Kerry Noyes has led the Aramex Gold Coast depot for 19 years. When she and her husband Steve bought the franchise it had 18 courier franchisees and a $4 million turnover.

Today the business boasts 52 courier franchises and an exceptional $22 million revenue. And it has proved an extraordinary opportunity as a family business. 

Among the 100 people on site across staff and franchisees, there are 10 family members contributing to this hugely successful operation.

The Noyes’ daughters and son are integral to helping to drive the Gold Coast depot to the next level.

“There’s also our daughter’s husband and his brother, my sister, my niece and her son!” Kerry reveals.

“When we purchased the depot my sister was working with me and my son was in engineering. He came here part-time and he’s now GM.

“One daughter bought a courier franchise at 21, sold it, and came in as courier development officer. Our other daughter is a sales representative.”

Kerry and Steve were already heavily committed to, and working within, the courier network when they bought the depot, then trading as Fastway.

Gold Coast franchisee targets growth

“Steve bought a franchise; he was the fourth courier franchisee there. I had sold a business and went to work as a sales consultant at the depot,” says Kerry. “From there I became the customer service manager.”

In early 2004 the Fastway Gold Coast owners moved on. It was just the impetus Kerry needed to realise her ambition, and she and Steve purchased the franchise.

“I had big goals; I set myself a revenue target of $10 million. We reached that milestone in 2013!”

Kerry says since then the business goals have been growth-driven rather than dollar-centric.

“The industry average is 4.1 per cent and we are always looking for 10 per cent growth, and developing strategies to meet that objective.”

From Aramex employee to franchisee was a successful transition

Back in 2004 Kerry found the shift to from employee to business owner was relatively smooth.

“I was already managing the business, and had always treated it as my own, even when I first started,” she says. “I like solving problems, the logistics, I love the customer service, and talking to people. This business is all about people.”

Kerry continues to lead customer service while Steve heads up transport and operations.

The depot is the central logistics hub and courier franchisees are on the frontline, ferrying packages between pick-up points and the depot, and delivering parcels from the depot to customers.

“We supply the warehouse, we store the freight. It’s our job to make sure the line haul trucks that operate between depots are running on time, and we are the communications link for franchisees.”

The Gold Coast is one of 28 Aramex regional franchises across Australia. Nationally there are more than 800 courier franchisees who deliver for more than 25,000 Aussie businesses.

“We are the conduit between couriers’ customers and the rest of the network; we make sure courier franchisees have the tools, flyers, timetables, on hand all the time. We provide this for free; as they build their business, we build ours.”

A successful Aramex franchisee

Kerry understands exactly what it takes to be a successful courier franchisee.

“Our couriers are motivated to build their businesses. They are willing to market themselves and extend themselves building relationships with clients, and always deliver a first-class service,” she says.

“One of the keys to our success as franchisees ourselves is attention to compliance. We are very driven to have a compliant depot, and we treat all our courier franchisees as business people.

“Another success, I think, is that all the management team can do a courier run when necessary.”

Kerry has seen the transition of the business from predominantly a B2B service to a consumer-driven courier chain with a global footprint and all the support and infrastructure that provides.

In the nearly 20 years of running the depot, she has observed significant changes to operations.

“We now have a fully integrated online system, and couriers don’t have to stop and write invoices. It is so much more convenient for customers, and franchisees.”

Kerry says a streamlined process means courier franchisees can focus on what generates success – timely deliveries, building rapport and relationships with clients.

“There is a trend to outsource customer service offshore. But we made a commitment to our franchisees that all our customer service team members are on site. We don’t outsource to a call centre.

Building relationships is key to Gold Coast franchisee’s success

“Customers get to know these people and franchisees can trust the people handling customer concerns really understand the business.

“It’s well worth the expense. It’s part of our DNA,” says Kerry.

The Noyes’ approach has resulted in a trophy cabinet full of awards.

“With Fastway, we were Franchise of the Year six times, and I was inducted into the Hall of Fame. We won Franchise of the Year too with Aramex. And we were a finalist four times for the Franchise Council of Australia’s Excellence in Franchising multi-unit franchisee award.

“This is brilliant recognition for our franchisees, they have a lot of pride in their work.”

So do Kerry and Steve. There’s no disguising the enthusiasm for the Aramex brand, the people that make the business happen, and great customer service.

“This is everything. It is our whole life. It’s our whole family. Even our sporting endeavours… we sail and our yacht is named Aramex. We’re very competitive!”

Pictured: Chris Noyes, general manager of Aramex Gold Coast, with franchisee Kerry Noyes at the 2023 Aramex Regional Franchise conference.