RE: RNS - purchase of assets from Octopus Hydrogen17 Nov 2023 10:35
Truth - no we aren't in logistics, but as already mentioned this is normal!, Any business which in any way handles the distribution of fuel has its own transport
we like every other company involved in fuel distribution should have out own transport and storage facility's.
you may have heard but there is a shortage of HGV drivers (and equipment) in the UK making it rather expensive and unreliable for short timescale turnaround of orders. if a SHS customer is low on fuel they expect a delivery within 24 hours such as you can expect if ordering a diesel bowser.
this makes sense for plenty of reasons. you give only one reason it doesn't make sense. which happens to also be false - cash burn will be higher this way in the short term, but if you have a fuel tanker on hire 24/7 driving all over the country, it isnt long before the costs swing the other way.
just google it - morrisons has over 1700 trailers and 650 tractor units (enough for a base level of needs). are they idiots for not outsourcing the base level requirement? or are they smart given they are used every single day and its far cheaper to pay fuel + maintenance than having a massive amount of people responsible for ringing around company's asking for quotes to deliver every single load, quotes which vary every day based on availability, then people to do the admin on the quotes, approving raising Purchase orders e.c.t. its far cheaper to do it yourself than outsource over the medium term. this makes sense even if you dont want it to.