TPN Ireland builds up for expansion
TPN Ireland has announced ambitious plans to relocate to a larger hub and invest in IT, following a successful first year in operation. The Blanchardstown, Dublin-based firm says it is in negotiations to either build a purpose-built site or acquire another depot near by. Its existing hub will only ever be able to handle 1,000 pallets a night; it already moves around 600 pallets a night. Managing director Owen Cooke says the existing hub would be used as a warehouse and for logistics services. “We don’t want to let the physical constraints of the business slow us down – it is important to grab growth now and get into a strong position.” Cooke is also keen to invest in IT. He hopes to introduce barcode scanning by January and then in-cab signature capture will be high on the agenda, he says. The Pallet Network is also in talks with a European network to further extend its service offering. “A good Irish network cannot be limited to Ireland. There just isn’t the volume to move around the regions; most pallets are for export to the UK and Europe.” The network has 14 depots but Cooke believes it will need to have around 20 in the longer term. “The crucial thing is that depots have viable areas which they are able to exploit and that don’t spread too far from their depots.” The members have recently agreed to take on an auditor to police service levels across the network. TPN Ireland is about to embark on a marketing campaign for its members with a mailshot to 7,500 businesses. “With most customers we have to start from scratch, we have to sell the concept of a pallet network, we’re breaking new ground here,” says Cooke. However the network will leave selling the service to the members. “We won’t introduce central selling because it won’t work. Local contact is what works – people in the regions wouldn’t take well to someone from Dublin trying to sell them pallets.” It will operate corporate accounts and is in the process of negotiating several contracts; it already has Mothercare volume going through the hub. There are two other pallet networks in Ireland: Pall-Ex’s Pallet Xpress and Ace Pallets, which currently does not have a link to a UK network. Cooke says: “We are the leading network in Ireland in terms of volume and reputation which is seeing us win customers from the competition.” The network receives 110 pallets a night from TPN UK and sends 75 pallets to the UK operation. It hopes to be moving around 900 pallets by the end of the year.
