Irish eyes UK market
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Nightline has dominated the Irish parcel and pallets market for the past decade, and now has its sights set on the UK
Words: Joanna Bourke DAVE FIELD AND John Tuohy set up Nightline as a two-van courier service operating from the latter's Dublin bedroom in 1992.
In the space of 18 years, the company has become Ireland's largest independ ent carrier, holding a 22% share of Irish parcel and pallet freight traffic, delivering 35,000 items per night and operating 350 vehicles.
Not content with dominating the Republic's express sector, the company re veals it is making strides to increase its Geremy Ruffin UK presence, where it sees huge potential. Geremy Ruffin has been appointed as the UK MD and his objective is to strengthen the cost efficiency of moving freight from both nations.
Collectively, the trio have had long stints with DHL, FedEx and TNT However, Nightline CEO Tuohy and chief operating officer Field wanted to establish a business of their own to suit the Irish market.
Tuohy says: "It wasn't all plain sailing. Dave and I would take it in turns to man the office in my bedroom and subcontract local loads. This quickly built up, and we started employing on-board couriers taking parcels to the UK, so in year one, we had built up a steady cus tomer base. We then took the decision to move to a proper office, but there was a fire and we had no insurance, meaning all our equipment and computers were written oft We had to temporarily go back to my bedroom."
However, since that 1993 'glitch', the firm has not looked back, and has gone from strength to strength. Nightline won a key mobile phone distribution account in December 2000, requiring the company to expand outside of its flagship Dublin hub. Tuohy explains: -To win the contract. we had to prove we could he truly domestic rather than just Dublin-centred. We made the decision to invest substantially in track-and-trace technology, and made a .f..5m commitment to open six new depots (Belfast, Cork. Galway, Kerry, Limerick and Sligo) within a four-month period.
It did put us under a lot of pressure, but in turn, it added heavily to our revenue, and put us in a strong position to win new business"
Increasing UK sales Throughout the Firms Instory, it has operated in Britain, primarily as a partner of UK Mail, but Field and Tuohy did not feel the Nightline brand was recognisable across the water, so they brought Ruffin on board to work on increasing UK sales and profit.
"I literally sat down on my own in Manchester and started writing a business plan for the UK. It's frequently between a threeto six-month lead time to bid for and win a contract, so I thought of ways to make us the most attractive carrier for those shipping freight to and from Ireland," Ruffin tells CM.
He adds: "I am extremely pleased
with the progress we have made. Considering I started with solely UK sales of zero, and 12 months later we've won business with some 15 firms and generated revenue of £2.3m on this side of the water. I think it's fair to say our major entrance into the British market has been successful."
So how did Ruffin manage to drum up £2.3m of sales so quickly, when Nightline didn't have the most recognisable name and was yet to develop a reputation in the UK market?
"We were seeing a massive demand for parcels alongside pallets. Before, shipments from the UK to Ireland had to be split between two carriers.
"I decided we should capitalise on our stepping stone, which was a working relationship with UK Mail, and offer clients a next-day service via UK Mail's subsidiary UK Pallets," Ruffin says.
He anticipates the 50 pallets the company is currently handling every night, via UK Pallets, will double by the end of the year.
In addition, Ruffin says joining the pallet network in June has helped Nightline to win three new accounts, including when it was appointed by Cheshire-based Findel Education to deliver in Ireland and Northern Ireland. Nightline then pumped £1.1m into opening its first UK hub in Animal, Lancs. Ruffin explains: "The UK exchanges more freight with Ireland than almost any other country in the world. Yet, historically, the vast majority of deliveries into Ireland have not been handled in as professional a manner as they could be.
"I think since we opened this depot, customers are more trusting because they are able to deal with us on a face-to-face level, not just a phone call to Ireland."
Following an influx of C2C volumes since securing a partnership to handle domestic deliveries with courier website Parcels2Go for its first venture in Ireland earlier this year, the firm is gearing up to launch full scale into the homedelivery market. It has teamed up with delivery software company Metapack to provide home-delivery customers with mails and text messages for parcel tracking. 'The technology will run alongside N ight line's SmartShip system, which offers real-time accuracy.
Ruffin says: "Our tie-up with Metapack will further persuade internet retailers that we can provide reliability and speed of service on returns, as well as original deliveries. This will be of great assurance to them and their customers. We are confident that those firms with customers in Ireland will recognise the benefits of now being able to take advantage of Nightline via that same system."
Operating within its means
Despite all the investment and growth plans. Tuohy says the business is operating within its means: "We have been approached by competitors about buying or selling, and in the past we have made some small acquisitions.
"We won't rule out future purchases, hut I personally consider if you can grow organically, it's the better way to do business. That model has served us well and we won't venture into ideas we can't afford."
With the firm on track to match last year's 05m turnover, clearly his strategics are working.
Ile maintains: "We started out in a bedroom and I believe that ambitious, but down to earth ethos has stayed with us. I know all staff in the Dublin depot on a first-name basis, and I am not a fan of a rigid business hierarchy.
"We work collectively as a hardworking and ambitious workforce, and we will continue to work in that way." •