Catering to the TikTok crowd

THE SECTOR was severely impacted by Covid as initially everyone went online, and so fulfilment houses invested heavily in space – and then the bubble burst leaving excess capacity all round. In addition, Brexit has, at the very least, caused us uncertainty. That said, dealing with these crises was the best business school ever as it made the business jump higher and quicker than it would ever have thought possible.

We have worked hard to adjust to the new normal which also includes a significant increase in business costs over the last three years.

Many of Prolog’s clients sell through a variety of social platforms such as TikTok which is very different from the more traditional channels. Social influencers are used by several of our clients today and have a big impact in driving volume. This knowledge is key if we are to fully understand our customers and support our brands.

The secret to our success is people, systems and process. I have always had a passion for developing people and I truly believe that a good company culture is a key foundation to success. This is very much the responsibility of the leader of all organisations.

I set up my first business in 1989 and have worked for myself ever since and have always followed this ethos. I am not a natural seller of businesses – I like improving their performance and then running them. The key feature of all my businesses is client referrals and the length of client trading relationship achieved through contract renewals. Businesses have to be innovative and provide excellent levels of customer service and good value to win and retain contracts – but they also have to be run by creative and knowledgeable people – people who are passionate about what they do.

My route into the sector was indirect. I completed a commercial apprenticeship with Oleo Pneumatics sponsoring me through what is now Coventry University. They manufactured buffers that you see on trains, and this gave me great international experience as they sold through agents throughout the world. I was then looking for a more direct selling role so I joined Carryfast and found I really enjoyed the supply chain industry. The challenge of the getting goods that are predominantly manufactured outside the UK into the country and then warehousing, picking, packing and delivering them direct to stores, RDCs and homes was, and still is, extremely exciting for me as change and evolution is continually required.

Prolog is the seventh company I have bought in the logistics sector and championed. I purchased the business in 2019. Since acquiring the business, we have achieved over 50% growth.

Operating from a 250,000 sq ft warehousing estate in the Midlands, we are proud to be trusted by over 150 clients to deliver over 30 million items each year to over 100 countries.