charlie shiels arrowxl

After the dark and uncertain days of late March, here at ArrowXL we have now settled down into a more stable rhythm. Our plan is to simply carry on doing what we are doing which means continuing our focus on employee and customer safety whilst delivering the items people want. It is clear that this virus will be dictating the way we live for some time yet and we must not get complacent.

At the start of this pandemic we came under strong criticism from some people over our decision to keep operating, even though the government had deemed our business to be essential.

Several weeks on I think our decision was definitely the right one.

We have been able to support the retail industry and contribute to the broader economy. We have been able to supply people with essential and non- essential items, although who are we to judge what people need to buy in order to get through this?

We remain very busy, with the product profile changing from the early crisis days of gym equipment to the summer days of garden furniture. We have introduced a whole section of society that has not previously ordered online to its convenience and they will be confident in using home delivery in the coming months whilst the instruction is still to stay home wherever possible.

All of this means that we have been able to safeguard jobs for our people and employ others that have lost their income as a result of this pandemic. For the first time in recent years we have virtually zero vacancies (all filled) and virtually zero employee turnover. With, our current volumes up by 35% with more clients yet to start operating again, we are able to offer some job stability in what continues to be an uncertain world.

Of course, this is true of many players in our sector and I am proud to be part of an industry that has once again shown its resilience, adaptability and bravery. A lot has been spoken about front line heroes and I 100% echo it, as our delivery crews have been amazing.

So have our people behind the scenes who are facing different challenges. Remote working is tough for many reasons and, from my own personal point of view, I’ve found that leadership is much harder and less fun without the face to face interaction. First world problems I know but I miss my team and seeing them on screen is just not the same.

As things are starting to gradually ease, we are seeing a slow return to some semblance of normality. There is more traffic on the roads, construction sites are resuming work and other non-essential retail outlets contemplate opening.

I for one am watching the sports/leisure sectors with massive interest and hope!

It is interesting to see businesses facing the same difficult decisions that we faced several weeks ago around safety and productivity. I wish them the best of luck and would suggest that there are clear lessons that can be learned from the way the logistics sector has and continues to deal with these challenges.

Charlie Shiels, CEO, ArrowXL

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