Bicester haulier helps local businesses adapt to selling online

Published by

Nicky Godding

A Bicester haulier is supporting the survival of local businesses by helping firms adapt to selling online.

Aaron of Oxford Ltd has been helping independent retailers set up their deliveries to reach customers nationwide during the COVID-19 lockdown.

The move has enabled local businesses to sell to some of the 89 per cent of UK consumers who have turned to online shopping during the UK lockdown, according to research from Visa, and scale up or down to meet demand.

The firm is now ready to support businesses kickstarting operations following the easing of lockdown restrictions and looking for ways to reduce their business costs while accommodating fluctuating sales.

The company is a shareholder member of Pall-Ex – a pallet network of SME haulage firms, which operate independently, but work together to deliver freight throughout the UK and Europe and provide a cost-effective delivery model.

Jason Hotchin, Managing Director at Aaron of Oxford Ltd, said: “The combination of an online sales platform and reliable haulage has enabled them to become national businesses and tap into the growth in e-commerce purchases all within a matter of weeks.

“Our model is built around the movement of fluctuating volumes and reduced miles, so it has provided the flexibility companies have needed throughout the coronavirus crisis and will continue to need as they build themselves back up.”

As 41 per cent of shoppers are buying online more frequently and 74 per cent say they will continue to do so, with DIY supplies and furniture top of the shopping list, local businesses need to find reliable methods to reach larger audiences.

Jason added:“Our recent investments in IT for customer deliveries enables us to provide the tracking and visibility technology they expect on goods they order online, which had previously been missing from the palletised freight sector.”

Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe. After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts. She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.