Davis Derby Limited specialises in the design and manufacture of electronic control and monitoring equipment, software and data management systems.
Business Director – Davis Derby Limited
Our systems are used widely in the UK and overseas to aid productivity and improve safety in a range of potentially hazardous environments including materials handling. Davis Derby manufactures and installs forklift management system, TruckLOG, for a wide range of materials handling equipment fleets.
Richard Locke, Business Director, speaks to Warehouse and Logistics News.
What are your best-known products and services?
We have an extensive range of monitoring, control and communication products under the brand names of TruckLOG, MineWATCH and StedFAST. designed for the materials handling and extractive industries.
Within the warehouse and logistics sector our best-known product is the TruckLOG TK5, our advanced forklift fleet management system. TruckLOG is an OEMindependent system that offers a fully scalable solution from simple keypad or RFID managed access control through to our fully loaded business intelligence portal.
Which market sectors and countries are your customers in?
TruckLOG is fully scalable and can be used on a fleet as small as two up to more than 2,000, because of this our customers operate in many different sectors. The sectors that our largest customers operate include the FMCG retail, online retail, manufacturing, storage and logistics. Many of our customers operate all over the world with the largest retailers focussed in mainland Europe.
Who are your major customers and what do you do for them?
Some of our largest customers, and those we have been working with for a number of years, include major brands such as Sainsbury’s, GSK, Indesit, Boots and 3M. Our customer base varies greatly from global blue-chip companies to smaller manufacturers and retailers. The good relationships we have with our all customers is something that we are always committed to and each one is treated exactly the same, no matter what the size. Our promise to all our customers is that we help them maintain high standards in ‘safety, compliance and performance’ no matter what sector they operate.
How do your products benefit your customers’ businesses?
Davis Derby’s technology improves the safety, compliance and performance of their operations so the initial drive to have TruckLOG installed on forklift trucks often comes from two areas within the business, health and safety compliance and damage reduction.
Once our products have been installed, that’s just the start of the journey. The customer then has the benefit of developing the software to their exact specification. This includes programmed pre-operational checks, licence management, servicing, utilisation and optimising fleet efficiency. Customised reporting is part of TruckLOG that can save so much time and our customers really benefit from that.
Why should customers choose you as their main supplier in your area?
Davis Derby’s products are designed, manufactured and supported in the UK. We provide that personal touch from the start, our customer support and service is second to none. Our products are independent of OEM’s, so we can work closely with our customers to make sure the products serve their exact requirements.
We are also leading the way in how we provide data. Our reports can be tailored to a format that suits their system requirements creating meaningful data that they can use.
What’s business been like in the past year? How have conditions changed over this period and how have you reacted?
This year we have seen continued growth through all sectors that we operate, and we have diversified into new markets. GDPR has largely impacted our business and those of our customers because our software does monitor people and performance. For many organisations GDPR compliance has been completed but for Davis Derby this is something very different and has become an integrated way of working and processing data for clients.
How have you fine-tuned your offering in the last 12 months and why?
Our products are continually being monitored and fine-tuned as the market sectors we operate evolve at a really fast pace. Our focus is to offer hosted solutions which enables Davis Derby to support customers quickly and efficiently.
What recent enhancements have you made in customer service?
We are technology driven, so a lot of what we do is to support and improve the customer experience. An example of this is that we have rolled out a number of webinars to provide ongoing training and support to make this more of an interactive service.
What new products have you brought out?
We are constantly adding products to our portfolio. This year we have introduced Blue Spot, Red Stripe, camera systems and three options for speed zoning. For individual customers we have added many various and detailed bespoke reports and Business Intelligence options.
What factors do you see affecting your business in the coming year? How will you turn these into opportunities?
As we are fully aware automation is growing at a fast rate and this is affecting not only us but many of our customers and we have been working to integrate manual handing with automation. The opportunity is to continue to support our customers as they become more automated with the introduction of technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotic processes.
We used to talk about black boxes but the main growth area for us is to continue to support and work with customers to interpret and use business intelligence data and output meaningful Information.
Are you planning to branch into any new areas, target new customers and take on more people?
We have already started to branch out into new sectors providing customised solutions to non-MHE environments. For example, TK5 has been recently adapted to door access control and creating restricted access to machinery such as bulk handling equipment, lathes, glass handling machines to name a few…
Are you investing in new premises and extra staff? What about staff development and training?
We have recently moved to new premises and we are continuously supporting our staff with training. We have recently started a route and branch review of all the employees within the business to identify their growth potential and a possible training path.
Are you involved in any major trade shows or other industry events over the next year?
Yes. We have already started planning IMHX 2019 and Hillhead 2020. We also attend and exhibit and a number of H&S events and conferences in the UK plus a number of overseas exhibitions to support our customers and activities in those countries.
And finally, if you had to sum up your company in a tweet what would it be?
Davis Derby, providing innovative customerfocused fleet management solutions, empowering you to improve Safety, Compliance and Productivity within your business.
DAVIS DERBY LTD
01332 227500
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