s Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDRs) bring together sustainability-related reporting requirements and will give insight on the environmental and social impacts of firms, but SDRs will have a long wait for legislative approval.

Metro is among the leading corporations that have already committed to SDR environmental transparency, by measuring and disclosing our environmental impact and working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, safeguard water resources and protect forests.

In 2021 we produced 139 Tonnes of C02 and offset this same amount into projects that are: protecting the Amazon rainforest; providing clean cooking stoves in Kenya; and providing renewable energy in India..

In offsetting these volumes, Metro is Carbon Neutral for:
Scope 1 - direct emissions/ owned/ controlled sources
Scope 2 - indirect emissions from the generation of purchased electricity, steam, heating etc.

Scope 3 is the indirect emissions that occur in our value chain, in delivering the services that support our customers. The ‘free of charge’ Eco module, that sits in our MVT supply chain platform, monitors the energy emissions, emission costs and CO2 equivalent emissions, of our customer’s consignments, by every mode. Which means that Metro customers can monitor the environmental impact of their supply chains and participate in offset projects that will eradicate their supply chain CO2 footprint.

To request a demo or discuss your requirements, please contact Simon George, who leads our technical solution team, or Claus Rasmussen to discuss carbon reduction strategies and the availability of offset projects.

VIEW MVT ECO WEB PAGE