During 2021, the ongoing HGV driver shortages greatly affected supply of goods to convenience stores across the UK, however, according to the Managing Director of Unitas, John Kinney, the chronic issues exacerbated by the pandemic & Brexit, have started to show signs of improvement.

The shortage – one that affected both suppliers and wholesalers – resulted in wastage and availability issues, hindering retailers in the efforts to meet rebate targets. However, in the view of Kinney, speaking at Unitas’s annual trade show recently, wholesalers have been much more relaxed about the issue.

“Not Hearing Many Member Driver Concerns Internally”

John Kinney went on to explain this lack of worry about the shortage “I’m not hearing a lot from members about concerns of drivers internally. Some of them are incentivising and have offered double digit pay increases. It’s a dog-eat-dog world, and drivers will stay if we pay them well”.

Kinney also urged suppliers to ensure 2021 issues are not repeated in the lead up to Easter…“How many more drivers are there leading up to Easter compared with Christmas? The numbers probably haven’t changed significantly. We’re talking to suppliers and asking if they’ve forecast to ensure the convenience sector is in a good position for Easter”.

One issue that wholesalers are facing, however, is poaching of personnel, with the big boys doing what they can to secure the services of all available HGV drivers, with Kinney saying “Amazon is one company in particular that has told drivers they’d pay the penalty clause of exiting their contract early.”

“Independent Retailers Shouldn’t Miss Out”

Mr Kinney continued, talking about improving things further in the future “We can’t just bottle a problem that might come across the line again. We had issues where the suppliers provided products to the multiples and not independent retailers. That’s not right. We don’t want the multiples to get preference.”

Speaking about Unitas’s Today’s, Day-Today and Lifestyle Express Fascias, Kinney stated that the company had begun to offer enhanced financial incentives for retailers that remained compliant, saying…

“A lot of ranges changed through Covid-19 due to availability. The main task is to get retailers back into the support of our core range. It’s never been about increasing numbers, it’s about rewarding our members for compliance.”

Doing Our Bit to Support The Haulage Industry

After so many challenges faced throughout 2021, it is nice to hear that improvements are being felt at any level in the UK’s haulage industry, although this is not yet echoed in the wider picture. However, the HGVC team will continue to support the industry through the provision of high quality HGV licence acquisition programmes.

Thanks to our national network of driver training centres and highly experienced, expert instructors, we have the capacity to deal with any level of requirement. From small businesses, right up to the largest operators, we can scale our services to meet all of your licensing needs.

If you’d like to learn more about us and what sets us apart, please take a look around our website, where you’ll see everything you need.. Alternatively, to speak to us about your needs directly, call us on 0330 818 8888 or click on our ‘contact us’ link and send us a message.