Company background and history
Owens Group is one of the UK’s leading family-owned Transport, Warehousing and Distribution companies. Established in 1972 by Huw Owen MBE, of Llanelli, South Wales, the family-run business has been successfully operating for over 50 years.
Today, our ever-expanding family includes over 1,000 dedicated staff members across the UK. Our fleet comprises 200 vans, 400 trucks, and 850 trailers, ensuring the seamless movement of goods and products nationwide. We operate from 10 strategically located transport depots and manage a vast 2.5 million square feet of warehouse space across 25 facilities.
The challenge
The move to Wise was primarily driven by the need to improve the driver experience. Owens received constant complaints from drivers about poor service received from the previous provider, particularly regarding unanswered VAT-related queries. There was no dedicated contact within the business, leading to inconsistency in handling complaints. Issues often started with customer service, were raised multiple times, and yet never reached a resolution.
How Wise has helped
Wise have allocated Zac Cummings as the dedicated account manager for all drivers and Owens team members, providing a consistent point of contact for issues. Zac has always helped where possible, and made himself known to the drivers and Owens by hosting meetings on key topics such as VAT.
The Wise platform has also streamlined the management of onboarding and compliance documents for Owens.
Additionally, the wider Wise team has been highly responsive, taking recommendations seriously and making continuous improvements to the system – most recently, by introducing the ability to provide a reason when rejecting a document.
Results
While there hasn’t been a major time-saving in weekly tasks like invoicing, the system and service are notably better. Under our previous provider, driver complaints were regularly escalated to me, but that’s no longer the case. Instead, the feedback from drivers has shifted to being overwhelmingly positive – both about the overall service and their experience with the Wise app and Beamin’ pot.
Additionally, the compliance team has been consistently impressive in how quickly they review, amend, update, and sign off necessary documentation. This has resulted in a significant time-saving for me.
Darren Mayers, General Manager – Owens Group
