Transports Charvin and BBL move in together

​Together they will be moving into brand new premises at the Chesnes Ouest urban development zone in Saint-Quentin-Fallavier where they will get to share over 18,000 m² of building space, including 1,600 m² of office space. 
Interview with Pierre Charvin, managing director of Transports CharvinWhat was the goal of this new project for your two companies?
Transports Charvin joined the BBL Transports group in 2016. BBL operates an integrated multimodal logistics network that spans right across Europe. BBL wanted to extend its reach both in France and in Europe and to expand its range of services. Transports Charvin are specialists in the transport of sensitive products along France's north/south corridor, particularly for the mass retail sector and key accounts. Together, we now benefit from more comprehensive national coverage, not to mention new expertise in the area of logistics management. 
At Saint-Quentin-Fallavier, our two companies had a number of logistics platforms with accompanying office space. It made sense to group our teams together and build a new shared platform capable of accommodating the increase in volumes. We stand to benefit in terms of efficiency and performance.

Why did you choose OpenBox?
I had known Bertrand Chabanne for many years. And during our discussions during the tendering phase, I had the opportunity to experience Laurent Charrier's professionalism first hand. I had also asked advisors with expertise in the area to verify the solidity of the commitments that had been made by OpenBox and backed up by BEG Ingénierie. I made my decision without any hesitation. Clearly, their proposal was very competitive. However, their "Co Design&Build" methodology was also a decisive factor. Constructing a logistics building, which in our line of business is essential to the work we do, is no trivial matter. It should be viewed as a business project that involves a certain amount of risk – risk that needs to be managed. In particular, it's important to ensure that the final outcome is in keeping with our original expectations. We want to know what is going to be done, and how it is going be done. With the "Co Design&Build" methodology, we can track the progress of our building project from start to finish, which brings great peace of mind. 

How does it work on a practical level?
During the monthly "Co Design&Build" meetings, we are provided with all of the relevant information and have the opportunity to share our opinions, discuss options, find out about purchase prices, get a better understanding of what companies are offering, review the schedule, etc. We are actively involved in the project, which means that misunderstandings and unpleasant surprises are avoided. It makes for a healthier working relationship. We are co-creating our own building, which is a very effective way of really understanding the issues involved. Of course, we don't always agree, but we have all of the information we need to get a true understanding of the issues involved, so we can avoid negative fallout from unilateral decisions and have the opportunity to create really constructive solutions together.
I was also able to use the savings that were achieved during the project to fund the completion of additional work. To safeguard the deadline, I also asked OpenBox to begin work even though there were outstanding issues yet to be clarified. In both cases, OpenBox agreed to my request in a matter of seconds. It was clear to me at that point that I was dealing with business owners that were capable of showing great flexibility in the way they made decisions and managed risk. 

For more information: Collaboration in action

---