The achievements of both companies and individuals across the warehousing and third party logistics (3PL) sectors were recognised at UKWA’s Annual Awards for Warehousing 2016 ceremony, which was held recently at London’s Dorchester Hotel.
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The event’s celebrity host, Nick Hewer, the former PR guru and advisor to Lord Alan Sugar on the popular television programme, The Apprentice, presented a total of nine awards. The winners were:
Best New Warehouse Member: Bullet Express
25 years ago Bullet Express started as a courier company with one van. The company now has over 100 pieces of kit and an annual turnover in excess £10m. Bullet continues to grow and recently acquired a new warehouse facility that offers seven times the pallet storage capacity of its existing unit. The company’s goal is to be storing over 20,000 pallets by the end of this year.
Junior Manager of the Year Award:Daniel Radford, B&H Worldwide
Daniel Radford has been working as a valued member of the B&H organisation for the last six years. He joined the company as a member of the team that handles B&H’s Qantas account and rose through the ranks to the position of Team Leader for UK and Europe. Daniel has been in his current role for 15 months and his day-to-day responsibilities include overseeing inventory control at four B&H offices in London, Miami, Singapore and Sydney. In the view of judges, Daniel demonstrates outstanding personal and professional qualities and his progress at B&H Worldwide confirms his leadership potential.
Warehouse Manager of the Year: Tomasz Pietrak-Owazany, Aztek Logistics Ltd
Tomasz Pietrak-Owazany started with Aztek Logistics Ltd in December 2013 as a warehouse operative. By the following August he had been promoted to the post of Warehouse Manager, and since then, has gone on to make a considerable impact on the effective running of Aztek’s warehouse operation. The judges were influenced by the words of Aztek’s founder, Stuart Charter, who praised Tomasz for the way he has embraced the ethos of working safely, efficiently and effectively, whilst at the same time creating a positive and enjoyable atmosphere for his warehouse team.
Environment Award: The Finishing Line
Incorporated in 1987, The Finishing Line handles much of the magazine volume that is finished in the UK. A common promotional feature of the magazine industry is “value added gifts” on the front cover. By highlighting the opportunity to re-use these gifts and working with publishers to do so, The Finishing Line estimates that during 2016 over three million magazines and gifts will be diverted from landfill – the equivalent of a saving of 522.4 tonnes of CO2 – undoubtedly a most significant and successful application of the kind of ‘Green’ thinking the judges sought in this category.
Technical Innovation Award: The Warehouse Auditor
The Warehouse Auditor App was released to the market in March 2016. A paperless system, it is a unique combination of service and software for measuring and managing continual warehouse or distribution centre improvement. Against a shortlist of some very technical entries, the judges recognise The Warehouse Auditor as a highly valuable and relevant tool to help UKWA members and the warehousing sector to continuously improve standards
Training & Education Award: Colin Snape
Three companies were shortlisted for the UKWA Training & Education Award – Import Services Ltd, Elddis Transport Ltd and Maxim Logistics Group. All three were acknowledged to have delivered exemplary programmes for Training and Education, and all received a special recognition of excellence in this area. However, the main Award went to Colin Snape to acknowledge the special achievement and huge progress made for the industry with the development of new apprenticeship standards. As the employer chair of the Supply Chain Trailblazer group, Colin’s personal determination and hard work has delivered new apprenticeship standards for Warehouse Operatives, LGV Drivers, and Traffic Office Operators, all tailor-made for the industry. He has led the negotiations with the Department of Business Innovation and Skills, aligning industry apprenticeship standards to a more appropriate funding cap. The logistics industry is grateful for Colin’s help in creating a framework to bring new young talent into our industry.
Young Employee of the Year Award: Abbie McGuffie, Peel Ports
The success of Peel Ports’ multiuser warehousing offer is down to the organisation’s Mersey Cluster team and a rising star within this group is Abbie McGuffie, Multiuser Warehouse Contracts Executive. A spokesman for Peel Ports’ commented: “Abbie’s skills, competence and commercial acumen is an inspiration within our organisation, she is a natural leader who sets the standard for others within her team. Her unique skillset has a direct and measurable impact on the success of our multiuser warehousing offer.” In short, Abbie is an excellent role model who has already produced results that point to a bright future – precisely the attributes the judges were looking for. Customer Service Award: Voiteq The judges sought evidence of customer insight and a customer focused culture within the organisation. All three finalists were able to demonstrate an in-depth understanding of customer needs as well as effective ways of measuring the results of their services and customer satisfaction, but the overall winner was Voiteq. Voiteq is a leading global provider of voice-directed work solutions and the judges were particularly impressed by testimonials from the company’s clients praising Voiteq’s detailed attention to customer needs and ongoing focus on customer service excellence.
Warehouse Company of the Year: Miniclipper Logistics Ltd
In making their decision, the judges looked for evidence of a highly professional, well-motivated, and wellled company that embraces new technology, displays a sensitive and proactive approach to environmental issues and the surrounding community and is both profitable and expanding. The winner, Miniclipper Logistics, has evolved from a groupage haulier to a full service 3PL and the company’s warehousing business is currently growing at a rate of 38 per cent a year.
Chairman’s Award: Michael Pepper, Great Bear Distribution
Michael Pepper has spent a long and successful career within the logistics and supply chain sector. He has held senior positions at some of the largest companies in the industry and for the last 20 years has been responsible for sales and marketing of Great Bear Distribution’s warehouse and transport logistics markets. A former chairman of the Bonded Warehousing Association and a long time member of UKWA’s management board, Michael is a true professional, whose many friends in the industry value his broad experience, good humor and helpful and genial approach to business.
“Michael is a fine example of all that is good about our industry, and it is fitting that we can recognise his successful career and contribution to logistics with this Award,” said UKWA chairman, Tony Mohan.
This year UKWA received a record number of entries in all categories and the finalists and overall winners were chosen by UKWA chairman, Tony Mohan; Lloyd Arkill, Editor of UKWA’s Warehouse newsletter; Mark Millar, international author and supply chain expert; and UKWA’s CEO, Peter Ward.
Peter Ward commented: “UKWA’s Awards are established as symbols of achievement in the 3PL sector and emphasise the importance of logistics within today’s economy. The high number and quality of the entries we received underlines the professionalism that runs through the modern logistics industry.”
Over 450 UKWA members and their guests, together with suppliers to the warehousing industry, attended UKWA’s Awards for Warehousing 2016. In a pre-lunch raffle over £9,000 was raised for Transaid – the international development charity.
UKWA
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