Cert Octavian

Cert Octavian Call For Toy Logistics Standards To Grow Up

14th December 2009

Telephone research conducted by Cert Octavian into the toy market’s logistics operators has revealed that customers believe there is ‘considerable room for improvement.’ Cert Octavian conducted interviews with over 60 toy manufacturers and toy retailers to seek their opinions on the levels of service they receive from their current logistics providers.  

Cert Octavian’s Managing Director, Anthony Finlayson-Green who commissioned the research said,

“Toy logistics is not a market we currently serve. We were not interested in individual operators’ performance, we were looking to gauge the mood of this market sector and how it differs from the logistics markets we operate in. We weren’t even looking for dissatisfaction, merely to learn if there is a common need. We were a little surprised when over 66% made reference to at least one of the following in regards to their logistics providers; inflexible service provision; a one size fits all mentality; unhelpful employees; the need for a more bespoke service and their desire for greater customer care. We wanted to discover the things they valued and the things they felt their suppliers got right and got wrong.  Whilst the majority weren’t unhappy to the point of wanting to change suppliers many felt their existing suppliers needed to up their game. “

Cert Octavian operate principally within the drinks, health, beauty and consumer goods markets utilising a UK fleet of over 300 vehicles for the distribution of high value loads  via nine regional service centres offering both storage and promotional packing.

“In some cases it was alarming, like going back in time to the bad old days of logistics, years away from the performance standards we achieve. Within our markets we are well used to seasonal peaks including the production of over 20 million promotional packs for the drinks, personal care and consumer sectors.  The feedback we received suggested a lack of flexibility to offer a truly bespoke service and an insufficient ethos of care to handle and achieve optimum efficiency and consistency of delivery.   From our perspective we concluded that Cert Octavian is well positioned to deliver end to end logistics to toy manufacturers and to retailers as we already have established inbound port to warehouse transport and distribution channels with many of the retailers and therefore can offer both an improvement in handling and performance as well as the opportunity to consolidate delivery costs.” added Finlayson-Green.