Royal Mail logistics students identify £400k of savings

Royal Mail celebrated the first wave of graduates to achieve its Foundation Degree in Logistics from Aston University last week, with more than £400,000 in operational cost savings posting an extra boost to the occasion.

Designed for experienced managers who may not have studied since leaving school, the qualification combines work-based and academic study and takes two years to complete.

In year two, a project overseen by senior Royal Mail logistics managers is undertaken, with more than £400,000 of savings identified by  this year's graduates; the long-term aim is for the cost of the study programme and release time to be paid back several times over by such cost-savings.

The national postal operator says it launched the programme to help its managers “develop and become professional” in line with the wider logistics sector.

Tony Fox, logistics director, says: “This programme has several critical success factors. It grows our talent potential, gives us professional, qualified leaders as well as deploying the best tools and knowledge into the business. The icing on the cake is that it also giving us an excellent financial return on our investment through the Year 2 projects. If only all training and development could give this return!”

New graduate Pat McFadden, service manager for fleet & maintenance services in Glasgow, adds: “I have a better understanding of our business and the wider logistics industry and how such skills can be brought into the work place environment.”

Royal Mail’s second wave of students are now in year two of study and a third group have just commenced the course.