Case Study Hornby
The Situation
Hornby is the UK’s leading model railway manufacturer and a household name amongst model railway
enthusiasts. Hornby has established a reputation as the industry benchmark for quality, partly arising as a result
of the excellent service it provides to its extensive portfolio of customers. With a significant proportion of its
customer base constituting high street and shopping centre retailers, a reliable and cost efficient carrier is
crucial to ensure that its stock arrives at the stores on time, and in excellent condition.
Having used another carrier for seven years, Hornby decided to change operator. With service efficiency posing
as the primary drive, cost was also a crucial consideration and with Hornby’s status as a PLC company it
demanded that they implement a thorough review of the marketplace for the most competitive supplier and
ascertain the cost and service benefits of doing so.
The Solution
UK Mail was able to provide a solution to enable Hornby to meet its key objective of instigating cost savings -
without compromising on quality of service. UK Mail’s next day delivery solution offered an improvement on
Hornby’s existing distribution as well as providing flexible collection times and a high standard of service.
So how was UK Mail able to achieve this? UK Mail was able to exceed Hornby’s expectations by merging both
companies’ IT systems. They were able to utilise the full range of service features available from UK Mail to
ensure more efficient despatch. Thanks to UK Mail’s full track and trace capabilities,this included a far higher
transparency of their consignments’ journeys from point of collection to delivery, The supply of a full stand
trailer every day also allowed for ease of loading and a quick turnaround to UK Mail locations for sortation and
delivery.
The Impact
These various benefits have had a huge impact on Hornby’s commercial success as well as its reputation
amongst its customers. As a result of switching to UK Mail, their key customers have been able to log online
to track the progress of their parcels throughout delivery, leading to increased levels of customer satisfaction.
In addition, Hornby’s own logistics management team is now also able to view vital information needed for
management reporting.
Hornby Senior Management were so happy with the service offered, they made the decision to entrust UK Mail
with all their B2C business. They liked the option of online track and trace and they also favoured UK Mail’s
ability to offer pre-delivery notification services via text or email. This means Hornby’s customers’ are sent an
alert the day before their delivery to advise of an expected delivery time. Regular monthly meetings between
both businesses means existing systems are reviewed regularly and up to date technology continues to be put
in place.
The Future
Hornby and UK Mail continue to enjoy a mutually beneficial relationship based on excellent working relations,
trust and high levels of service. Last December, one of Hornby’s busiest months, 22,681 parcels passed
through the UK Mail network, this was significantly higher than the previous December, proving UK Mail can
keep pace with the growing demands of Hornbys business growth. On an average month UK Mail can expect to
deliver approximately 12,000 parcels for Hornby. As Hornby’s expansion continues, so too does its
distribution requirements, with UK Mail meeting and fulfilling its service obligations to the high standards it
has come to expect.