This photo is one snap shot of what compliance and safe operations looks like in our industry.

We operated in a world where clients want their product immediately and often don¹t understand the complexity and the steps it takes for drivers to establish a safe load before they can get on the road.

In this climate all Ryans’ Vinidex Drivers, like the ones you see above, undergo refresher load restraint compliance training every 12 months. This ensures our teams always knows what the best practice is, how to identify risks and how to ensure the safety of everyone on the road.

Not a small task but such a large part of their every day life!

Good work team.

This week we say farewell to Peter Cooper who is resigning his four year role as a Ryans driver to spend more time with his family.

Peter is a man of few words so when we read his resignation letter it was something that we wanted to share with our team and supporters

Here is one particular excerpt that really speaks to the Ryans’ culture:

“Your confidence in my abilities and genuine concern for my professional growth make this decision especially difficult. I will be forever grateful for the invaluable expertise I acquired while under your guidance. Also the friendships I have developed here have helped make my years with the company successful and productive. My co-workers have been amongst the finest people I have ever know.”

Thank you Peter for all your work and dedication over the last four years. We wish you and your family every success and happiness.

We’ve talked a lot about the structural changes we made to our vehicles, which helped us secure our contract with Vinidex. However, in partnership with Honeywell and Peacock Bros we also made some key technological innovations that have made a huge difference to our customer relations with Vinidex.

Honeywell recently made a video detailing our Epod solution that is live in our trucks and the benefits this has for our customers.

The benefits include:

• Simple process: Jobs are sent out to the hand held device in the field
• Modern technology: The customer is able to sign on the screen of the device, which is then loaded online and accessible to customers. Photos can also be taken of the delivery of goods if the customer is not present
• Transparency for our customers: Each delivery is tracked and estimated times of delivery are available

You can read about the other innovations that were implemented for the Vinidex contract here.

To celebrate an exceptionally successful first twelve months of operation, Ryans has fine-tuned the landscape of our Derrimut facility allowing for new and improved services to our existing and future customers. Starting its second year off with substantial growth in all its business facets, the Derrimut facility has incorporated a newly enhanced competitive offering to its daily repertoire: warehousing, storage and container handling and cartage.

By improving our warehousing and storage facilities, Ryans is now better equipped to provide our customers with a complete start to finish service.

Our current warehousing customers enjoy up-to-date security and software systems and dedicated account managers to ensure that all pallets are tracked and recorded accurately. Additionally, regular stocktakes are completed ensuring that all stock is always accounted for.

The Derrimut facility currently has 4,500 pallet spaces available for either blocked, stacked or palletised racking. However, the service doesn’t end there, our customers also receive innovative transport, labour and import and export solutions.

Our International division can provide solutions to all import and export needs. It has the knowledge and the experience to ensure that your freight reaches its destination or is successfully collected from anywhere around the globe. This includes warf cartage and container packing and/or unpacking.

On the other hand, if your business is local, our fast-growing Melbourne fleet can provide you with pick and pack options as well as any transport solutions that may be required.

If you are in the market for storage or warehousing solutions, as well as transport deliveries, or if you would like to find out more, please contact us today to discuss your options further.

Much work is quietly done in the background to position Ryans at the forefront of community engagement in our region. Ryans has been a promoter and supporter of local schools for some 60 years; as long as we have been in existence. Support of schools and community is the backbone of our organisation.

Today, Ryans has representation at a number of forums, and is involved in a number of community initiatives including:

• Board member participation on the South West Local Learning & Employment Network
• Active participation in the Great South Coast YR 12 attainment project
• Active participation in the Great South Coast Suicide Prevention Strategy project
• Ryans “Chance of a lifetime” project in collaboration with Great South Coast Medicare Local
• Sponsors of Peter’s Project – a community supported initiative committed to the facilitation of comprehensive cancer services for the South West Victorian region
• Sponsors of the HeytesburyTimboon Rebels Cricket Club
• Sponsors of the Woolsthorpe Primary School Fair
• Sponsors of the Merrivale Primary School Fun Fair
• Sponsors of the Annual St. Joseph’s Primary School Fair

While Ryans has always been a strong supporter of the community, we are actively seeking more ways to get involved and benefit the South West region. “For Ryans it’s no longer enough to get a win-win situation in business,” says Graham Ryan. “Our motto is win-win-win, and that is how we make sure our community benefits from our strategic partnerships and shares in our business success.”

Everyone knows that roads can be hazardous and cruel to its passengers, which is why since 2005 Ryans’ has been working hard to reduce risks to its team and fleet. There’s even a case study on it.

Zurich Australia, our insurer, has recently published a case study on our transition to a more empowered business. It states that Ryans is, “focused on improvement and innovation far beyond the baseline of compliance”.

But what does that really mean? Basically, with the support of our strategic partners, RSM Insurance brokers and Zurich Australia, we have reduced our claims by 58% over the past three years. Over the course of the nine years that we have been with Zurich our claims have fallen by 78%. Furthermore, the average cost of a claim is down 53%. Essentially, our clients and our company as a whole are benefiting from having much safer and smoother operations.

However, to achieve this we had to decide what Ryans, as a business, really is, and most importantly what we’re good at. Don’t get us wrong, we are good at a lot of things, but if it takes you five hours to make a sponge cake then you should probably ask someone else for help. And that’s exactly what we did.

If you follow Ryans in the media, about two years ago you may have heard some hype about our partnership with Scania. This deal provided that we would buy trucks from Scania and keep them for a period of time. At the end of that time Scania would buy the trucks back (for an agreed value), sell them second hand, and we would buy new ones. The clinch pin of this agreement is that Scania is responsible for all the maintenance of the fleet. That way they take great care of the vehicle – that they will want to re sell – and we enjoy the perks of their flawless maintenance.

Not to say that we aren’t good at maintenance, we have an awesome fleet manager (who you can read about on page four), but we do transport, supply chain solutions, and we are one of the few organisations who look really good in orange… but lets face it: primarily we aren’t mechanics in this modern age.

We’ve implemented quite a range of initiatives in the past nine years that have helped to continually improve our safety performance. You’ve probably heard of a lot of them:

• 90km speed limit – this reduces fuel costs and saves wear and tear to the trucks.
• Our vehicles are easy to spot thanks to our orange bumpers.
• Our drivers undergo medical checks and drug and alcohol testing.
• Our drivers also have to complete certificate III training programs.
• With the help of Great South Coast Medicare Local most of our team has completed a health check, and has access to health seminars and tips and support to improve their health.

So for the next nine years and beyond we will be looking to make new friends and partners in different industries and keep pushing the boundaries of innovation. We do this for the benefit of our business, the satisfaction of our clients, and for the safety of our team and those who share that cruel, hazardous, black bitumen road that we call home.

What is one thing you can rely on in this world? Sure, the sun will always rise and set, and the waves will always roll in, but one thing that impacts Ryans greatly is that people are always going to need to eat… That is why securing this contract with Fonterra is potentially the biggest contract for us to date!

Compared to this time last year, Ryans has gone from transporting no dairy to transporting almost three quarters of the regions dairy produce, and it came about due to the dedication and persistence of our team.

After years of keeping in touch with Fonterra trying to reduce empty running (where a truck comes back to the depot with no load after making a delivery), in March this year Ryans received notification that Fonterra was going to tender.

Winning a contract with a client like Fonterra is no easy feat. “The whole process took a number of months to complete,” said Ryans General Manager Commercial, Martin Ellul. “We had to move through various stages and eventually were asked to present our offer on three separate occasions. In August we were awarded the contract and began work.”

Aside from ticking our recession proofing business box, the contract with Fonterra has significantly increased the size of our fleet. We now have seven new prime movers and nine trailer sets as well as numerous pallets sets, which will also be used for work with Woolworths, Warrnambool Cheese and Butter and Lion.

“The team, from senior management to onsite fork operators, drivers as well as operations and administration staff have done a phenomenal job to date,” said Martin. “I am very pleased to advise that all KPIs were reached and exceeded for the first month’s service results.”

We are very pleased to be on this five-year journey with Fonterra and look forward to expanding our relationship with this renowned dairy provider.

At Ryans we believe in rewarding our committed and loyal staff, and ensure that as our company grows we create new opportunities for our staff. Now we want to share with you just one example.

Leigh Toogood, aka “Lethal”, has been working with Ryans now for 25 years. You might recognise him as the one with the biker moustache… But that is a story for another day! Leigh spent 20 years as a driver, raking up enough kms to travel around the world almost 104 times. As a dedicated Woolworths driver he took care of the stores in Mulgrave initially and Broadmeadows for 14 years. That is, until recently.

A couple of months ago he left the drivers seat and now is Ryan’s Fleet Manager. “I never knew what the after-life for driving would be,” he said. “But now I work to reduce the cost of maintenance, ensure a high level of compliance, and look after the image of the company on the road.” A big change from being alone as a driver, Lethal’s phone is now his weapon and gets calls from drivers all around Victoria with problems ranging from busted headlights to engine problems.

As he talks about his position he reminisces about how far he has come from sitting up the back of the class with Ryans Managing Director, Graham Ryan. “It’s a hard industry, and some questions are never great at 2am in the morning” he said, “but I got here from having a big interest in mechanical things, and if I couldn’t do it, I would ask and read until I worked it out.”

“Nowadays, if I can help some poor bugger make their day better, then I’ll be able to walk out of here with a smile on my face myself”, says Lethal.