Corporate Excellence Awards 2020

Feb20151 Finding The Best Possible Solutions Founded in 1999, InXpress is an international shipping and freight consulting firm delivering solutions across the globe. Following their success in the Corporate Excellence Awards 2020, we got in touch with Global Head of Marketing Melanie Spencer to find out more. InXpress is an online provider of shipping services, passionate about making shipping as effortless as possible for all businesses, wherever they are and whatever their needs. To start, Melanie offers more insight into the firm’s specialisms and its client base. “Built on over 20 years of experience, we’ve pioneered world-class technology that’s disrupting traditional shipping services around the globe. Our breakthrough online portal, Webship Plus, helps our customers save time, hassle and money on their shipping. This easy-to- use software is packed with features, including a carrier comparison service, a bulk upload tool to quickly manage multiple orders and integration with all of the main eCommerce platforms. Besides an innovative platform, we offer international express and import services and domestic shipping services, so whether you need a one off shipment or you process a thousand a day, we’ve got the global scale to deliver to Australia, France, Germany, USA and more. “Typically, our client base features SME’s and eCommerce businesses with our express and freight services operating throughout the US, Asia Pacific, UK, Africa and Europe. Priding ourselves on people, we are committed to finding the best possible solutions for our clients using innovative technology and a personalised customer service approach.” Since forming in 1999, InXpress have built a reputation for being reliable and committed to finding the most optimum shipping solution for their clients. As Melanie goes on to explain, by demonstrating these values, the word of mouth has got around and as a result the firm’s client base has continued to grow. “Saving our customers time, hassle and money is what we pride ourselves on and, through our energetic and results-driven approach we have taken on new work through previous client recommendations.” Currently, the shipping and logistics industry is an extremely competitive one with companies always looking to offer better services at cheaper rates. To distinguish themselves from their competitors, Melanie points out the firm’s personal customer service approach is of the upmost importance. “Our strengths lie in our people. With our expert team, we can provide outstanding customer service, unrivalled anywhere else. Ultimately, we care about our customer’s parcels as if they were our own.” Issue 4 2020 43 As for the company culture in place at InXpress, it’s the team’s collaborative approach which has seen the firm become a renowned name in the shipping and logistics industry. As Melanie goes on to explain, implementing this approach from top to bottom has been essential. “Our people from franchisees and their teams, to head office staff across the globe are key to our success. Without everyone pulling together, we wouldn’t be in the position we are in today.” Finally, Melanie commented on the future of the business and what they hope to achieve in the coming year and beyond. “Giving back is at the heart of what we do and this year we have big plans to make even more of an impact. In the UK alone we plan to raise £20k for local charities which our franchise network nominate. Additionally, we are planning a global Gives Back day in June, where the whole network will come together to support a charitable cause. Heading forward, by maintaining our company reputation through our dedication to customer service and attracting new clients, there’s no doubt we will continue to move in the right direction.” Contact Name: Melanie Spencer Telephone Number: +0800 195 2125 Address: 5 Blueberry Business Park, Wallhead Road, Rochdale, Manchester, OL16 5DB Web Address: www.gb.inxpress.com “Typically, our client base features SME’s and eCommerce businesses with our express and freight services operating throughout the US, Asia Pacific, UK, Africa and Europe. Priding ourselves on people, we are committed to finding the best possible solutions for our clients using innovative technology and a personalised customer service approach.” Feb20250 Old Grazing Systems Put Out to Pasture Founded by Ollie Roberts, a dairy farmer by trade, Pasture.io is a pasture management platform designed to allow fellow farmers within the Australian dairy industry a place to fully utilise their pasture measuring data for making the best grazing decisions. Following their recent success in Corporate Vision’s 2020 Corporate Excellence Awards, we profiled the unique platform to discover more about one of the most innovative pasture management solutions. There is a huge lost opportunity in livestock grazing systems due to farmers making decisions of where to graze their livestock without known information. Pasture.io is a revolutionary platform which provides this information automatically using satellites and local weather information. By using this, farmers can best manage their pastures and do a better job in looking after their animals. Being able to fully utilise the data that the farmers have at their disposal means that they are able to increase their productivity and profitability. Pasture’s values haven’t changed since they were established. They hold strong principles in their goals of doing business. Ultimately, they want their customers to succeed and this is driven by their personal connections to the land and their broader quest in feeding the world in a cost-effective and sustainable manner. Pasture’s successes are down to the pragmatic and fun way they tackle the issues that their customers deal with daily. They are also very experienced in dealing with these issues first- hand. The problem of pasture management first arose on their Founder and CEO’s own family dairy farm. They use these direct experiences in order to know exactly what their customers want and how to approach any issues that they encounter. Their client base is predominantly made up of farmers with livestock that graze pasture. They also have broader distribution channels which are up of consultants, service providers, and large corporate farming entities. In 2014, the company has able to increase their customer base by converting their program into a web- based one, and four years later were able to further widen their net by being able to overcome the limitations of satellite imagery. This meant that they were able to deliver their results automatically. Employees at Pasture.io all remotely and rarely see each other face to face. This has proven to be a successful model for the business as it allows them the freedom to work autonomously, take responsibility, use initiative and to find a good work-life balance. Their company culture is relaxed and fun and this leads to everybody getting stuck in to any unexpected or urgent problems arise. Pasture.io take great pride in the way they approach their work and challenge themselves. Throughout the years, Pasture.io have been able to foster a free and empathetic workplace culture, which has been crucial in the success of the company. Each staff member plays a significant role in the success of the company. Mostly, the roles consist of customer success and a long-term focus on developing and fostering strategic relationships. There is a lot of overlap between many of the different divisions of the company. This is a very positive thing because it enables everyone to develop an understanding of what every aspect of the business does. As the business continues to grow, this understanding helps the staff to prioritise their tasks. Currently, Pasture.io does a lot of outsourcing. By doing things this way, the business can headhunt the best people who they fit with and importantly it gives new recruits the opportunity to fit work out if they fit with them. They source recruitments worldwide, and in essence, they believe this is how they can scale their workforce with highly skilled, capable and friendly people. The market that Pasture’s target audience operates in has had a very tough time of late. However, the silver lining of this is that they can use Pasture.io’s services for a multiple of 40 on their return on investment with them. The tough side for Pasture.io is that cost-cutting measures can sometimes be pushed harder than profit drivers in tight terms. Recently however, the tide has started to turn. The price of goods is up and the customer base is optimistic for the future. Pasture.io have some big developments that they have coming up. One of these is the release of a Version 2.0 service. They are saying goodbye to their legacy problem and are moving on to the most advanced user experience in the field for their services. Contact: Ollie Roberts Company: Pasture.io Pty Ltd Web Address: https://pasture.io Throughout the years, Pasture.io have been able to foster a free and empathetic workplace culture, which has been crucial in the success of the company. Corporate Excellence Awards 129