When did you take up your position with the company and what does your role involve?
I began working at AnyVan in June 2104 and my role is mainly focused on managing and bring our our commercial (B2B and B2c) products to market then pushing for larger market share.
Who else is in the senior management team besides you?
We have a number of senior managers across the company that work across our departments. From Tech, design, HR to transport managers, In total we are at least 7 or 8 senior managers now.
How big is your organisation today?
We have over 70 people now at AnyVan working on all our products and territories.
What’s your USP that sets you apart from other companies?
I would say our extensive coverage, the size of our accessible fleet and our rates as a package. All of which together make for a great product without compromising the quality of our services. We will always have availability no matter how last minute the service booking is.
Can you tell us in more detail about what technology you use?
We have a large tech team in house and the vast majority of our tech is bespoke. From our apps to tracking, allocation and dispatch of reserved services, there is very little we outsource. All of our systems for the management of suppliers, clients and jobs has been built by our team.
Can you talk us through how clients use your services?
Clients have a secure account to which they log into and this gives them instant access to our huge supplier base. Then they simply book the van and transport type they require and book it on their account. Our tech and staff take care of the rest ensuring their booking is serviced.
What do you see as the biggest external factors currently driving demand for your services?
Demand and time. In the vast majority of cases and repeat business, it’s a question of the clients having this need to service their transportation needs often at the last minute and not having the time to shop around check availability and prices. We offer a quick cost effective solution that is always available. Clients know the price point will be good and they know if they book with us its as good as done.
What are the key elements for the business in achieving a positive customer service experience?
Quality of transport service. We achieve this trough a stringent recruitment procedure and a zero tolerance to any wrongdoing on the supplier base side of things, and the customer services support, which we run in house and will always do their utmost to support the customer at every stage of the service.
Another trend in business is for everyone to want integrated, seamless, joined up information. What are you offering in response?
We have a number of integrated services on our platforms. Full payment integration for our clients, also we have sms notifications from our systems to update clients on the statuses of their jobs and so forth. Nonetheless we are looking into other integrated solutions such as route optimisation for our suppliers. I’m sure we will look into other integrated options if they offer us benefits.
What opportunities and challenges have you been presented with in recent times?
The growth of e-commerce and general and the consumer trend of same and next day delivery for clients, have definitely created greater demand for on demand transportation. This is turn has presented us with a clear target for our sales team to go after these businesses and take care of their deliveries so that they can focus on their business itself.
How important is energy efficiency in your business and have you made any investment into energy saving recently?
Our business model works by sharing vans and creating better efficiency in terms of reducing the number of vehicles on the roads having to do empty runs. I believe it has already had a positive impact and we hope to continue this trend to a greater effect.
Are you taking part in any exhibitions over the next few months, to get your message across?
Currently we are focusing on applying marketing strategies to go after specific industry clients, as such exhibitions are not part of that plan.
Any plans for acquisitions or investments?
We constantly invest in R&D and are currently working on a series of projects that will be of great benefit for both our client base as well as supplier base. A new transportation management and dispatch system and a variety of integrations to better the already existing services.
If you could send a message to the Transport Secretary, what would it be?
Stop punishing and over charging the individuals and companies that need to be on the roads to make their living with overtaxing.
Where do you see the company going from here?
AnyVan is going from strength to strength and in the same way our initial website has changed the way consumers look and seek transportation services, I believe the commercial sector will soon follow and we will grow and attract enough clients to have substantial market share.
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