Ark-H Handling

Source: Supply Chain Digital

Date :11/04/2008 15:14:01

From stock management and handling to data management and direct mail, Fiona Strong established Ark-H Handling in 1990 to set a customer focused standard in product handling

Written by Lucy Mowatt and Produced by Paul Radbourne

Having worked for a through-the-line marketing agency in the past, Fiona Strong was disappointed with the services that she had received from handling and fulfilment companies and decided she could do better. Although it took some time to get off the ground, Fiona’s dedication was rewarded and now Bedfordshire based Ark-H Handling has a good reputation and a strong customer base.

As the company has expanded, Ark-H has invested in developing its facilities in Bedford, which will be accompanied by new a 40,000 sq ft building in 2009. 60,000 sq ft of warehouse and 15,000 sq ft of office space were added to the Ark-H property portfolio in 2006 too, with the acquisition of Diss Promotional Services, a business-to-consumer company operating in the product handling sector. In line with customer expectations, Ark-H can now offer its clients a complete range of handling activities right the way through to end customer.

“We’ve bought two or three companies and in every case we have bought something that is close enough to our business model so that we can fully understand and absorb it,” Fiona says, “but we also look for something that can bring us an additional dimension.”

IT and e-commerce

Fiona explains that in the past 18 years the importance of technology has certainly changed the way Ark-H operates. “I used to say that there wasn’t a strategic brick in the building or a conceptual bone in my body; these days we have to be much more intelligent, much more technology driven, much quicker and much more in line with the global market place. It is a much more sophisticated business than it used to be,” she says.

As such, Ark-H set up eBusiness Development in 2004 to meet its own IT and e-commerce needs. “We set it up because we had a problem, which is very typical for our industry: what we do isn’t particularly sexy or exciting. And consequently, attracting and maintaining a high level of IT people is tough because they’d rather work in more glamorous areas...we set up a company that provides all of our internal service requirements in the IT and e-commerce area but it also has external clients.

“They’ve got a lot of expensive developers who do all sorts of things from developing the front end of websites through to some complex and clever e-commerce activity. But we get the benefit of the fact that they are there to look after our systems,” Fiona says. At the moment they are upgrading HeLix, the system it uses to pick and process orders in line with developing technology.

People development

Fiona is passionate about investment in the business, especially when it comes to developing the workforce. “I’m passionate, boring even, about training!” she says. Both Ark-H and Diss Promotional Services hold the Investors in People Award and the group invests in training at all levels. Not only are employees encouraged to train to NVQ level, but owing to the multicultural nature of the workforce, it offers ESOL (English Language for Speakers of Other Languages) courses for employees for whom English is not their first language.

The focus on skills extends into the wider community too, with Ark-H’s facilities in Bedford being a reference site for the local Learning and Skills Council. This is in addition to involvement with the Young Enterprise scheme and partnership with a local school to encourage links between education and industry.

“We have a lot of work experience here; most years we try to take on at least one gap year student,” Fiona says. She continues by explaining that these students, from all over the UK, often finish their degrees and look for a permanent position with the company, which helps to bring new ideas into the business.

Blue chip clients

This pool of people will certainly help as Ark-H continues to expand its customer base and service area. “Globalisation is with us, whether we like it or not, and unless we want to be left behind, we should keep our passports handy,” Fiona states. She explains that she would love the company to expand within Europe, while many of her colleagues and customers are keen to expand to China.

Because it is customer-centric, Ark-H has successfully completed a number of projects with blue chip clients, including the likes of Proctor & Gamble, Unilever and Nestle. Additionally, in the last six months the company has worked with several start-up companies, especially on the web fulfilment side of the business. “We’ve got clients that we’ve had since day one, which we’re proud of, and over 70 per cent of our business comes from referral,” Fiona states.

The larger customers, Fiona explains, are also very generous with sharing information and implementing new practices. As part of a two year program, Ark-H is currently looking to implement BS 25999 standard across the business. This program, focusing on business continuity, will investigate all aspects of the company from “HR to IT, through disaster recovery and business continuity” and will result in a number of changes.

“Our clients are being very helpful, as they always are when we do these things,” Fiona states. “Our big clients like Proctor & Gamble and Nestle have got very robust business continuity procedures and they’re very generous about sharing their learning with us.”

Corporate social responsibility

In 2007 Ark-H obtained the ISO 14001 environmental management system standard, although its new site will have many more features which will reduce its environmental impact.

“When we bring the new building on stream I really want to have light bulbs that turn on and off when you walk past them... we’re going to have a wind turbine – we had the most dreadful battle with the council to get permission to get one, but there is going to be one of those in the car park... there will also be grey water collection facilities on the roof over the reception area,” she says.

The environment is only one aspect of Ark-H’s commitment to corporate social responsibility though. The company and its employees sponsor a number of charities throughout the year while it also tries to help out in the community. It is a part of the Bedfordshire Police Partnership, while it also offers employment and outsourcing opportunities to people with disabilities. “Because we’re a small company, if somebody comes up with an idea, we kind of go with it. I think last year we sponsored an Indian dance event in Luton,” she elaborates.

In conclusion Fiona says, “I’m just a tad passionate about Ark-H,” which is clear when she enthuses about the workforce, how much the business has developed and the opportunities available for the future. And with such drive and dedication it is easy to see how the company has stayed ahead of its rapidly developing market.

Click here to view the corporate brochure on Ark-H Handling