PROFILE
H
ermes is one of the UK’s leading
consumers delivery specialists and
works with leading retailers. The
parcel company provides a range of flexible
and affordable delivery options to home,
work, neighbours, safe place or ParcelShop
that are convenient for the consumer and
comply with people’s on-the-go approach to
daily life.
Chris Ashworth provides an insight into how
Hermes’ delivery process is so successful
and how it continues to innovate and
develop its service to achieve absolute
customer satisfaction.
upgrading and digitally transforming a legacy
infrastructure. My role evolved quite quickly
because in order to do that, I had to invoke
a strategic change, so the kind of change
management function fell under a traditional
CIO role.
We’ve been rolling out that three-year strategy
which is now coming to an end. This is helping
to digitise the business as we’re taking it
into the cloud, breaking down the legacy
infrastructure. We now have a more customer-
focused approach into our internal systems.
An overview of the role As technology has evolved, so has my role. My
remit now includes strategic developments,
product developments and even marketing.
My role has changed over the years. I was
appointed CIO three years ago which involved The CIO’s office drives the strategy and
product innovation of our business.
The main challenges of
Ashworth’s role
Peak time demand was the initial biggest
challenge I was faced with. Typically within
the industry, volumes double particularly
around Black Friday and Christmas. So, you
can take your busiest day in summer and
double it. We will deliver 2.4 million parcels
on our busiest day this year through our hubs
but as the volume doubles, the challenge
is much harder because the volume comes
to us a lot later. This is down to the fact
that clients struggle to get it out of their
warehouses on time due to their orders
doubling, roads are more treacherous, days
are darker, parcels need to get to the hub
earlier because there’s an increased amount
on the road. You’re therefore looking at a
10x scaling problem with regards to system.
I THINK WE
PROBABLY
LEAD THE WAY
WITH EUROPE
IN REGARDS
TO SERVICE
OFFERINGS,
CUSTOMER
CONFIGURATION,
ASSURANCE
CONTROL,
CUSTOMER
EXPERIENCE, THAT
KIND OF THING.
This is something that’s unique to my role
and industry, and something myself and my
peers struggle with each year.
The other challenge is that everything
completed within the industry has to be
done at real value. Most people take delivery
as a given. A lot of people don’t pay for
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