United Worldwide Logistics is an independent and experienced multi-modal logistics provider. Following their recent success in SME’s Business Elite 2020, we caught up with Michael Mitchell, Managing Director who provided us with an insight into the inner workings of the firm.
United Worldwide Logistics is a family run logistics company, specialising in freight forwarding and UK haulage. Michael tells us more about the firm’s mission and its unique selling point that helps to distinguish it from competitors.
“Our founding mission always has been, and always will be, servicing our clients. I spent my early career working within the industry, and it was here I saw a niche in the market – there was an element of customer service that the customers were just not getting. I then formed a business, with my sister and brother-in-law and we pride ourselves on service – and ultimately client retention as a result. Aside to this, family was always at the forefront of the business planning, and over the years the younger generations of the family have since joined the company to see UWL grow over recent times.
“We operate around the clock, 24/7, to ensure our clients receive the best possible service from us. We are fortunate to be part of a global network, which enables us to integrate with over 350 partners throughout the world. This means we can truly offer one-of-a-kind services, supported by extensive knowledge, from all over the globe. We operate our own fleet of vehicles, ranging from sprinter vans, through to articulated vehicles. Also, we operate more specialist vehicles which are including slider-flex hiabs, moffetts and flatbeds.
“Customer service has always been key. We pride ourselves on working around the clock to ensure our customers have solutions to all their logistical queries! We have spent years building our supply chain network. The majority of our competitors are limited to a particular area and certain services they can offer, we do not have that. Our global partnerships mean we can offer services throughout the world, and all types of services. We are able to collect throughout the UK and Europe using express vehicles within a two hour window.”
The company’s success is not simply down to customer service however, and Richard goes on to explain just how important a dedicated workforce is to United Worldwide Logistics.
“Our company culture can best be described as positive. A happy team are a good team. We always remain professional in our roles, however in our industry there are often things that can go wrong, from vehicle breakdowns to delays at airports – there is a multitude of issues that can occur, and beyond our control. So we always review the situation, and learn from it. We are all human, we make mistakes, but ensuring that we put corrective action in place encourages our team to face issues head on and work through it together.
“Honesty is another important part of our culture, we prefer to be pro-active and open, as opposed to reactive. By being upfront and truthful with our customers, in a timely manner, we have found that many of our customers prefer this approach and have continued to work with us as a result of this. I would also say we operate in a team culture, we have recently added an on-site café, along with table tennis and a football table, we ensure all our staff have a warm cooked meal each day, and some time away from their screen to allow them to recharge for the afternoon.
“Over 50 percent of our work force are family members, however, our entire workforce are treated as family! Staff are vital to our success and the day-to-day running of the business, from admin, to accounts, from our planners through to our warehouse team – all play individually important parts and we could not run without them. We are very lucky that our staff are all dedicated to United and nothing it too much, they are just as keen to see a good service being passed on and a success story.”
There are certain challenges that United Worldwide Logistics has faced within the industry, however Richard concludes that the firm is well and truly future-proof and on its way up!
“Brexit has been the main challenge we have faced in recent years. We have experienced driver shortages throughout the UK and delays at ports, coupled with strikes, and the fear of reduced trading. During this time we have worked hard to develop relationships with our European suppliers, building up our partner relationships to ensure that during the interim period, we still have vehicles in the UK and travel between UK and EU. We currently export and import on behalf of our customers to countries our side of the EU, and arrange customs clearance for these goods. We have therefore sent out international team on training courses to ensure they are up to date with customs documentation and regulations.
“United Worldwide Logistics is looking to branch out over the next year and open another depot centrally. This is one of our many expansion ideas that you will hopefully see unfold over the next 24 months.”
Contact: Michael Ruckley
Company: United Worldwide Logistics
Web Address: www.unitedwl.com
