Quote:
Originally Posted by reflector
I would have thought that EWS is a sound and fairly well trusted name in and beyond the industry and something on which they can build.
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I'll try NOT to offend any EWS employees, it's a company I deeply respect. Anyway here goes....
Sadly on the Railway nowadays, just as everywhere else, 'style wins over content'
EWS is seen by many in the industry as being the last freight company to do things 'The Old BR way'. Not that there's anything wrong with the old way, but things change over time and there's alot of competition now.
Companies like GBRf, which is a relatively new player, have swept away most old working practices. As part of the First group they are extremely image conscious; they portray themselves as being very business orientated by doing things like dressing their drivers in suits and calling them Train Managers. This is only window-dressing, but customer seem
to lap it up.
But fundamentally it's Logistics which count. By basing many of their drivers at home and faxing jobsheets directly to them, they save on real estate costs. Also by sending out fuel bowsers to meet the locos at remote locations they save on having fuelling points. Obviously this enables them to undercut the prices that EWS with its enormous resource base has to charge. The bottom line is that GBRf
can do it cheaper much of the time, and their reliability is around 99%. Hence they're growing like a virus.
Most industry insiders believe it's time for EWS to face up to GBRf, HH, and DRS and play them at their own game. But it will take a visionary to lead this, and it will be painful for many. And of course on top of this we're now enterring a recession/depression, so things will even harder still.
Personally I deeply hope EWS wins through. They have a really experienced and talented workforce, which thoroughly deserves to win more work.
I believe that EWS really
does need an image change, and I hope that DB Schenker can take it forward. Good luck to them.