Technology Innovator Awards 2017

16 Corporate Vision / Technology Innovator Awards 2017 , Most Innovative Removals Company 2017 – UK & Award for Excellence for Goods Assessment Technology 2017 Pickfords has beenmoving homes for generations, covering every postcode in the UK and Ireland. We invited Lyndsey Wallbank to tell us more. Established in the 17th century, Pickfords is one of the UK’s oldest and best known brands. As the largest removals and storage company in the UK the firm offers home and business relocation services to consumers, businesses and government departments of all sizes. Lyndsey discusses the firm’s overall mission and how it works to achieve this by ensuring excellence for all its customers. “Here at Pickfords our overall vision is to be the first and only choice for moving services at all stages in our customer’s lives. Our mission is to make the firm the mover of choice by delivering operational excellence and exceptional customer service. We focus on creating services tailored to our customers’ needs and have created services for students, the rental market, large homes, SMEs and large corporations and even a Man and Service which has been popular with retirees downsizing into care homes. Moving home or business does not happen very often and our hope is that our customer will return to Pickfords every time they have to make a move.” Technology plays a key part in these services and in the firm’s overall success. Pickfords has always been a pioneer, and was the first company to provide web based extranets for its corporate accounts, international shipment tracking on line and, more recently, a video survey app which allows customer to Pickfords has always been a pioneering company. Looking ahead, this focus on innovation will continue as the firm seeks to build upon its current success, as Lyndsey concludes. “In 2007, the world changed when the first iPhone put the internet within everybody’s pocket. Everything is online. Today customers want everything faster and usually while they are on the move. We have adapted to their needs by investing in technology to meet rapidly changing needs. We know we need to strike the balance of using technology to improve efficiency, without putting distance between ourselves and our customers. “Ultimately, at Pickfords our culture is very customer driven and focused on growth. We value employees who are disciplined, who care for their customers and show a determination to succeed so that both they and the firm as a whole can continue to grow and prosper.” AMI Group has been providing tracking solutions since 2004 and over this time the firm has developed into a true market-leader and innovator. Laura outlines how the firm has come to achieve this strong position through its focus on excellence. “As a company AMI Group and our staff work tirelessly to battle the fight against plant theft and have done so over the past 13 years by achieving a recovery rate of 100% on covertly installed units versus the industry average of just 10%. Many of our competitors simply offer ‘off the shelf’ tracking solutions, but our solutions are completely bespoke and are designed to meet the needs of individual businesses. Although many of our customers have been with us for a long time, the challenges they face are evolving therefore our technology and outlook evolves with them. “AMI’s innovative tracking devices allow companies UK-wide to protect fleets across the world against theft, saving them thousands of pounds in the process through a range of features offered by both AMI units and the Nexis platform. In addition to this, the use of AMI systems has led to the recovery of a range of construction machinery which was not protected by AMI Group, but was found alongside machines that were tracked with AMI tracking devices.” Building upon this success, the group is keen to grow even further and support clients as the market evolves and adapts around the constantly developing technology it implements, as Laura concludes. “At AMI, we have recently introduced drones to assist in the location and recovery of stolen assets. This is yet another technological innovation from AMI and a prime example of how we use the latest technologies to stay ahead of thefts within the industry. “Looking ahead, we are looking forward to the years ahead and the innovations to come with real excitement. Although our history has traditionally been within plant tracking, we have recently deployed the latest technology to help with the security of people alongside assets. Guardian+ is a compact GPS system which is designed to protect and monitor those who are either working in dangerous environments or need additional support. With highly advanced GPS tracking, Guardian+ allows employers and carers to maintain contact with individuals at all times. In addition to this, Guardian+ allows for an alarm to be raised through an inbuilt SOS button.” Best Asset Tracking & Fleet Management Solutions Provider - UK Company: AMI Group Ltd Contact: Laura Stockton Contact Email: l.stockton@ amigroup.co.uk Address: Saxon House, Saxon Street, Denton, Manchester, M34 3DS, UK Phone: 0844 412 4860 Website: http://amigroup.co.uk/ AMI Group provide asset protection and plant intelligence to several of the UK’s largest plant hire companies, as well as many SME’s. We caught up with Laura Stockton to find out more. Contact Email: lyndsey.wallbank@pickfords. com Address: Genesis House, Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, WD4 8LZ, UK Phone: 0203 188 2248 Website: pickfords.co.uk/