Video – The facts behind the promises – Proof the Diamond Network Partnership

Diamond Logistics sets out the evidence behind its Network Partnership model, including partner growth, bespoke technology, exclusive territories and support across the wider network.

Transcript

Diamond Logistics sets out the evidence behind its Network Partnership model, including partner growth, bespoke technology, exclusive territories and support across the wider network.

Transcript

One of the things I think is really important for us to do is substantiate some of the claims that are made in terms of what our Network Partnership gives.

If we talk about how it makes your business grow, I know, having just been round to Bristol and Mid Wales, Mid Wales has only been part of our journey for a year and Bristol has been part of our journey for five years.

Five or six years, I think.

Bristol, for example, has gone from 5,000 square feet, which was a little bitty depot, to be frank, to 25,000 square feet, and that warehouse is full.

If you look at Mid Wales, you’ve got a warehouse over there, haven’t you?

A little bit, yeah.

The site that they’ve just negotiated, and they’ve only been members for a year, is over 40,000 square feet.

People such as Cambridge, for example, started with an existing logistics business and have already had to rent another two warehouses in order to incorporate their number one client.

Exactly. If you do this properly, this will really enable your business to scale.

The other thing is that we talk about the technology, how great it is and how that really facilitates the stuff in your business. How do we prove that? How do we substantiate that claim?

Well, it’s there to be seen, really. The client testimonials show that clients love the technology we’ve developed because it makes their jobs a lot easier.

It also shows how easy it makes the expansion of our Network Partners. The proof is in the pudding. We’ve got Network Partners expanding across the whole of the UK.

We are very transparent in terms of you speaking to the Network Partners that we’ve got in our network as it stands at the minute, and they will tell you how the technology helps them grow their businesses.

I think the most important thing about the technology is that we ended up having to write it. We had to write it because, as much as you could cobble together all the different bits of logistics software that were out there, there was nothing that had that end-to-end, inclusive operating software.

It goes from overnight and international to same day, including all the vehicle tracking and warehouse management that our Network Partners need to function.

If that existed anywhere else, we would have bought it, trust me, rather than spending five years developing it and £2.5 million. It’s a really substantial bit of kit, and that has been a really important part of our journey.

Our clients wouldn’t be able to do the things they can do without Despatchlab, and our Network Partners wouldn’t be able to run their businesses without Despatchlab.

I don’t know about you, but there aren’t many logistics businesses of our size that could afford to spend a couple of million pounds on that technology unless it really worked.

What about that sense of community? I think that’s a bit that’s irreplaceable as well, that Diamond family.

It is one of the things that sets us aside. We’ve made no secret of the fact that we are very selective about the Network Partners that we take on board.

It’s very important to us that fellow Network Partners support their journey as well. If someone is going to support their journey, they need to get along with those people and share the same values and everything else.

That’s certainly something that we’ve got.

I remember you talking to me about your business journey and saying how lonely it was running your own business. Actually having this support network is a bit like Logistics Anonymous.

We’ve always got someone on a WhatsApp group who can answer a quick question. You’ve got the helpdesk, our network support team and all of us. We’re friends with a lot of the Network Partners, so I think that Diamond family is a really key part.

Huge.

The other thing I’d say is that the exclusive territories are something that’s unique to Diamond Logistics. We’ve got competitors within certain parts of our service proposition that don’t offer that exclusivity.

When we say exclusivity, we mean it. We have very clear boundaries that our Network Partners can’t cross, so there’s nobody else selling within your particular territory.

The other thing I’d add in terms of our uniqueness is that we’ve got all three services together through that technology. There are no other businesses within the UK that offer those three services together.

There are competitors in each of those three areas of our business, but none that covers all three. There is such fantastic synergy between those services, and a modern eCommerce business needs to focus on all three of those areas simultaneously.

I would say that we’re very unique in that respect.

I think the most important thing is that we are not shy of you getting in contact with any of our Network Partners, any of our team members or, indeed, any of our clients to talk about the things that we discuss on this website.

We’re a very transparent business, and I think that’s incredibly important. It’s important for you to investigate and get your own perspective on all the things that we’ve said.

If you want to find out some more, there are plenty of contact details on this webpage, and we really look forward to hearing from you.

That real collaboration and camaraderie across the entire network is really important.

I’ve run a small business in the past, and likewise you have as well. It is lonely sometimes. Just having fellow business owners that you can rub shoulders with, have a coffee with and bounce ideas around with is something that we very much champion within our business.