The Client

Pall-Ex Group is an award-winning network of quality hauliers that deliver leading palletised freight distribution services throughout the UK, Europe and beyond.

With its headquarters in the heart of England’s Midlands, Pall-Ex has grown phenomenally since its inception in 1996, and it now provides international logistics services and flexible bespoke solutions to many of its corporate accounts.

In 2018, Pall-Ex became the first and only pallet network to receive the ISO 9001: 2015 for network-wide quality. It also won the Customer Care Award for the first time at the Motor Transport Awards.

The Challenge

Initially, In 2017, Pall-Ex’s leadership team felt that its legacy logistics software was no longer up to scratch. It decided a new freight management system was needed to enable the haulier to continue to provide its clients with the highest levels of customer service.

Dave Dunhill, Director of Information Technology at Pall-Ex, created and led this new IT strategy. He decided that the Pall-Ex IT team would develop a new system from scratch in C#. The new freight management software would elevate Pall-Ex’s delivery tracking systems, which would therefore improve visibility and reliability for clients and staff.

To deliver these technological objectives, Pall-Ex’s board decided to make a significant investment regarding new technologies and recruiting more quality IT staff into the business. Dave needed to grow his team, so he asked Crimson’s IT recruitment agency to source a BI Developer, an IT Support Analyst, an IT Integration Manager, and a C# developer. He wanted the candidates to have quality technical skills, but they also needed the ability to generate ideas, challenge traditional technological boundaries, and innovate to achieve the teams shared goals.

The Strategy

Ian Tittley, a Consultant within Crimson’s permanent IT recruitment team, led the resourcing campaign. After spending time on-site with the existing IT team, to gain a better understanding of the job specifications and role requirements, he launched the recruitment for the campaign.

Ian advertised the roles on a range of leading online platforms, utilised Crimson’s fulfilment function to scour its database of candidates and reached out to his extensive network of contacts. Since Crimson works with a range of international logistics companies, Ian had an excellent understanding of the sort of individual that would suit the fast-moving nature of the sector. As a result, this made the process much more efficient and successful.

The ROI

Ian responded swiftly to all Pall-Ex’s requests, and his level of engagement with the project was deeply appreciated by Dave and his team.

Within a few weeks, Ian had found high-calibre candidates that possessed all the characteristics Dave was looking for.

A high proportion of the candidates put forward by Ian were interviewed by Dave and his team, which resulted in several candidates being placed at Pall-Ex by Crimson.

Dave has now asked Ian to assist in sourcing additional VB .Net / C# developers for his IT team to work on this transformation.

The Client’s Words

Dave Dunhill, Director of Information Technology at Pall-Ex, said: “Crimson were unknown to me before this campaign, but I have worked with other agencies for several years. Ian is a good recruiter. He took the time to visit us on site, and he had long conversations with me, so he was able to thoroughly articulate the opportunities we were offering to the candidates. Ultimately, Crimson had the best specialist knowledge of the market place, so they were able to deliver good quality people to us faster than the agencies I’ve worked with in the past.”

The Candidate’s Words

Daryl Holman, IT Support Analyst at Pall-Ex, said: “I decided to apply for the position at Pall-Ex because I saw it as an opportunity to up-skill myself. I also knew a few people that worked in the company already, and they told me it was a nice place to work.

“Dave explained the big transformation challenge and told me that this job would be an excellent opportunity to develop my career from the ground level. It was Dave’s vision that made me accept the job.

“During the recruitment process, Ian from Crimson was always in contact when I needed him. The process ran very smoothly, and he kept me abreast of all the information between interviews.”

If you are a VB .Net / C# developer and you’re interested in playing a role in Dave’s transformation programme, contact ian.tittley@crimson.co.uk or call 01675 466 477.