Coll-8: transforming Irish e-commerce
Coll-8 – a startup which aims to make e-commerce easier for Irish online shoppers and retailers – has partnered with BWG Foods.
Coll-8 has been set up by a group, including Dave Field, a co-founder of the firm which became the Republic’s biggest independent supply chain business, Nightline.
“To that can be added the headache for convenience store staff of juggling countless pieces of paper and labels as well as trying to manage shops while dealing with packages left throughout the day by different couriers.
“Our agreement means being able to capitalise on a much more comprehensive network of locations across Ireland to pick-up and return parcels, places where more than one million people shop every day already.
“Deliveries will be made at the same time as store stock and using BWG’s fleet too, something which means less hassle for stores and an enormous reduction in carbon emissions and traffic.
“The use of the very latest mobile technology also enables us to be paper-free and complete collections or returns in seconds with the minimum fuss for consumers.
“Even before we become fully operational, the degree of interest from major UK retailers has been considerable and we have no doubt that it will become the delivery option of choice for shoppers too.”
Mr Field is one of Ireland’s leading authorities on e-commerce deliveries having helped establish award-winning Nightline Delivers in 1992. It grew to become the country’s largest independent logistics firm prior to being acquired by UPS in 2017.
He has been joined at Coll-8 by Commercial Director Dean Lycett and National Sales Manager Tim Quinn, who each have more than two decades with some of the leading UK and Irish parcel firms, and Gerry Bowers, who was responsible for creating Nightline’s award-winning IT platform.
Coll-8’s General Manager, Eamonn Cunningham, has been recruited after developing a career as one of the Irish logistics industry’s leaders in client and consumer relations, while Financial Director Glenn Bradley has built his reputation working for the country’s biggest banks and accounting practices.
BWG’s Logistics Director, Joanne Mellon, said that the tie-up with Coll-8 offered “tremendous additional benefits” to customers and store managers alike.
“Our reputation is founded on being conscious of our responsibilities to the individuals who shop and work in our locations across Ireland, and we are always interested in opportunities which might improve our relationships with both.
“Coll-8 may be a start-up but it’s run by individuals who arguably understand the Irish e-commerce delivery sector better than anyone else.
“What our partnership possesses is a blend of respective strengths: our logistics and retail knowledge and the delivery expertise of Coll-8. It’s thoroughly exciting and I’m sure that Irish consumers and UK retailers will agree.”