7th July - International Day of Cooperatives

Did you know that 2012 is the United Nations Year of the Cooperative and that today, the 7th July, is actually the International Day of Cooperatives? I thought I’d write a blog posting as part of the celebrations for the cooperatives making a real, tangible difference to their members and communities across the globe.

United Nations 2012 International Year of Cooperatives. Cooperative enterprises build a better world

How do I know about it? Well, to be honest I found out about it by accident as it was rather randomly featured in my local parish newsletter of all places and I thought it was a great idea. So, after a bit of research and an official application, Palletline is very proud and delighted, as a genuine commercial cooperative, to have authorisation to use the UN Year of the Cooperative logo.

Why were Palletline approved? Founded back in 1992 and 20 years on still 100% owned by our members, Palletline is a true commercial cooperative with a focus on delivering value for our members. We’re not just a pallet network – honest!

How does it work? Well each shareholder member is a delivery depot in their own right. They deliver Palletline freight in a specified postcode area and meet our high quality expectations, in return they are able to input their own freight into the network for delivery. This freight can be anything on a pallet for delivery across UK and Europe – from fresh eggs, bottles of ale, ceramic tiles, tyres, waffles through to umbrellas and lots more besides!

But for Palletline it doesn’t stop there… everything we do is focused on Member benefit. And do forgive me if I wax lyrical for a moment but we’re actually quite passionate about what we do.

We have to deliver more than just freight for our members. We have to make sure that they get best value out of us and their customers get the best possible service. We wholeheartedly support our members, enabling them not only to survive, but in many cases thrive and grow.

So what do we class as support? Our new Scottish Hub? Our Centralised Purchasing portal? Our European Service? Our investment in technology offering real time service reporting for our customers and reducing administration for members? Our knowledge sharing and collaboration? For example, I hosted a Social Media Workshop for members on Tuesday and left the hub with a genuine buzz – that we’d been able to share knowledge and expertise and make a difference to members is a powerful motivator!

So for us, the UN International Year of the Cooperative is about celebrating everything that cooperatives can achieve. I read a great quote online as part of an article on the increase in cooperatives in New Zealand.

“A cooperative is in business not to maximise its own profits but to serve its members’ needs, how ever their members define those needs, and you get your reward in proportion to how much you transact with the cooperative,” said Ramsey Margolis, the executive director of the Cooperative Association in New Zealand. Margolis also said that the average span of a company is seven years, compared to the 80 year lifetime for a cooperative.

Well said. So here’s celebrating the mighty cooperatives around the world – proud to be part of one and looking forward to the next 60 years for Palletline!

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