Panther Warehousing has signed an exclusive contract with manufacturer BSH Home Appliances, which will see it provide an end-to-end service for more than 1,000 orders a week.
This will include managing all of BSH’s UK orders, handling customer booking calls, collecting the goods from the manufacturer and trunking them up and down the country.
Panther’s two-man delivery service will include installation of dishwashers and washing machines in customers’ homes, and taking away unwanted appliances.
Panther MD Colin McCarthy told MT: “It’s very unusual for someone like a two-man to get the service side of a contract, but they’ve been very impressed with it.”
The group’s business development director, Craig Kavanagh, added: “This long-term commitment from BSH recognises our solid reputation for excellent customer care along with our ability to provide an effective home delivery service that is unmatched in the industry.”
BSH’s director of supply chain, Joe O’Sullivan, said: “It was vital that we selected a partner that we could work closely with in order to ensure service quality.”
“For us, the focus and concentration of service quality delivered through Panther’s people and its innovative technology differentiates it from many of the other home delivery providers in the marketplace,” he added.
Turnover leaps
Panther saw its turnover increase by 56% in 2014, rising from £13m to £20m. In the results for the year, McCarthy attributed the growth to multiple new contracts in the two-man delivery sector, as well as the integration of a subsidiary company.
However, the MD added that “This rapid growth necessitated considerable start up costs and investment in infrastructure and human resources,” which resulted in an 82% decline in pre-tax profit for the year.
McCarthy said that having met these costs, the company’s profits are now rising “inline with the directors’ expectations” and that the directors are expecting a strong year in 2015.
