Home delivery specialist Panther Warehousing has expanded its fleet by a further 29 vehicles to meet spiralling demand for its ‘Solo’ one-man delivery service. The company has invested in Mercedes Benz Sprinter vans to cope with unprecedented growth in the service, launched earlier this year.
Since changing its business model five years ago to take advantage of the ever increasing e-commerce revolution, Panther has grown to become the leading two-man delivery specialist in the UK. Since branching out into one-man deliveries the company has enjoyed exponential growth, today handling over 1,000 consignments a night in this area alone.
Bosses of the award winning firm say they are expecting a further increase in demand for Solo as they introduce a range of features all designed to improve the direct customer and end user customer experience. These include reducing the time delivery window from four hours to two, introducing Sunday deliveries, allowing later cut off times of up to 10 p.m. for online customer orders and offering bank holiday collections for delivery on Tuesdays.
There are plans in place to further increase the size of the fleet as the Solo service continues to grow. Colin McCarthy, Managing Director, said Panther had invested a total of £2m in the vehicles as part of the Solo service.
He said: “When we launched Solo we had no idea just how quickly it would take off. We are delighted that since then it has continued to grow beyond our expectations and we expect this to continue as we expand our range of features within the service, all designed to meet our customer needs and indeed the needs of their customers.
“The service operates from our eight-strong national network of hubs in Rugby, Northampton, Taunton, Peterlee, Leeds, Ossett, Bristol and Watford and we have recruited new drivers across the entire network to accommodate customer needs.”
The nine-times winner of Motor Transport’s Fleet Van of the Year accolade, the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is Britain’s most celebrated light commercial vehicle. The long-bodied Sprinter 313 CDI models are powered by smooth and fuel-efficient 129 hp engines and offer exemplary levels of driver comfort as well as a market-leading package of standard-fit safety features including the ADAPTIVE ESP anti-skid program, which takes account of the vehicle’s load status when braking individual wheels to keep it on the straight and narrow, and Crosswind Assist, which helps to prevent the vehicle from drifting or swerving off course in the event of a sudden gust of wind.
The vans, which were from Dealer Intercounty Truck & Van in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, mark the first phase of the expansion of Panther’s fleet, which now stands at over 300 vehicles.
They bear Panther’s distinctive new branding to incorporate the individual facets of the company’s offering and are also fitted with forward facing standards and reverse warning systems.
The company’s ongoing investment programme represents its commitment to ensuring that it continues to provide a best in class service to both its customer and the end customer and further reinforces its innovative positioning in the marketplace.