Nightline's boss says 'the logic of Eircode' has allowed it to roll out new services

THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE of delivery company Nightline, John Tuohy, has said that “the logic of Eircode” has allowed the company to expand its services for both consumers and retailers.

“When we get a delivery address, we verify it against the Eircode database. That gives us a lot of information about a particular delivery type,” Tuohy told Fora. ”It can help us pinpoint and make our delivery routes more efficient.”

The postcode system was launched in July 2015 to the tune of €38 million and was met with criticism.

Tuohy said Eircode has allowed Nightline to “come up with new innovations” such as an alert system that will allow customers to choose a delivery time that suits them.

Same-day delivery

Today the company, which expects to handle more than 15 million parcels this year, has officially rolled out additional services, including same-day deliveries to the greater Dublin area.

Following a successful soft launch in July, the logistics firm has also launched evening and weekend deliveries.

To cater for the expansion, Nightline has invested €3 million in additional facilities, vehicles and ‘mobile data equipment’.

It has also opened two new depots in Swords and Omagh and upgraded its facilities in Kilbarry, Co. Waterford, bringing the total number of depots to 13.

The company is currently recruiting 150 staff for positions as van drivers, depot support and sorting personnel.

‘Environmentally friendly’

As well as providing logistics, the Nightline Group operates Parcel Motel, a collection point service that allows online customers to avail of lower delivery charges by using a virtual UK delivery address.

Parcel Motel is currently available at 124 locations, with an additional 20 locations in the pipeline by year-end.

A Parcel Motel collection point

Tuohy said the service is “expanding all the time” and claimed that it is “making the delivery process more environmentally friendly” because users combine their collection with other activities like picking up groceries.

He added that Nighline is reducing its impact on the environment by using smaller Volkwagen vans that are “more suitable for residential streets” and consume less fuel than larger transit vans that are traditionally used for business-to-business deliveries.

Insurance

Tuohy said rising insurance premiums are the biggest cost to the business and that they are escalating rapidly.

“Consumers have seen huge increases, but for transport operators the cost of insurance has actually been more pointed,” he said.

“With the upcoming budget, we’ll be keeping an eye to make sure that excise duty on diesel doesn’t increase too much and that the rapid escalation in insurance premium costs finds a reasonable level in the near future.”

Yesterday, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission launched an investigation into possible breaches of competition law, due to industry players openly signalling upcoming increases in premiums.