Be bold

I’ve never been a great one for predictions – they have a habit of coming back to bite you. However, the start of a new year is a logical prompt for a little thinking aloud. So here are a few thoughts.

The economic pundits are decidedly gloomy: the Eurozone is in crisis; the US is flat-lining; the UK seems to be not much better; and there is doubt over whether the so-called ‘BRIC’s’ can actually make any difference at all despite the relative strength of their respective economies.

Somehow though, the global macro-economic picture feels somewhat remote from what we’re experiencing as a service company in the UK. Volumes have been exceptionally high this Christmas and New Year with double-digit growth on the same time last year.


This seems to be reflected in one recent piece of unexpected good news about the UK economy emanating from the Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers’ Index, which suggests that the service sector as a whole is in reasonable shape – up to 54.0 in December 2011, compared with 52.1 in November 2011.

There are clearly tough times ahead, but the logistics market is at an exciting point in its evolution with room for growth. I think we are well poised to deal with any challenges and to capitalise on opportunities as they arise. To that extent, I am optimistic about 2012.

In our business, we have always focused on two critical factors: working with motivated professionals and responding to the needs and aspirations of our customers. We will continue to focus on these basic principals whilst building on the successes we achieved in 2011, which included the acquisitions of the courier operations of both Lewis Day and Medical Services Limited.

But we will also need to challenge ourselves, which means being creative and imaginative.

Much of CitySprint’s success to date has been about seeing new ways of doing things and moving into new sectors with potential, such as retail and healthcare. In 2012, we will continue to innovate with products and services that help us to exceed our customers’ expectations.

Technology will be an interesting area for us to watch. We’ve already broken new ground with our track and trace systems but we’re keen to go much further so we can continue to add value to our clients and their customers.

If the UK is entering uncharted territory, then we’re ready for the journey. It will certainly be intriguing. And if we don’t know what we don’t know, let’s at least be bold.