Business Report – Wincanton

Business Report

Contents

Introduction Section 1 Wincanton Wincanton Department Organization Structure Section 2 Functions of an office: Section 3 Work Place Legislation Safety, Health & Welfare At Work Act 1989-2007 Employments Permits Act 2006 Maternity Protection Act 2004

Introduction

In this report I have looked at Wincanton. I have given a brief history review of the company and its day to day action. I have also discussed the four different departments of the main functions/activities of each department. I have also included a chart in this assignment to show the different types of departments such as Finance and HR. I have given a brief description in law of a workplacement.

Section 1

Wincanton

Wincanton is a market leader in the provision of complex supply chain services. Wincanton have over 200 warehouse sites across the UK and Ireland offering storage solutions which include bonded facilities, cross-docking, automation, co-packing and integrated warehouse management solutions. Wincanton support customers big and small across every sector of the market. Wincanton started life delivering milk in 1925. They now deliver so much more. Over the past 80 years they have entered new industry sectors. The headquarters is located in Chippenham, United Kingdom. The Irish Wincanton warehouse was first moved here from the United Kingdom on Tuesday 3rd December 1991 in Dublin 15. Wincanton's Products and Services:

• transport and distribution e.g. delivery of goods using road, rail, and barges
• warehousing e.g. providing temperature controlled warehouses
• specialist services e.g. helping with records management
• added value services e.g. labelling and package design
• information technology e.g. modelling and simulation, enabling firms to track goods
• Management e.g. consultancy work linked to warehouse design and project management.

Wincanton’s organisation’s is a public limited company in the private sector. Wincanton is owned by shareholders. They may allow its share to be bought by the general public although they don’t have to. Wincanton’s business is to make a profit from what they do. The local management and operations in Wincanton are very experienced in managing a wide range of value-added services. Wet and dry bonded storage and duty management and regional consolidation are what happens in the Wincanton warehouse. Wincanton have more than 250 sites across the UK and Ireland. Some of the worlds leading brand are stored in the Wincanton warehouse. Wincanton provides some of the worlds best products around the world such as Cow and Gate baby food. Every year Wincanton holds 400,000 pallets, picks up 75 million cases and ships 4.5 million pallets on behalf of their consumer goods. With over 250 sites across the UK and Ireland they offer ambient, bonded and MHRA approved facilities alongside an integrated transport network, managed regionally to facilitate collaboration. Wincanton is one of the leading logistics companies in Europe and it is the UK's second largest logistics company with 13% of the overall market. In 2004 Wincanton:

• had a A£1.6bn turnover
• employed over 25,000 people
• operated over 100 major warehouses
• deployed 6,000 vehicles
• Operated in 15 European countries.

Wincanton Department

Wincanton has many different departments. Four of Wincanton’s main departments are:

• Human Resource (HR)
• Finance
• Logistics
• Administration

HR departments often act as a middleman between employees and management and should be where employees go for basic company information. They also work with management to help develop long-term strategies for the growth and development of a company. HR monitors salary and wages within the company's industry to ensure compensation remains competitive. The department also helps management map out pay structures within the company. An administration department is responsible for providing administrative aid in five areas of a business, information management systems, human resources, payroll, acquisition and communication.

• Main Activities
• Assist with preparation of the budget
• Implement financial policies and procedures
• Reconcile the general ledger
• Prepare and reconcile general bank statements
• Establish and maintain supplier accounts
• Ensure data is entered into the system
• Ensure transactions are properly recorded and entered into the computerized accounting system

• Prepare income statements
• Prepare balance sheets
• Assist with the annual audit
• Maintain financial files and records

The Finance department will be responsible for all the day to day transactional accounting for the business. The finance department is also responsible for management of the organization’s cash flow and confirming there are enough funds available to meet the day to day payments. The logistics department is given with the responsibilities of guaranteeing that the entire process of logistics is maintained and developed in accordance with the goals of the business at an efficient cost. The tasks of the logistics department involve storage, distribution, warehousing, movement of goods from one place to another (internally or externally), tracking and delivery of goods. Logistics is measured to be the complete process involving planning, managing and controlling the flow of goods and services, information, real-time data and human resources from the point of origin to the point of destination

Organization Structure

Finance Manager- Is in charge of the department and supervising staff and also reports to the Managing Director. Health and safety -Designs and implements H&S Policies and keeps records of accident reports and records.

Section 2

Functions of an office:

Receiving and sorting information. The office deals with all information coming in to the business. They also ensure that the information is passed on to the appropriate people to be dealt with in an efficient manner. It is more common for a large business to have a centralised office to deal with common activities. In an office they would receive orders from the government, customers, welfare agencies and even the revenue commissioners. The office deals with company reports, bank statements, currency rates and even stock valuations. The information received is sorted for further processing or immediate distribution. Main duties. The main duties in a day to day office would be to handle queries or give out quotations. Help with customers’ enquiries take their orders and payments. Also a main duty in an office would be to take orders or give orders to suppliers that come in on a regular basis. They would also receive and give out promotional material or catalogues to the customers or workers coming in and out of the building. Processing and communicating information. There are four ways to communicate in an office. You can orally communicate with someone for example face to face communication, telephone and videoconferencing. You can also write to communicate to someone for example letters and reports. Electronically is another way of communicating with the public for example email or fax. Visually communicating with someone for example bar charts, pie charts or histograms. The office has to make it very clear in understanding the public and make it clear for them to understand the office workers. Storing and protecting information. When information is processed, it is stored for future reference using a manual filing system or an electronic document management system. Information regarding individuals that is maintained in paper format or on a computer must be maintained according to the data protection Acts 1988-2003.Confidential information should be safely stored to prevent unauthorised access. Photocopier. A photocopier is a machine that makes copies of paper documents. A photo copier is a fast and effective way to get things printed out as many times as you want and is also very quick too. In a photo copier there is a

• Paper drawer-To accommodate more than one size of paper or card.
• Number selector-To control the number of copies to be made
• Image editing- To make the image smaller or bigger on the page.
• Zoom features- To increase or decrease the size of the page
• Booklet feature-Copies to page and folds it into a booklet.

Scanners. A Scanner takes an image of a page or an object converts it into a digital format and inputs it into the computer. It eliminates the needs to key in information manually so reduces the risk of an error. Any type of document can be scanned, text, image, handwritten documents or diagrams. The image can also be filed and edited. Printers. These are a unique piece of office equipment for producing hard copied information and are normally connected to the computer network. There are 3 types of printers:

• Impact printer- it is an older type printer which contains a print head that makes contact with the paper so it is quiet noisy.
• Laser printer- This type of printer creates an electronic charge on a drum that attracts ink powder that is subsequently fused onto the paper.
• Inkjet Printers- This printer consists of a print head with a series of nozzle’s that squirt into on to the paper. They are also popular for the home environment.

Section 3

Work Place Legislation

Safety, Health & Welfare At Work Act 1989-2007

The safety, health and welfare at work act 2005 were brought in to make further provision for the safety, health and welfare of persons at work. The 2005 act came into force on 1st September 2005. The act applies to all employers, self-employed and employees in all places of work. It also places duties on designers, suppliers, manufacturers and others concerned with work activities. Under the safety, health and welfare at work act 2005 every employer is required to carry out a risk assessment for the workplace which should identify any hazards present in the workplace, assess the risks arising from such hazards and identify the steps to be taken to deal with any risks. Employers have extensive duties under the Act. The different requirements are split up into the following headings:

1. General duties of Employers
2. Information to Employees
3. Instruction, Training & Supervision of Employees
4. Emergencies and serious and imminent dangers
5. Protective and Preventive Measures
6. Hazard identification & Risk Assessment
7. Safety Statement
8. Co-operation
9. Health Surveillance & Medical fitness to work
10. Safety representative
11. Employee Consultation
12. Penalisation

Employments Permits Act 2006

If you are coming from the EEA (European economic area) you would need a work permit to live in the country. The act also provides that a foreign national without an employment permit, who took all reasonable steps to get one, can take civil action against their employer to compensate them for work done or services reduced. There are now 9 different types of employment permit:

• critical skills employment
• general employment
• intra-company transfer employment permit
• dependant/partner/spouse employment permit
• reactivation employment permit
• sport and cultural employment permit
• internship employment permit
• contract for services employment permit
• exchange agreement employment permit

You cannot receive a permit if you do not make more than 30,000 a year. There is an exception that you can get a permit if you earn 27,000 if specialist language support and technical or sales support with a fluency in a non-EEA language for companies who are getting support from the state enterprise development agencies. You must have the qualifications, skills and experience required for the job. You must be directly employed and paid by your employer. General employment permit applications from recruitment agencies and other intermediaries are not acceptable. The employer must be trading in Ireland, registered with revenue and with the companies registration office. Your employer cannot deduct recruitment expenses from your pay or retain your personal documents.

Maternity Protection Act 2004

The Maternity Protection Act which covers matters such as maternity leave, the right to return to work after such leave and health/safety during immediately after the pregnancy. If you become pregnant while in employment, you are entitled to take maternity leave. The entitlement to a basic period of maternity leave from employment extends to all female employees (including casual workers), regardless of how long you have been working for the organisation or the number of hours worked per week. You can also avail of additional unpaid maternity leave. The Maternity Protection Acts 1994 and 2004 provide your statutory minimum entitlements in relation to maternity at work including maternity leave. You are entitled to 26 weeks’ maternity leave together with 16 weeks additional unpaid maternity leave, which begins immediately after the end of maternity leave. Stillbirths and miscarriages If you have a stillbirth or miscarriage any time after the 24th week of pregnancy, you are entitled to full maternity leave. From 1 March 2007 this means a basic period of 26 weeks and 16 weeks of additional maternity leave. If you have satisfied the PRSI requirements, Maternity Benefit is payable for the 26 weeks of the basic maternity leave. To apply for Maternity Benefit following a stillbirth, you need to send a letter from your doctor with the Maternity Benefit application form, confirming the expected date of birth, the actual date of birth and the number of weeks of pregnancy. Bibliography https://www.wincanton.co.uk/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wincanton https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employment/employment_rights_and_conditions/leave_and_holidays/maternity_leave.html https://www.hsa.ie/eng/Topics/Managing_Health_and_Safety/Safety,_Health_and_Welfare_at_Work_Act_2005/

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