Into the Dragon's Den with Hilary Devey
September 1st 2011

Since taking her seat on BBC2 show Dragons'Den, Hilary Devey has become one of the most high profile figures in logistics.Here, Hilary, founder and CEO of Pall-Ex, tells HSS about her new found fame and reveals how she is driving Pall-Ex towards European dominance.

The past few months have been some of the most hectic of my life, but it's safe to say that I've loved every second. Stepping out from behind my desk to sit alongside some of the country's best-known entrepreneurs was quite a daunting experience. However, Duncan, Theo, Deborah and Peter were extremely welcoming.

The Dragons' Den panel has a highly diverse range of professional and personal backgrounds and I think that makes us extremely well placed to offer advice to a range of businesses and to guide and grow the lucky few that secure investments.

I look for passion, belief, dedication, sound knowledge and a level head when it comes to potential investments. These are the character traits that enabled me to get Pall-Ex off the ground and turn it into a £100m business and these are the elements needed to be truly entrepreneurial.

Take Dragons' Den success story Levi Roots. He had a business plan, he had a goal and he certainly had a great product. He also had the added bonus of a charismatic personality. Even from his initial pitch, he had what it takes to succeed in bucket loads. I think it's safe to say I would have been interested in doing a deal with Levi had I been in the Den at the time.

Of course for every good pitch, there is a shocking one. One of my pet hates is people that believe reading a 'How to…" type book will equip them for the world of business. You learn from experience and from going out there and doing it. There may be mistakes, but learn from them. If you want to read a book, read a biography of a leading business figure. Trust me when I say that you'll learn a lot more from it.

For those looking to become the 'next big thing', I would advise looking further afield and seeing how you can be more competitive in a global marketplace. I believe that for British businesses to succeed, they can't rely solely on the domestic economy. If you have a great idea, it will work anywhere.

It's a principle I've applied to my own business and it's no secret that I want to establish the first Pan-European palletised freight distribution network.

Despite my Dragons' Den commitments, I've spent a great deal of time working with my team to drive this European expansion forwards.

With Pall-Ex Italia already up and running, 2011 has seen the launch of Pall-Ex Iberia. Our 30 member strong hub in Madrid delivers throughout the Peninsula and the Balearic Islands.

In addition, we have signed a master licence agreement to create Pall-Ex Romania, which will be the first ever pallet network in Eastern Europe and will be fully operational by 2012.We are also busy seeking partners for networks in Germany, France, Benelux, Turkey and Poland.

Pan-European freight is generally handled in a different way to the UK and I was confident that our hub and spoke model, which has brought reliability, continuity of service and lower, consistent costs to the domestic market, could work on the continent too.

It's about having conviction in your business model, spotting a gap in the market and adapting service offerings when needed. This is something Pall-Ex is continuing to do in the UK too with our Retail Plus+ offering, which is helping to bring supply chain efficiency, reduced costs and lower carbon emissions to retailers.

Research showed that many retail outlets are situated in timed pedestrian zones and are not open around the clock, resulting in a small delivery window when staff are present and shoppers are not restricted. Space can also be an issue and often pallets need to be split on location. Retail Plus+ was developed as a solution, providing timed deliveries into retail outlets and deliveries outside of trading hours, including the depalletisation of goods and the removal of packaging.

Business success is about conviction and market awareness and over the coming months, I look forward to using these to bring growth to Pall-Ex and my Dragons' Den investments.

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