2004 Case Study

The logistics behind delivering telephone directories to the Channel Islands is bringing up an interesting new set of challenges for Deya Ltd. Used to using lorries, vans and cars on the UK mainland to carry out deliveries, the company is now including boats and tractors amongst the list of delivery methods!

On Jersey there are over 40,000 households and 99% of them have telephones (according to market research carried out in 2004) they are all given free telephone directories. The other islands are smaller, although Guernsey has over 60,000 residents, Alderney 2000, Sark 600 and around 5 on Herm. Sark and Herm hold a special position amongst the Channel Islands as the island has no cars and residents rely on tractors and bikes to transport themselves and any bulky belongings from the harbours.

Directories in the Channel Islands

The first telephone exchange was opened in Jersey in 1895 by the National Telephone Company although initially only a small proportion of the island had access to the telephone. By 1923 over 1500 residents had telephones and this number continued to increase steadily, until the occupation of the island in 1940 when all communication with the outside world ceased. Post-occupation there was an enormous demand for telephone services and the number of subscribers grew rapidly over the years to the present numbers.

The Jersey Telecom Group has been operating as an independent company since 2000, although the States of Jersey still has a majority shareholding. It provides telephone networks and related services across the Island of Jersey to residential and business users. A subsidiary company called Wave Telecom was set up in 2002 to provide similar services to the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes Alderney, Sark and Herm, in competition with the incumbent telecom provider.

On Jersey, Jersey Telecom publishes a telephone directory of around 1000 pages each year. It contains local community information, maps and cycle routes, a street index and details of the Jersey Telecom products as well as the telephone contact information. The white pages contain the alphabetical listing of all phone numbers followed by numerical listing. In the rest of the UK, a numerical listing cannot be provided because of the restrictions of the data protection act, but on Jersey different regulations apply and numerical listings are popular and useful. The directory also contains a classified section for business listings.

Until 2000, Jersey Telecom had delivered its directories through a local company called Regency, issuing one copy free to every household. But there were a significant number of people who were dissatisfied with the way the directories were delivered, so the decision was made to put the delivery work out to tender.

Deya's Jersey Solution

Deya, a specialist distribution company, has been delivering telephone directories, yellow pages and business directories across the UK for over 20 years. Although delivering in Jersey was a new area for them, they tendered for the business.

Annette Khan, Information Services Manager for Jersey Telecom, responsible for all aspects of the content and production of the directories, described their requirements: "We needed a professional, well organised company to provide our delivery service to homes and businesses. Deya was well known and respected in the UK, their prices were very competitive and they had a considerable track record of successfully carrying out extensive delivery projects. We have now been working with them for four years and have built a strong working relationship. The complaints from customers have also dropped significantly!"

91,500 directories are printed in Sweden by Elanders each year. 80,000 are shipped to Jersey and the remainder are stored in the UK to be used as spares for when a new subscriber is established. On arrival in Jersey, the directories are taken to a central warehouse, initially in a location at the docks, but recently relocated to a potato packing warehouse on a farm where there was easier round the clock access for the delivery contractors. Deya organises the deliveries using 50 to 60 individual delivery contractors who collect the directories in their cars from the warehouse and carry out deliveries using specific delivery routes drawn up by Deya's routing software.

In Guernsey the first Wave Telecom directory is being assembled ready to be published in 2005. Deya is in the process of setting up the warehouse and delivery structure needed to deliver it to Guernsey and the other three Islands. The residents of Guernsey have never had telephone directories delivered before, they usually have to collect them from Parish Halls or Supermarkets. For Deya the delivery process has created interesting new challenges for them, as Sark and Herm have no cars.

Mark Hayman, Managing Director of Deya explained. "As well as arranging to deliver by water, we are also making arrangements to use the most convenient means of transport on Sark which is the tractor! Telephone directories are not lightweight books and can't be carried around in bulk quantities!"

"The Wave directory will be very different for Guernsey residents," continued Annette Khan. "As well as providing an alphabetical listing of residents and their numbers, we will be providing local maps and advertising for businesses. When the directory is ready for the first delivery, we will set up a Freephone telephone number to give residents the opportunity to give feedback on the delivery process. The response to the production of the directory has been very positive so far; we shall wait for further comments after the delivery has been made."

Directories In Demand

"On Jersey customers seem to value their directories very highly," continued Annette. "Sometimes I am amazed at how eager people are to receive their copy! They read them very thoroughly and are keen to offer feedback!"

"With the advent of web directories there was a possibility that the demand for the hard copy would decline, but in fact we have found that the majority of advertisers and users want to keep receiving a hard copy directory, so it's here for a while yet!"

In March 2005 Deya will start a new three-year contract to deliver the Jersey directories. The new Guernsey directory will be ready in January 2005 and Deya will then start a three-year contract to deliver those directories.

"We are very happy working with Deya," concluded Annette. "The directory team is working well with them and our residents seem happy at the way the service has improved over the last four years under Deya's management. We have a demanding customer base and a challenging delivery environment; but we are confident that by working closely with Deya we can continue to build a service that meets the needs of the islanders."