On the 13th of December Unipart Rail and Freightliner won the Most Innovative Company of the Year at the FTA Awards for the SmartServe solution provided at the Freightliner depot in Crewe.

The Freight Transport Association (FTA) is an organisation that brings together leaders from across the supply chain including shippers, hauliers, ports, management and associated sectors and this is a prestigious Award to have gained. 

The new depot facility in Crewe was set up to maintain the existing fleet of diesel locos by a cross-functional Freightliner/Unipart team that worked very closely with Freightliner’s local and national management teams to fully co-ordinate the actions needed to enable such an innovative supply chain solution to be created, developed and implemented within a challenging nine-month deadline

The whole concept of running a 21st Century railway service based around mid 20^th Century technology seems incredible in the digital age, but here the engineers’ motto of ‘If it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ holds true. As Freightliner is proving, just because a loco is old doesn’t mean it’s past its serviceable life. Investing in an ultra modern facility to keep them running shows a commitment to maintaining excellence and making the best use of what is available.

The way in which the teams from Unipart Rail and Freightliner worked together in the true spirit of collaboration meant that many new, innovative ideas were discussed and implemented quickly and effectively. This spirit is reflected now in the day-to-day operation of the facility and it is encouraging to see how staff have embraced these new ways of working.