Onside | Page 16

ONSIDE / DEAL PROFILE SIGNED SEALED DELIVERED Seneca’s investment in My Parcel Delivery, an e-commerce business serving the logistics market, is an example of innovation and opportunity. Founder David Grimes tells Michael Taylor how frustration with bad service is his constant motivation. B ack when David Grimes was running his first business after university – a promotional merchandise venture – it was totally reliant on sending parcels to customers. As he discovered, that was easier said than done. “As a small, start-up operation we didn’t have the necessary volume of parcels to get an account with a courier company. This meant daily trips to the Post Office to send our parcels via Royal Mail. Anyone using the Post Office will probably relate to its many frustrations: either a long commute to the Post Office if you’re in a rural area or finding a place to park nearby if you’re in a town or city centre. And then, there’s the queuing – seemingly endless queuing. “I’ve got nothing against the many other poor souls queuing in the Post Office for their pension, driving licences and countless other transactions. But, for a business, time spent queuing is money down the drain. And that could mean up to an hour away from the business every day, just to send a parcel. 16