THE £3M TECHNOLOGY GAMBLE BEHIND DIAMOND LOGISTICS’ GROWTH

“There is enormous value in being able to articulate where the weaknesses in your own model are

How Diamond Logistics built its own technology platform to unlock the next stage of growth

When Diamond Logistics founder Kate decided to build the company’s own technology platform, she was going against advice she had previously received.
The decision has since seen the business invest more than £3 million in Despatchlab, a proprietary logistics platform now at the heart of its operation.
Kate joined Cranfield School of Management’s Business Growth Programme in 2017, when Diamond had grown from around £1 million to £5 million in turnover. The business was growing, but she recognised that scaling it further would require more than simply winning more customers.
“Growth exposes everything that isn’t built to scale – systems, processes, people, financial models, technology and, sometimes most uncomfortably, the founder,” says Kate.
Eight years later, Diamond has more than £12 million in annualised revenue, a national network of more than 30 locations, more than 1,000 customers and processes more than 100,000 transactions every month.
The technology investment has been central to that transformation.
By the time Diamond’s revenues had passed £7 million, Kate and her team increasingly believed that the technology available to the business was becoming a constraint on further growth.
“We weren't simply looking for a system to process consignments,” she says.
“We were trying to create a genuinely integrated logistics platform bringing together warehousing, fulfilment, multiple carrier relationships, stock management, customer visibility and marketplace integration.”
Diamond explored existing solutions but concluded that none fully aligned with where the business wanted to go.
It therefore made the decision to build its own.
Despatchlab was developed as business infrastructure rather than simply an IT system, connecting warehouse and inventory management with fulfilment, carrier allocation, shipment management, tracking, returns and marketplace integration.
More than £3 million was ultimately invested in its development, including during a period when revenues were under pressure.
“When you commit that level of investment, particularly during a period of uncertainty, you have to keep testing your assumptions,” says Kate.
“You have to be honest about whether you're making a genuinely strategic decision or whether you've simply become emotionally attached to an idea.”
That discipline was something Kate had developed during her time at Cranfield, where she had been taught to challenge assumptions and assess risk rather than simply follow conventional wisdom.
“One of the lessons was that if you can avoid building proprietary software, you probably should,” she says.
“But the bigger lesson was understanding why that advice exists, what the risks are, and then deciding whether your circumstances justify doing something different.”
Today, Despatchlab is integral to Diamond’s operation, supporting more than 1,000 customers and more than 100,000 monthly transactions.
It connects fulfilment, warehouse management, stock, marketplace integration, carrier management and delivery within a single technology ecosystem.
The platform has also allowed Diamond to build greater resilience into its operating model.
Rather than relying on a single carrier, Despatchlab can access multiple carrier services and allocate shipments according to factors including price, service, geography and destination.
“Disruption is inevitable in logistics,” says Kate. “The question is whether you're equipped to respond.
“Building choice and flexibility into the platform means we can respond to changing circumstances rather than simply absorb the consequences.”
For Diamond, the technology investment was therefore about more than automation or operational efficiency.
“Technology was never the objective,” says Kate. “The objective was to build a more scalable, resilient and transparent logistics business.”
However, technology is only one part of Diamond’s growth strategy.
The company operates through a national network that includes independent network partners, who gain access to Diamond’s technology, carrier relationships, buying power, infrastructure, brand and operational expertise.
The model allows local operators to build their own logistics businesses while benefiting from the infrastructure and capabilities of a national organisation.
For Kate, understanding the strengths and vulnerabilities of that model has been as important as the technology itself.
“There is enormous value in being able to articulate where the weaknesses in your own model are, rather than discovering them accidentally when something goes wrong.”
Since Kate completed the Cranfield programme, Diamond has grown from approximately £5 million in turnover to more than £12 million annualised revenue while investing more than £3 million in its proprietary technology.
The company is forecasting approximately £12 million of revenue and £1 million of EBITDA in 2026, compared with approximately £8 million revenue and £500,000 EBITDA in 2023.
But Kate says the most important change has been the business’s ability to scale without relying on the founder to solve every problem.
“As a business grows, the founder has to stop being the solution to everything,” she says.
“My responsibility is increasingly not to have every answer. It is to create an organisation containing people capable of finding better answers than I can.”
For Kate, the Despatchlab investment ultimately reflects a broader shift in how she thinks about growth.
The question is no longer simply whether Diamond can grow. It is whether the business has built the technology, infrastructure, resilience and people capable of supporting what comes next.
ENDS
About Diamond Logistics
Diamond Logistics is a UK logistics and fulfilment business providing eCommerce fulfilment, warehousing, same-day, next-day and international delivery services through a nationwide network of service centres and Network Partners.
At the heart of the business is Despatchlab, Diamond’s proprietary logistics technology platform, connecting fulfilment, warehouse management, stock, marketplace integration, carrier management and delivery within a single technology ecosystem.
Diamond supports more than 1,000 customers and processes in excess of 100,000 transactions every month. The company has invested more than £3 million in developing Despatchlab as part of its strategy to build a more scalable, resilient and transparent logistics operation.

For further information contact Celeste Clarke at Century PR on 07799064066 or email [email protected]