Europa Worldwide Logistics has announced a major restructure in its road freight division to enhance its sales and customer service functions.

Since acquiring the business in August last year, MD Andrew Baxter (pictured) and his management team have invested in expanding the company’s infrastructure: extending its branch network to 10 sites with a new Leeds depot, and building a new 262,500ft² HQ and southern hub in Dartford that is due to open in May 2015.

Led by sales and branch network director Dionne Redpath, who joined the business in January from Kuehne + Nagel, this latest move aims to ensure a consistent standard of customer service.

Redpath told Motortransport.co.uk that when looking at the previous structure, it "became apparent very quickly that whilst we had some very talented people, the sales and customer service structure was fragmented", with customers needing to contact several people for booking jobs, obtaining quotes and raising account enquiries.

"People buy from people," she added. "And people buy from people that they like to work with. And I think in order to get to that point you need to have the opportunity to build up a relationship, and the only way to really do that is by having somebody who really takes on all of those functions and says this is my customer and I can handle all enquiries."

The company has now created 30 account manager roles, 10 branch managers and 46 customer service positions, with more employees expected to be taken on as the network continues to expand. Europa carried out one-to-one meetings with all existing staff to discuss their talents and skills and which of the new positions they felt more suited to, said Redpath. “We've worked very hard to put the right people in the right jobs,” she added.

"The market is narrower and the real opportunity for Europa is to really differentiate ourselves," she said. "We're a really decent-sized medium organisation – a family-owned business – with a flat organisational structure that allows us to make fast decisions. We have the scale but can offer the personal touch," Redpath said.

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