Celebrating 70 Years: Our story so far...
From a single van delivering school meals and potteryware to a nationwide distribution powerhouse, Browns Distribution has come a long way. As we celebrate 70 years of service, let's take a journey through our history, filled with hard work, growth, and family values that continue to drive us forward.
1955: A Humble Beginning
Browns Distribution was founded in 1955 by Albert Brown, an ex-Army corporal with a strong work ethic. After demobilisation, Albert took on a job as a driver before seizing the opportunity to buy his own van and B licence.
What started as a one-man operation quickly expanded, as Albert took on more carriage work, particularly from the pottery industry. His wife, Mrs Dorothy Brown, left her grocery store business to help run the company, turning it into a true family operation.
February 1965: Official Incorporation and Expansion
We hit a major milestone in 1965 as Browns was officially incorporated as a limited company, A. Brown (Tunstall) Limited. At the same time, the company opened a brand-new storage depot and garage on Connaught Street, Tunstall, further cementing our growth and commitment to service.
1985-1986: "˜We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat'
Thirty years in, Browns company had outgrown our original home. In 1985, we moved to a larger site in Ravensdale, providing the space needed for expansion. Just a year later, another major transition took place when David Brown Snr took the reins as Managing Director, ensuring the Browns legacy stayed within the family.
Browns also became the primary shirt sponsor for Port Vale FC for the 1986/87 season. Under manager John Rudge, Vale finished twelfth in the table with 57 points, twelve points clear of relegation. Andy Jones had an incredible season, scoring 37 goals in all competitions.
1993: A New Name for a New Era
Growth demanded a fresh identity. In 1993, A Brown (Tunstall) Limited officially became Browns Distribution Services Limited. The rebrand reflected our ambition and growing national presence, solidifying our place in the UK's logistics industry.
1995: The Power of Partnership
Browns turned 40 in 1995, and with it came an exciting opportunity - becoming a shareholder member of Palletline, the UK's first and leading pallet network. This partnership changed the game for palletised distribution, allowing us to offer even greater efficiency and nationwide reach.
2007-2011: The Third Generation
By 2007, David Brown Jnr had worked his way through just about every role in the business! So in 2011, he stepped up as Managing Director, bringing fresh ideas and a modern approach to the company. His father, David Snr, became Chairman, and the transition marked the beginning of Browns' third generation of leadership.
2015-2016: A Milestone Celebration and Industry Recognition
In 2015, we hit a milestone worth celebrating - our 60th anniversary! To mark the occasion, we invested in our first-ever Scania vehicles, featuring a special anniversary livery. A symbol of both our legacy and our drive to keep moving forward.
2016 was also a year of achievements! Browns was named a finalist in the Motor Transport Haulier of the Year and Customer Care Awards, further cementing our reputation for outstanding service, and in the same year, David Brown Jnr was named Sentinel Young Business Person of the Year.
2017: Building for the Future
January 2017 saw the opening of our brand-new warehouse, enhancing key services like Pallet Storage, Pick and Pack, Fulfilment, and eCommerce. With our Warehouse Manager Luke Cobden at the helm, our warehouse operations were ready to reach new heights.
2019-2020: A Digital Leap Forward
In 2019, we launched a brand-new website, reflecting our modern approach to logistics. But that wasn't all - plans were submitted for a state-of-the-art, purpose-built distribution centre, a huge step forward in our long-term vision.
And always looking for ways to enhance our service, in 2020 we introduced Moffett mounted forklift trucks, adding flexibility and efficiency to our logistics solutions.
2023: A New Dawn
In February 2023, we marked arguably our biggest milestone yet, as Distribution House officially opened its doors. The 87,000 sq. ft warehouse and office complex in Staffordshire was a major step forward for the company, expanding our storage and distribution capabilities with 13,000 racked pallet spaces and modern dock leveller facilities. The site was designed with sustainability in mind, featuring a Solar PV system and a fleet of 100% electric forklifts, helping us reduce our carbon footprint as we work towards greater environmental efficiency.
And in May, we unveiled a brand-new livery design to reflect our modern identity, aligning with our investment of £2.2 million into our fleet.
2024: Awards & Industry Recognition
March 2024 saw us achieve AA accreditation to the BRCGS Storage & Distribution Standard - the highest possible announced audit status, recognising our excellence in warehouse safety, product integrity, and operational best practices.
In June 2024, we welcomed the Secretary of State for Transport to Distribution House for a site tour, where we discussed key industry challenges, including greater clarity on Direct Vision Standard (DVS) requirements and support, reviewing driver licence acquisition and addressing the poor standard of driver facilities across the UK.
David Brown Senior won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2024 Staffordshire University Business Awards, while Browns was named runner-up in the Business of the Year category.
At the UKWA Awards for Excellence, Browns was highly commended as Logistics Service Provider of the Year. We were also finalists in the Motor Transport Awards for the second year running and won the Commercial Growth Award at Palletline's annual awards.
And now, we prepare to celebrate our 70th anniversary. From humble beginnings to a leading force in logistics, Browns Distribution remains built on family values, quality service, and dedication to getting the job done right.
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If you're looking for reliable, nationwide pallet distribution and warehousing solutions, get in touch with Browns Distribution today.
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Touchbase Features You Might Have Missed
If you've already used Touchbase to book freight, track a consignment or download a POD, you'll be familiar with the basics. But there's plenty more built into our new TMS, and customer portal. Some of its most useful features are designed to save time on the jobs you do repeatedly, give more people in your business access to the information they need and reduce the amount of manual admin involved in managing your freight. Here are a few features you might have missed! Two-hour delivery windows and live ETAs Checking whether a consignment has been collected or delivered is useful, but Touchbase can give you much more detail while your freight is moving. Live status information, ETAs and two-hour delivery windows give you a clearer idea of when your freight is expected to arrive, while mapping tools make it easier to see exactly where collections and deliveries are taking place. See live status updates as your freight moves Get ETAs and two-hour delivery windows View collection and delivery locations on the map Spend less time chasing for progress updates Reusable booking presets If you regularly send similar freight or use the same collection and delivery points, there is no need to start every booking from scratch. Touchbase lets you create reusable booking presets, so you can start with information you already use regularly and simply make any changes needed for that particular movement. Spend less time entering repeat booking information Reduce unnecessary manual data entry Make regular bookings quicker to create For customers making the same or similar bookings regularly, it's a simple feature that can save a surprising amount of time. Live pricing across our services You don't need to contact us every time you want to check the cost of a movement. Touchbase gives you access to live pricing across our transport services, allowing you to price different movements and book them through the same system. Get prices without waiting for a quote Compare the options available for your freight Move straight from pricing to booking It means you can make decisions and get freight booked without adding another email or phone call to your day. Bulk imports Booking consignments individually works well for smaller volumes. When you're arranging dozens of movements at once, bulk imports can make a much bigger difference. Rather than entering every consignment separately, you can upload multiple bookings together and manage them through Touchbase once they've been created. Create multiple bookings in one go Reduce repetitive data entry Manage higher booking volumes more efficiently For customers processing larger volumes, this can remove a considerable amount of manual work. Map pins and Street View Getting the exact collection or delivery point right isn't always as straightforward as entering a postcode. Touchbase includes mapping tools to help you check locations visually, including map pins and Street View. This can be particularly useful for larger sites, industrial estates or locations where the correct entrance isn't immediately obvious. Check collection and delivery locations visually Give us more accurate location information Help avoid confusion at unfamiliar sites It's a relatively small feature, but one that can make a real difference when a driver is trying to find the right place. User and permission management Touchbase doesn't have to sit with one person in your business. You can create users and control what different colleagues can access, helping get the right information directly to the people who need it. Give accounts teams access to invoices and documents Allow transport teams to manage bookings and tracking Control access and permissions across your organisation It means fewer internal requests for information and avoids one person becoming the gatekeeper for everything relating to your Browns account. Collection and delivery photographs Touchbase gives you more than a status update when your freight is collected or delivered. Photographs captured during the movement can provide a visual record at collection and delivery, sitting alongside the rest of the consignment information within Touchbase. See your freight at collection and delivery Keep a clearer visual record of each movement Get more context without having to chase for information Because Touchbase connects with the applications used by our drivers and operational teams, information captured while your freight is moving can feed directly back into the same system. Reporting and operational data The Touchbase dashboard gives you a live overview of what's happening across your account, without having to dig through individual consignments to piece the picture together. Key logistics KPIs and operational data are brought together in one place, helping you quickly see how much freight you're moving, where it's going and how activity is changing over time. See key logistics KPIs from one dashboard Track booking and freight volumes over time Spot trends and changes across your account Get a clearer picture of your overall transport activity Rather than only using Touchbase when you need to book or track a particular consignment, the dashboard gives you a wider view of your logistics operation whenever you log in. API integration For some customers, one of the most useful Touchbase features could mean spending less time in the portal altogether. Touchbase can integrate with other systems through an API, allowing routine transport processes to become part of your existing digital workflow rather than requiring information to be repeatedly entered into different systems. Reduce duplicate data entry between systems Automate routine transport processes Maintain visibility through Touchbase as volumes grow API integration won't be necessary for every customer, but for businesses processing high volumes or spending significant time on manual freight administration, it can make a substantial difference. See what Touchbase could do for your business Touchbase has been built to make managing freight simpler, give businesses greater visibility and take unnecessary admin out of day-to-day logistics. If you're looking for a better way to manage your transport, speak to the Browns team and we'll show you what Touchbase can do. We can arrange a demo, talk through your current logistics operation and show you how Browns and Touchbase could help you manage it more effectively. Speak to our team , book a demo and see what upgrading your logistics with Browns could look like.
Browns lands £1m deal as bespoke TMS goes live
Originally published in Motor Transport page 4, September 2026. Stoke operator expands contract logistics arm with dedicated truck fleet. Browns Distribution has developed a bespoke transport management system (TMS) alongside securing a contract logistics deal worth more than £1m a year. The Stoke-on-Trent operator has launched Touchbase, a platform developed by its in-house software team and designed around the requirements of pallet distribution. Unlike an off-the-shelf TMS, Touchbase was built using Browns’ operational experience and was developed in response to customer feedback and changing requirements. The system connects customers, drivers, warehouse teams and operational staff through a single digital platform, providing a live view of consignments throughout the pallet journey. Customers can use a self-service portal for bookings, tracking, invoicing, reporting and account management, with processes including API integration, bulk imports and reusable booking presets designed to reduce administration. The technology investment comes as Browns expands its contract logistics operation with a partnership with a Staffordshire manufacturer of commercial warewashing equipment. The deal will see Browns operate a dedicated fleet of dual-liveried vehicles and drivers to handle palletised freight and specialist deliveries across the UK and Ireland. Browns said it had developed a bespoke solution combining dedicated fleet operations, specialist handling and its pallet network capability. The arrangement is intended to allow the manufacturer to manage different freight and delivery requirements through a single logistics provider, supported by dedicated account management and shared operational visibility. The contract adds to Browns’ expanding contract logistics portfolio as customers seek managed transport solutions.
A New Chapter Begins at Browns
Introducing Touchbase, our new Transport Management System Every major investment Browns has made over the past few years has been driven by the same ambition: to make our business stronger, our service better and our customers more successful. That ambition has shaped the way we've invested in our people, our fleet and our facilities. It has challenged us to continually improve the way we work and look beyond today's requirements, building a business that's ready for tomorrow. Today, we're proud to introduce our biggest technology investment yet. Meet Touchbase, the new Transport Management System built by us, for you. Developed entirely by our in-house team, Touchbase brings customers, drivers, warehouse teams and operations together through one connected technology platform, supporting the movement of freight from booking through to final delivery. Built around the way we move freight Transport Management Systems sit at the heart of modern logistics operations. They connect the people, processes and information required to get freight where it needs to go. But as Browns has grown, so have the requirements of our operation and our customers. We wanted technology that could support the full breadth of our operation while giving us the freedom to shape how it develops as Browns grows. Rather than adapting our business to fit an off-the-shelf TMS, we decided to build our own. Touchbase has been engineered from the ground up using decades of operational experience in pallet distribution and the knowledge of the people who work with our customers and move their freight every day. It has also been built to connect the different services we provide. Whether we're moving a consignment through the pallet network, on our general haulage fleet, as a full load or as part of a contract logistics operation, Touchbase brings the information together within one platform. One system. One live operational picture. Connecting every stage of the freight journey Touchbase isn't a single application. It's a technology platform that connects our customers, drivers, warehouse teams and operational colleagues, with dedicated applications supporting each stage of the freight journey. From collection through to final delivery, information can flow between each part of the operation as it happens. Touchbase can capture and share live information including collection confirmation, photographs at collection and delivery, delivery ETAs, dynamic tracking, status updates and proof of delivery. For customers, that creates the kind of courier-level visibility we've all become accustomed to when tracking everyday deliveries, applied to the movement of commercial freight. For our teams, it means working from the same live information throughout the operation. The result is a more connected and informed service, with fewer gaps between what happens on the road, in the warehouse, within our operation and what our customers can see. Built by Browns Creating Touchbase represents a major investment in the future of Browns. Owning our technology gives us far greater control over how it develops. Instead of waiting for a third-party system to introduce a feature or change the way something works, our development can be driven directly by operational insight and customer feedback. When our customers' requirements change, Touchbase can change with them. When our teams identify a better way of working, we have the ability to build it. And when new opportunities emerge to connect systems, automate processes or share better information, we have a platform ready to support them. "Touchbase represents far more than a new piece of technology. It's a major investment in the future of Browns and in the service we provide our customers every day. Developing our own Transport Management System gives us the freedom to innovate faster, respond directly to customer feedback and continue improving the way we operate. This is a significant milestone for our business, and we're incredibly proud of what our team has created." David Brown Jnr, Managing Director Introducing the Touchbase Customer Portal At the heart of the Touchbase experience for our customers, is the Customer Portal, bringing the capabilities of our new TMS directly into their hands. Rather than simply replacing our previous portal, we've taken the opportunity to rethink the experience from the ground up. Booking, tracking, invoicing, reporting and account management now sit within a single environment, giving customers greater visibility, more control and quicker access to the information they need. The result is a fully self-service environment where customers can access live pricing, book freight, track consignments, retrieve documents, run reports and manage their account from one place. From a single login, customers can: Get instant prices and book freight in seconds , with live pricing across our range of transport services. Manage more of their logistics in one place , with pallet network, general haulage, full loads and contract logistics brought together within one connected environment. Know where their freight is and when it's arriving, with dynamic tracking, live status updates, two-hour delivery windows, ETAs and notifications. See what's happening at collection and delivery , with photographs providing a visual record at both ends of the consignment journey. Find important documents without having to chase for them, with instant access to invoices, proof of delivery, rates and account information. Give the right people the right level of access , with user and permission management across their organisation. Spend less time on repetitive administration , using reusable booking presets, bulk imports, scheduled bookings and API integration. Turn live information into greater visibility , with reporting and operational data available across their account. For customers processing larger or more frequent volumes, Touchbase can automate routine processes through API integrations and bulk imports, reducing manual administration while maintaining live visibility across every consignment. And the experience doesn't stop when a booking is submitted. Touchbase connects what the customer sees with the applications being used by Browns drivers, warehouse teams and operational colleagues. As a consignment progresses, information captured throughout the operation can feed back into the same system, creating a continuous digital record from collection through to delivery. For our customers, that means less chasing for updates, fewer disconnected systems and much greater visibility over what's happening with their freight. Putting our data to work with AI AI has been embedded into Touchbase from the very beginning, working behind the scenes across millions of operational data points to automate time-consuming tasks, speed up processes and help our teams get to the information they need faster. One example is document matching. When proof of delivery, customer paperwork, driver manifests and other documents enter the system, AI-powered vision technology can read and understand them, identify the relevant consignments and automatically associate the documents with the correct jobs. What previously required someone to work through paperwork and manually match documents can now happen automatically. We're also introducing Sidekick , our internal AI assistant built directly into Touchbase. Colleagues can ask Sidekick questions about jobs, loads and other operational information and get answers using the live data already held within the platform. It can also help with tasks such as setting reminders, giving our teams a quicker and more natural way to interact with the information they use every day. With millions of data points flowing through Touchbase, AI gives us new ways to put that information to work. Rather than replacing the people behind our service, we're using it to take care of repetitive administration, reduce manual work and give our teams more time to focus on customers and moving freight. What comes next As we enter this next chapter, it's also an opportunity to reflect on the partnerships that have helped us get here. We'd like to thank everyone at HaulTech for their support over many years. Their software has played an important role in Browns' growth, and we've valued the relationship we've built along the way. As our technology strategy evolves, we wish the entire HaulTech team every success for the future as they continue supporting transport businesses across the industry. Touchbase represents the next step for Browns. For the first time, we have a technology platform developed around our own operation, shaped by decades of experience and built with our customers at its heart. It's a big change, but one that gives us greater control over how our technology develops alongside the business. And, much like Browns itself, Touchbase won't stand still. We'll continue developing it, learning from our customers and our team, and building technology that helps us deliver a better logistics experience for the years ahead.