Frequently
Asked Questions

 

Browse our Selection of Answers to Queries

we Regularly Receive from Our Customers.

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General EFW Questions

Where are you located?

Our HQ is based centrally in the UK on the outskirts of Scunthorpe close to the M180 and M18 motorways.

Which industries do you cater to?

EFW caters to a large number of sectors including, but not limited to:

The Automotive Sector

Food & Drink Retailers

Logistic Companies

The Manufacturing Sector

Pallet Provider Network

Parcel Delivery

Specialist Services

Wholesaler Importers & Forwarders

What qualifications does your team have?

All member of the EFW staff hold a Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC).

What types of haulage do you provide?

Whatever you need transporting EFW have the experience, knowledge, and team of drivers to get your deliveries where they need to be and when it needs to be there.

We can tailor bespoke haulage solutions just for you – from standard to heavy and specialist haulage we have you covered with our cost-effective solutions provided by our expert team of hauliers.

What capacity loads can you transport?

We have a large fleet ranging from smaller panel vans to articulated lorries which gives us not only the resources but also the confidence to offer a wide range of services which you can rely on.

Can you deliver full or part loads?

We can deliver both full or part loads across the length and breadth of the UK with our vehicle fleet, ranging from panel vans to full articulated lorries.

Can you help avoid problems arising from the Driver Shortage?

Yes, we are specially positioned to address the current shortage. As a company with access to various asset pools across multiple locations we are in the unique position of being able to navigate and avoid transport problems that have arisen from the driver shortage that unfortunately doesn’t look like it will be solved soon.

Can you provide solutions based on backhaul?

Customers are no longer willing to accept backhaul levels of inefficiency in their supply chains, therefore true accessible backhaul at marginal or minimal prices, where the original delivery funds the round trip is becoming increasingly rare.

Yet, where possible we will match this low-cost resource with the activity of our customers and reflect this efficiency in our pricing structures.

Can you provide solutions based on a one-way transport rate?

By working with our extensive network of partners and liaising with our existing clients we can provide a cost-effective solution by matching requirements with our resources.

Can you help me reduce my carbon footprint?

With our expert transport consultancy service assessing your current carbon footprint and identifying a more effective way getting your goods to your clients.

We have more than one way to achieve this, including moving away from a dedicated two-way solution to a one way or a shared solution which would help to reduce your carbon footprint.

What sort of customers do you work with?

We supply transport solutions for numerous businesses from blue chip clients(from retail to manufacturers), third party logistics companies,  all the way to medium and small businesses.

Do you have track and trace?

We can provide you with a track and trace facility on all of our consignments.

History of EFW Transport

Are you independent?

EFW is a completely independent family run haulage firm based in Scunthorpe.

What experience does your management team have?

Our management team and owners all have significant experience working in haulage and distribution within the UK transportation industry.

What types of haulage are there?

There are many types of haulage available to manufacturers, wholesale companies and retail companies depending on where the goods are going and the type of goods, these include freight haulage, specialist haulage, heavy haulage, container haulage and local and national domestic haulage.

Who started EFW Transport?

Craig Woodhead founded and currently runs EFW Transport.

General Questions

Why would I need haulage services?

Haulage services are necessary for the safe and secure transportation of heavy, unusual, or large volume cargo.

It is more cost-effective to transfer one large load rather than multiple smaller loads for customers who frequently need to move heavy or unusual cargoes.

Is there any difference between haulage and freight?

There is a difference. Haulage refers to the transporting of goods via road or rail.

Freight is the transportation of goods via land, sea, and air, for example importing and exporting to or from another country.

What types of haulage are there?

There are many types of haulage available to manufacturers, wholesale companies and retail companies depending on where the goods are going and the type of goods, these include freight haulage, specialist haulage, heavy haulage, container haulage and local and national domestic haulage.

What is heavy haulage?

‘Heavy Haulage’ refers to extremely large and heavy objects which need to be transported from one place to another but are too large for road travel. These objects require experienced drivers in specialist vehicles designed to take heavier loads.

What is container haulage?

Container haulage is when goods are transported from point A to point B in a secured container loaded onto the back of a lorry. You will have likely seen footage or photographs of the large ships carrying hundreds of these containers across the oceans.

What is a transport control tower?

A transport control tower is the focal point which coordinates the inflow of customer orders, their optimization and scheduling, the identification and allocation of the most cost-effective assets and resources to make the final delivery, the management of the execution, event management, issue resolution, post-delivery processes, and the closure of the cash-to-cash cycle.

What is a fully managed transport service?

When a company pledges to offer a client an all-inclusive transportation solution, managing the physical resources of partner companies to deliver an ideal solution unrestricted by the contracted parties’ own assets.

Why Use A 4PL?

What is a 4PL transport service provider?

A 4PL (4th Party Logistics) integrates the technology, capabilities and resources of its own organisation as well as other organisations to design, optimise and perform transport solutions for its own customer base.

Can you provide a one stop shop for all my transport requirements?

Yes, we are the one stop transport shop, from single packages to part or full loads and palletised loads, we cover the entire UK  and are also able to coordinate and facilitate full and part loads to and from Europe.

How can you be cheaper or more efficient than me going direct?

EFWs relationships with transport companies operating across the whole of the UK allows us to match both the outbound and inbound loads, maximising delivery cost-efficiency which in turn means we can pass these savings onto our clients through our competitive rates.

Why not just deal with my local Haulage Company?

Most of EFW Transports partners are local haulage companies that provide an excellent service but are unable to provide services for a customer across the entire UK.

These companies, which could be based in your local area, look for prime transport rates for the outward bound journey but then take on return loads at a cheaper price. This means you are charged the premium rate as opposed to a cheaper rate for hiring local. 

Fortunately, as a one stop shop for transport and haulage solutions you can have peace of mind that EFW will put your needs and budget at the top of our priority list.

Why don’t I just manage multiple transport companies?

Managing multiple transport companies would mean multiple points of contact to organise all of your deliveries, collections, chase PODs, pallets and also deal with multiple invoices.

By using one organisation who have all the resources available to cover all of your volume you make life a lot easier and have more time to focus on your other business concerns.

I am a small retailer servicing multiple outlets nationally with my own fleet, how can you improve on that?

At EFW we aim to operate reasonably priced one way runs and use our pallet network for any distant outlets.

This allows for more frequent deliveries than could be made with a dedicated fleet, freeing up storage space for useful retail space and maybe enhancing on-shelf availability.

Why not just have my own fleet?

A fleet of your own might just be the right way to go if the distances covered are reasonably small.

However, your own fleet brings more overheads, time, staff and overall energy needed to accurately run the logistics operations as well as potentially having vehicles returning empty from delivery areas.

Subcontracting deliveries to a company such as EFW not only removes these headaches, but is also more cost-effective and reduces your carbon footprint.

Service Questions

Do you deliver at the weekend?

Absolutely, we carry out deliveries and collections on weekends, throughout the day and at night, and on holidays.

Do you deliver at night?

We do deliveries and collections night and day, weekends and bank holidays. Thanks to our tramping service we have drivers on hand who can work on 5-6 or even 7 day patterns.

Do you operate over bank holidays?

Absolutely, we do, working both days and nights, including bank holidays and weekends.

Do you provide transport Consultancy Services?

We approach every enquiry with a consultive mind so that we’re able to offer the best solution based on the clients’ needs.

Will you do home delivery on my behalf?

If the products are packaged appropriately then we are more than able to do home delivery.

Will you manage my inter-site trunking?

We will and already perform trunking operations for many of our existing clients.

Will you arrange my emergency courier jobs?

We offer an emergency courier service, which thanks to our extensive network and partnerships with independent couriers, allows us to provide both same day and next day delivery anwyhere in the UK.

Will you support one-off projects?

We’d be delighted to! EFW has supported many businesses in large scale stock movements due to new product launches, promotional activities and businesses relocating both admin and warehousing facilities.

Do you deliver directly to retail outlets?

Yes, we’ve been delivering palletised, loose, and caged loads directly to retail outlets in the high street and retail parks for a wide range of retail companies since our founding.

Do you deliver to Distribution centres’ (DC’s and NDC’s)?

Yes, we regularly deliver to both food and non-food distribution centres and are very well versed in working with them and any booking in restrictions which may be in place..

Who do I deal with if I have a problem?

You would deal directly with the EFW management team.

Can you arrange export movements on my behalf?

We can arrange export movements to wherever our client requires throughout the UK or Europe.

How do I become an approved supplier?

Contact the team at EFW Transport at admin@efwtransport.com or call 01724 622 028 to discuss further details.

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