Career progression at Premier Logistics Group
Isaac joined DRIS, part of Premier Logistics Group, two years ago as an Operations Coordinator. Today he’s Operations Manager, running the day-to-day of a business that’s grown from 110 trailers to 150, and getting newer, on his watch. We sat down with him to talk about what that journey has actually looked like, warts and all.
From coordinator to manager, in two years
Isaac’s current role covers a lot of ground. “Day-to-day running of DRIS,” he says. “Talking to customers, organising pick-up and drop-off of trailer hire, answering any queries, sourcing new trailers to extend our fleet, making sure we’re compliant at all times: health checks, servicing, invoice queries, buying and selling, maintenance, breakdowns. Budget, finance, forecasting.”
It’s a long way from where he started. Isaac joined as an Operations Coordinator, overseeing maintenance scheduling, breakdowns, and pick-ups and drop-offs. What drew him in wasn’t a job spec. It was the people. “I met with Dave and Lee, the prospect of career progression with solid support, meeting the team. Seeing Lee modernising transport, I wanted to be part of it.”
No shortcuts, no ceiling
Ask Isaac to describe his journey and he’s clear it wasn’t handed to him. “It was taken at a pace that worked for me. Pushed but not forced. There was opportunity, did I want it? Yes, I did. So I worked hard for that.”
That opportunity came with real mentorship attached. “Coaching and mentoring: Bryan in accounts teaching me things, Dave who’s run the business, Lee the entrepreneur. A real support network.”
One meeting in particular stands out. “It was clear from the off that there was a path here, but in January 2026 we had a really positive meeting about progression: the sky’s not the limit, let’s break past it. When I joined we had 110 trailers, older stock. Now we’ve got 150, but with much newer stock. We’ve replaced the tired stuff and upped the offering. We’re modernising the fleet as well as growing it.”
What two years actually teaches you
The skills have stacked up fast. “It’s a similar role to customer service in terms of what I did before, but I’ve learned so much more about maintenance, parts, finance, running a budget.”
But the bigger shift, Isaac says, has been in himself. “Massive,” he says when asked how his confidence has changed. “You get thrown in the deep end and you realise you don’t sink. You feel bigger and better in yourself.”
That’s not to say it’s been plain sailing. “Transport is very unpredictable,” he admits. “I’m only two years in, there aren’t massive trends to fall back on, so a lot of it has been really learning to cope with change and unpredictability.”
He’s quick to name the people who’ve had his back through it. “Dave, Lee, Mac, Bryan, Mark our GM, the guys in transport, you can tap into any of them for support. It’s a family feel.”
A culture built to grow people
Isaac’s development hasn’t just been on-the-job graft. It’s had structure behind it, including coaching and mentoring with Phil N. And when it comes to whether leadership is genuinely open to people moving up, his answer is short and direct: “Very approachable.”
He’s also honest about the limits of his own confidence so far. Asked if he’d been encouraged to take on new challenges, he points to finance specifically: “No confidence, I hadn’t done it.” It’s a candid admission, and a useful one: progression here isn’t presented as instant or without its own nerves.
What makes it work, he says, is that everyone’s rowing in the same direction. “Everyone’s doing their own roles, but we’re all working for the same goals. We want to see each other grow together across all the companies in the group. With HQ being central, you get all the businesses talking, meeting each other.”
No two days the same
So what does the job actually look like now? “It varies every day, no two days the same. Some are significantly more challenging than others. Finance, figures, buying new kit, selling old kit, flat tyres, and everything in between.”
That variety is exactly what Isaac enjoys most about it, and what he rates as the most rewarding part of working across Premier Logistics Group more broadly: “The culture and support across the different companies.”
What keeps him motivated day to day is simple: being busy, and building relationships across the group that help him, and the business, keep progressing. And what sets Premier apart from anywhere else he’s worked? “The family feel.”
Where it’s heading
Isaac isn’t short on ambition. “Build up to become director, take ownership, get to 250 trailers, take on more staff, and grow a strong, stable business.” What excites him about the future isn’t a fixed target so much as the open question behind it: “The potential to see how far we really can push it.”
His advice to anyone thinking about joining
Isaac doesn’t hedge when it comes to advice for someone considering a career at Premier Logistics Group: “Dive in head first with an open mind, take every opportunity that comes your way, and see how far you can run with it.”
And who tends to do well here? “A team player, who has the initiative and drive.”
In three words
Asked to sum up his time at DRIS in three words, Isaac doesn’t hesitate: “Daunting, exciting, rewarding.”
He’s most proud of the fleet transformation he’s helped drive: modernising and growing it at the same time. And the thing people outside the business probably don’t realise? “Transport is hectic.” It’s fast-moving, reactive, and rarely predictable, which, for Isaac, is exactly what makes it worth doing.
As for the personal impact of two years at DRIS, he sums it up in one word: confidence.
Isaac is Operations Manager at DRIS, part of Premier Logistics Group.
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