
JAMER
Fortoak, the UK’s leading supplier of till rolls, labels and packaging has reaped the rewards from its partnership with LTS Global Solutions, a Birmingham-based supply chain solutions specialist. Over the past year, the wholesaler has gone from strength to strength, which has been underpinned by both organic growth and the recent acquisition of Pad Printers, a prominent name in the manufacture and supply of restaurant pads and paper products across the UK and Ireland.
With Fortoak importing between 18 and 20 containers per month from the Far East, the business turned to LTS Global Solutions for an end-to-end logistics solution that would enhance operational efficiency and streamline its processes.
Fast forward to the present day and LTS provides seamless inbound logistics solutions on its behalf, managing the landing of all containers, as well as clearing and transporting pallets to Fortoak’s racking space located at LTS’ facility at Coleshill, Birmingham, where it occupies 8,600 sq. ft. of warehousing space and a designated pick and pack area of 1,169 pallet spaces.
The company’s outbound logistics operation is similarly managed through a combination of LTS’ pallet network, TPN, as well as two dedicated LTS trucks which are liveried with Fortoak branding, along with several other external final-mile partnerships.
LTS’ expertise has enabled Fortoak to deliver a market leading 99.2 percent on-time, in-full delivery rate to its diverse base of over 1,000 active customers across various verticals including retail, hospitality, petrol forecourt, and merchant services operations who are supported both directly and through a network of distribution partners.
Such is the depth of their partnership, that since moving into LTS’ facility in 2022 Fortoak has also benefited from having three office spaces on-site which houses 12 staff.
The site’s scalability and versatile infrastructure were key factors for Fortoak, offering the wholesaler a unique opportunity to collaborate more efficiently with LTS. Equally, the flexibility of the facility provides the support needed for future growth, allowing the business to expand with minimal friction.
With the facility being carbon neutral in construction, it aligned with Fortoak’s sustainability commitments. Looking ahead, Fortoak Managing Director Simon McCouaig believes that with further growth on the horizon, its relationship with LTS places the company in a strong positioned to achieve on its ambitious goals over the coming years.
Simon McCouaig commented: “Over the past year, our growth has really shown just how important it is to have a reliable logistics partner – something we have luckily found in LTS. Their ability to scale with us has been pivotal in keeping us on track and ensuring we deliver exactly what our customers need, without stumbling at the first hurdle which is easily done.
Alex Vergopoulos, Fortoak’s Chairman, also added “LTS manages the logistics and storage side of our business, and we manage the orders, take care of the pick and pack operation as well as the final-mile distribution. It’s a true partnership. Being able to work out of LTS’ impressive site is also hugely beneficial as it enables us to have a greater overview of our entire operation.
“From our shared commitment to sustainability to the way we operate, the synergy between our two companies is what makes our relationship run like clockwork. In many ways they have become a vital cog in our operation, and we are confident that they will continue to play a significant role in our expansion plans as we look to develop our operation organically and through further acquisition.”
Dave Hands, Managing Director of LTS Global Solutions also said: “Flexibility is at the core of everything we do at LTS, and is a significant enabler in ensuring our clients and partners have complete confidence in our ability to provide the right tailored support they need to grow alongside us.
“Our relationship with Fortoak could perhaps be considered as slightly unconventional as they not only have space in our building, we are also their logistics partners as well as their customer as we purchase both labelling and packaging products from them.
“We literally work hand in hand and it is a relationship which is paying dividends for both organisations.
“We are delighted to be a part of Fortoak’s continuing success story and look forward to continuing to support them on their growth journey.”