Courier and logistics might not be the most obvious service for a security company, but in many ways it was a natural evolution for us.
Our customers wanted a secure and reliable delivery service, and who better to provide that than the world’s largest security company.
We already had much of the infrastructure in place – a network of sites that now totals 145 across the country, a large fleet of over 400 vehicles and motorcycles, an unrivalled knowledge of Kenya’s towns and terrain, and the security know-how to give our customers peace of mind that their goods will be secure.
Wide range of sectors
Our service is built on speed, reliability, and security and we can courier anything from a single letter to a large shipment. On an average day we collect and distribute over 20,000 shipments of all shapes and sizes across the country.
Our customers come from a wide range of sectors and their requests vary enormously.
The financial services sector is huge for us. If a customer requests a new cheque book, credit or debit card, for example, then we will deliver it to them at their home address or office on behalf of the bank. Documents can be rapidly couriered to and from customers in remote locations.
For the pharmaceutical sector we deliver drugs in bulk to chemists and healthcare sites, and on behalf of hospitals we transport specimens and test results all across the country. Our service is critical to the health of the nation, and our large interconnecting network across the country has undoubtedly saved lives by guaranteeing delivery within 24 hours.
Recently we have been tasked with delivering exam papers to schools, as the integrity of the exams depends on them arriving safely and being held securely until exam time. It’s a great responsibility and one that we take very seriously.
Robust security
That’s where our security knowledge comes in. We have a number of very robust measures in place including 24 hour backup and response for our drivers, and a vehicle and shipments tracking solution that gives us complete visibility of our operations, to give just two examples.
There are of course some products we will not transport – firearms, perishable goods, and live animals to name a few. The strangest request we’ve received was to courier a human body in a coffin, which we politely declined!
It’s our hardworking and skilled workforce that sets us apart, which in courier services alone now totals 1,200 people. Most impressively, 80% of them have worked for us for seven or more years, which is testament to the experience and know-how they bring to our business.
Collect, store and deliver
In addition to our courier service, our warehousing operation is vast and seeing increasing demand. We have three large warehouses totalling over 30,000 sq ft of space, where we can store goods for customers.
This allows us to offer an end-to-end solution where we will collect, store, and deliver goods on behalf of our customers. This solution is particularly popular with companies that don’t have their own storage but ship in high volume, for example book publishers for whom we can store, pack and deliver orders as they come in.
Some customers also use our warehouses to store spare parts, for example we have a telecoms company that sends its engineers to pick up spares it keeps in our warehouses. This saves them time and money by not having to return to Nairobi when they need to collect stock.
The rapid rise of e-commerce has become big business in Kenya, and consumers expect an easy, fast, and convenient delivery experience. As a result, local and international businesses selling goods online are turning to G4S for our infrastructure, flexible solutions, and our track and trace system for shipments. We can provide a tailor made platform for cash on delivery that gives our customer and the end consumer high confidence in the process.
The well-known international courier brands are looking at Africa and seeing the opportunity, but what they can’t match is our experience on the ground, our dedicated staff, and our in-house security knowledge.
G4S isn’t just the world’s largest security company – in some countries like Kenya it’s the largest courier company too. So many businesses and individuals trust G4S to keep their deliveries safe and secure. To find out more, and see the territories our Secure Logistics service operates, visit here.