Case Study – Rhodes Freight Services

Rhodes Freight Services is a freight forwarding business based near Heathrow Airport, specialising in temperature-controlled transport of a range of products, from pharmaceuticals to flowers and foodstuffs.

Founded in 1992, Rhodes is a family run company with over 100 employees. Its modern fleet of vehicles includes 50 trailers and 45 tractor units, with a number of temperature-controlled vans and lorries specifically for Pharmaceuticals. 

Rhodes despatch vehicles to and from Europe, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, collecting perishable freight from airports around Europe for use in the UK supply chain. 

What were your challenges or problems before using LeShuttle Freight?

We used the freight ferry service to get to and from France, but we had issues meeting our customers’ demands for how quickly goods with a short shelf life could be delivered. We needed to find the quickest possible way to transport perishable goods from mainland Europe to the UK. David Rhodes, CEO and founder of the company, said that they needed a solution that was not only fast and reliable, but also economically viable for a high volume daily operation.

“Once loaded, the perishable goods we carry have a short shelf life, so it has always been imperative to reduce the time it takes for customers to get their goods”, says David.

How did LeShuttle Freight provide the solution you needed?

For Rhodes, Using LeShuttle Freight has streamlined the process of moving freight back from mainland Europe. Using the FIRST priority service, which means vehicles can board the next available shuttle in both directions, helps Rhodes deliver a service that “no other haulier is able to match”.

What, for you, are the key features of LeShuttle Freight?

Rhodes says that the FIRST Priority boarding, and the reliability and the frequency of the service (six departures every hour at peak times), is what the company values so much about using LeShuttle Freight.

How would you summarise the overall benefits to your company from using LeShuttle Freight?

By continuing to use LeShuttle Freight, Rhodes Freight Services are able to keep levels of customer satisfaction extremely high. As David Rhodes says: “It makes a huge difference to our business to be able to get freight out of Europe and into UK distribution centres within the same day, and in the shortest time. As this directly affects the level of service we can offer to our customers, LeShuttle Freight has certainly helped Rhodes to grow as a business."