Partner Article

Putting Safety First

What is Arco?

A family owned business founded in 1884, Arco is the UK’s leading distributor of safety products. Working with companies and offering expert advice on how to make the workplace a safer environment, Arco provides clothing, footwear, gloves as well as factory equipment and are the experts in workplace safety. With over 22,000 products in its National Distribution Centre (NDC) in Hull, Arco has a network of regional sales offices and over 43 trade counters across the UK and Ireland.

Originally supplying tennis balls to Wimbledon, and with a heritage spanning over four generations, Arco now has an annual sales turnover of £268million and currently employs approximately 1,500 people.

A Unique Business

As the UK’s leading safety company, Arco combines family values with pioneering innovation. A member of the British Safety Industry Federation (BSIF), Arco has trained over 600 of its employees in a range of professional health and safety qualifications, to offer expert advice and support to its customers – ensuring their workplace meets health and safety regulations.

The Shipping Challenges

Arco supplies safety products which are expertly designed and thoroughly tested, and at the core of Arco’s customer service offer is the ability to deliver these products to customers when and where they need them. Arco was faced with the issue of how to reflect its core values and keep its customer service promise by using external providers.

Why FedEx?

As part of the BSIFs Registered Safety Suppliers Scheme, consistency and efficiency are fundamental components of the Arco ethos. To achieve this, Arco needed a logistics provider which helped it deliver its core purpose of keeping people safe at work.

As a globally recognisable brand, FedEx ensures the secure and timely delivery of Arco’s extensive range of products. Having worked closely with Arco for over six years, FedEx was originally employed as Arco’s contingency carrier for the South West of England and now delivers over 2.5 million parcels a year across the UK.

Arco and FedEx have built a close relationship. Recognising the importance of its role in fulfilling Arco’s promise to its customers, FedEx offers Arco outstanding delivery service to meet and exceed this need. As a company which prides itself on its business relationships, this is invaluable to Arco in maintaining high levels of customer engagement and performance. By developing continuous strategies to help the company meet its business objectives, FedEx helps Arco to sustain growth and further expand its customer base.

Neil Griffiths, Divisional Director of Logistics at Arco says:

“FedEx provides extremely high-levels of customer service and their expertise will play a key role in achieving continued expansion. We receive daily reporting and a monthly reporting pack which provides us with invaluable insight about delivery success rates. It’s so useful to have this information at your fingertips when understanding the needs of your customers.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by FedEx .