Following on from continued commercial success, Moran Logistics is well-positioned to grow the business and is actively looking at ways to operate with greater sustainability.

You may remember Moran Logistics from prior issues of Transport & Logistics Magazine. When we last spoke with the company, ambitious plans were in place to drive expansive growth across the operation in line with the rising demand for temperature-controlled logistics services. Furthermore, the company announced its plan to expand investment into key operational areas, covering both the fleet and also in expanding its commercial teams. Roll forward to today, as of March, 2024 and Moran Logistics appears well and truly on the road to success.

About Moran Logistics

Established by Harry Moran in 2006, Moran Logistics is a family-run and owned business which has come to be recognised for its expertise in multi-temperature logistics solutions and an intrinsic focus on quality service. Able to provide a one-stop-shop service, the company is able to deliver a combination of multi-temperature transport, warehousing, and co-packing services to ensure a high standard of service in every aspect of the logistics function.

At present, Moran Logistics operates across 12 operational depots in: Castle Donington (HQ), Manchester, Runcorn, Wednesbury, Lutterworth, Belvedere, Leeds, Oswestry, Doncaster, Peterborough, Luton, and Avonmouth. In total, the organisation boasts warehousing space in excess of 250,000 square feet and an expansive fleet of over 200 vehicles. The company is able to handle a combination of ambient and chilled goods, however is known to specialise in the movement and storage of chilled product for the food, drink, and pharmaceutical sectors.

Operational Investment: Fleet & Talent

As a family-oriented business, Moran Logistics has always gone the extra mile in caring for its team members and valuing their contributions to the business. With a number of the organisation’s people having been with the business since day one, it’s an effort that has certainly paid off in returns. That said, with the company’s drive towards commercial growth in mind, the firm has doubled down on these efforts to try and position itself as an employer of choice, all in a bid to attract new talent and ensure its ability to retain the talent that it currently has.

Alongside ensuring stability in the terms of work available to drivers, an inclusive work culture, and high standards of vehicles for drivers to work with, Moran Logistics is especially known for taking driver feedback and constructive criticism incredibly seriously. Indeed, before any new investment or operational change, Moran Logistics makes a keen effort to engage with its drivers, draw in their feedback, and ensure that any purchasing decisions are informed by the will of the drivers. Notably, these efforts have also been extended into new areas of the business also, including new garage facilities that can ensure constant operational up-time.

Simon Tarrant, Commercial Director of Moran Logistics explained: “We put a lot of investment into our people and we want to ensure they stay very much with the business. A big part of that, from a driver comfort perspective, is making sure that considerations and feedback are taken into account. But it’s not just about our drivers, as we’ve also invested into having dedicated, on-site vehicle maintenance facilities. Our purchasing decisions are very much based on efficiency, reliability, suitability for the profile of our customer, and the feedback we get from our people.”

In terms of the fleet investments made, Moran Logistics recently added a further 17 new Volvo FM 460 6×2 tractor units to the fleet, which follows on from continued efforts to modernise and expand the fleet. The new vehicles are powered by Euro 6 compliant Step E engines (in fact, the entirety of the fleet is now Euro 6 compliant) and are paired with Volvo’s 12-speed I-Shift automated gearbox technology and I-See predictive cruise control. Further investments are also expected in the future as the company attempts to reduce carbon emissions with strategic investments.

As Simon continued: “The roadmap we have for sustainability was conceived in 2020. We moved to sustainable energy sourcing in 2021, which was also our first foray into adding CNG trucks into the fleet (roughly an 80% carbon reduction on a truck-for-truck basis). 2022 then began our Euro 6 compliance, where we upgraded the fleet and added a further 15 CNG trucks. For 2023, we started to do fleet renewals and have been enhancing our driver training programme. As for this year, we’ll add more CNG vehicles.”

According to Simon, efforts to tackle the company’s carbon footprint are also being made within the warehousing side of the business. So far, the company’s facilities have been fitted with automated LED lighting, but considerations are being made to deploy solar PV units to one or more of the company’s facilities in a bid to tackle energy consumption. 

As for the future, Moran Logistics is still looking at growth due to the expanding nature of the market, but stresses the importance of enjoying growth as a by-product of exemplary service rather than being the core ideal driving decision making. Alongside growth, the company is also keen to engage with further strategic partners to assess the potential of using alternative fuels and technologies within the fleet, where appropriate. 

On the firm’s future ambitions, Simon clarified: “Firstly, as always, any future plans start with continuing to provide a first class service to our customers. That is the foundation to any sustainable growth and is demonstrated by the commitment we have towards investing and developing the people that make up the fantastic Moran team. From a growth perspective, organic growth with our existing partners is key and that will, in turn, expand our reach and the collaboration we have on innovative solutions with added value for our customers. We couple that with onboarding new customers across a range of geographies and new industry sectors.”    

https://www.moranlogistics.co.uk

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