‘We want to be another tech sector success story’

CCL Logistics, the business I started from a small office in Troon in 1999, was pleased to be among the first cohort of companies selected for ScaleupScotland 2.0, an initiative driven by Sir Tom Hunter with the support of The Hunter Foundation.

The scale-up support programme could not have come at a better time, as CCL is going through its fastest phase of growth. In revenue terms, we are building on multiple years of double-digit growth, and increasing demand for our innovative technology from customers in the UK and Europe means we can be ambitious enough to target revenue in excess of £100 million over the next few years.

Rapid growth can be exciting and trying in equal measure and, if anything, being able to adapt and evolve is key. It was one of the points to come up at this week’s Scottish National Investment Bank-led Scaling Up Summit in Edinburgh.

We now have a headcount at over 100 based across the UK, and are investing around £3 million every year into our technology platform, underpinned by over 40 people working at our Innovation Centre at Strathclyde Business Park.

Callum Bastock, Founder and CEO, CCL Logistics & Technology

Essentially, we work with manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, and retailers to simplify their supply chain, improve productivity, and significantly reduce costs

Sustainability is paramount for our UK and European customers, and the CO2 emissions calculator feature of our transport management system, myCCL, provides customers with a CO2 statement at the press of a button. Reinforcing our commitment to making an impact in this area, we have recruited a Head of Sustainability who starts with the business next month.

As we scale the company, hiring the right people across the group is critical to momentum and, at the end of 2021, former Google supply chain lead Tony Wringe came on board as chief technology officer.

Tony has overseen us building out our sea freight capability, we are now dynamically updating ETAs with live vessel mapping, customs status fields, and a free-time counter that helps customers eliminate demurrage costs.

Sea freight rates are an eye-opening measure of shifting global industry dynamics in recent years. So, a 40-foot container, the industry standard, is now around $2,000, compared to something closer to $20,000 during the pandemic.

As your business grows at speed, the only constant becomes change which you have no option but to embrace. We religiously focus on one quarter at a time to deliver our twelve month goals which, in turn, connects to our three-year vision.

Back at ScaleupScotland 2.0, one of my main takeaways was how transformational peer-to-peer learning can be. Just to be in the room with fellow entrepreneurs and business leaders, sharing experiences, good and bad, and being able to ask specific questions of people that have already been through scaling challenges similar to ours is an invaluable process.

We want to be another success story for Scotland’s technology sector, but our primary focus is around how we can be an even better business for our people and our valued customers.

And along the way, we have collective pride in the jobs we have created and our contribution to regional and national economic growth.

Callum Bastock, Founder and CEO, CCL Logistics & Technology