Strategic Partnerships – Philip Dennis and Gray & Adams

Philip Dennis is an independent wholesaler of fresh, chilled, frozen, and ambient goods to the hospitality, education, and care sectors from its three distribution centres in Ilfracombe, Witney, and Dudley. Although Philip Dennis has been in business for over 50 years, they are a new customer to Gray & Adams, having touched base with our sales team during the pandemic for an exact requirement for double deck trailers to enhance efficiencies across their business.

Discussing the new strategic relationship between the two businesses, Philip Dennis Managing Director, Stephen Carr tells us,

“During the pandemic, we looked at making some changes to our business as part of a strategy to increase efficiencies and reduce operational costs. One of those changes was that we looked at consolidating the majority of our stock into one depot. To achieve this, we had to look at ways we could efficiently transport the goods overnight to and from the other two depots and this is when we approached Gray & Adams.”

Stephen explains,

“We wanted to look at the double deck trailer option as we could significantly reduce the journeys that we would make between the depots by effectively doubling the amount of stock that can be moved in one trip, and in addition significantly reduce fuel costs. Gray & Adams were the clear option to discuss this with as the original manufacturer of double deck trailers as well as their reputation for build quality and value for money.”

The result of this initial conversation with the Gray & Adams sales team was that Philip Dennis placed an order for three bespoke double deck trailers that are currently in production in the Fraserburgh depot.

Stephen shares with us,

“We are looking forward to taking delivery of the double decks and enjoying the benefits it will bring to our business operations. We’ve previously ordered 18T rigid bodies from Gray & Adams and we were incredibly impressed by the quality of the build and the customer service we received from the team. Philip Dennis classes itself as a medium sized business but the sales team at G&A have always treated us as if we are a much larger entity, therefore we feel as if we are an incredibly valued customer, despite not working with the team for as long as some other businesses.”

Looking ahead to the future of the business, Stephen also shares his insights on what the future holds for the business,

“As well as maximising profitability, Philip Dennis is a forward-thinking company in terms of how we can reduce our carbon footprint throughout our operations. We have already implemented solar panels across our depots and have our own turbine to help generate clean power for the business. Therefore, our decision to move to double deck trailers aligns with that strategy. The majority of our fleet have electric fridge units installed and, in the future, we also want to consider moving to fully electric trailers and tractor units, but the first step on this journey is the shift from single to double decks to do our part with carbon footprint reduction.”

“The environmental considerations are important to us but Philip Dennis also value quality and reliability throughout our operations. This is one of the reasons that we chose to partner with Gray & Adams, and we are looking forward to strengthening the relationship as the two businesses move forward.”

For more information on Philip Dennis, please visit https://www.philipdennis.co.uk/