Steady business-growth means that the management of a company will – over time – become less and less centralised. Once a business has grown past a certain point, new levels of support are vital. For example, introducing a financial management team. Taking this step can happen as a result of growth but it also helps to ensure that the growth can continue. That is until the company matures, and becomes healthy and strong enough to last, without the need for continued growth. It’s still early days in a life Silva Brothers Logistics (SBL) but things are looking good.
Silva Brothers Logistics is a nationwide professional logistics company, working closely with the likes of ParcelForce and Amazon Logistics. The growth of SBL has accelerated in the last few years. It is now one of the UK’s leading courier services.
CBHC CEO, Ian Harris works alongside account manager, Cian Reardon to support the financial management of Silva Brothers Logistics. They have seen the company through some carefully planned and executed expansions, and are proud to be a part of this business growth story.
So, who are the Silva Brothers? The person usually on the end of the phone to Ian or Cian, is SBL’s managing director, Jodelle Silva. We spoke to Jodelle about his experiences in scaling the business and the pivotal decisions that have happened along the way.
Identifying business-growth
Silva Brothers Logistics realised they were experiencing rapid business-growth in 2016 when they took on one of the biggest sellers in the online market. Can you guess who?
By 2017, their current accounting office did not have enough structure to support the constant growth of the company. In 2018, SBL appointed CBHC to act as external financial team. Now, business-growth could be carefully measured and forecasted; giving them the clarity and confidence needed to keep expanding.
”The main support we received from CHBC was with the financial organisation and providing us peace of mind for investment in the logistics sector.
Jodelle Silva, Managing Director of Silva Brothers Logistics
Strategic Expansion
Expansion is a great way to scale a business. But it takes careful consideration and confidence in one’s financial position and operational capacities in order to capitalize on opportunities for expansion. In other words, timing is everything and the necessary ground-work must be done.
In 2019, Silva Brother Logistics opened a vehicle maintenance facet of the business. This was a “joining industry cooperatives” strategy. It means a company can save costs in a common area of operation. Jodelle says, “SBL has a reputation in the logistics sector as a company of excellence in care for its fleet. Upholding this standard of quality requires a huge cost in maintenance … We decided to open our own structure in vehicle maintenance and recovery, reducing our cost by an additional 30% per year”.
The Next Steps
For Silva Brothers, business growth has been about finding the right logistical and financial solutions. Now, they want to help other organisations who have “a lack of organisation in their fleet”. And CBHC will be there as they continue to expand their services.
