Cambridge mathematician helps Nightline improve parcel planning
Irish parcel delivery company Nightline has been working with a Cambridge University mathematician on a “radical” new way of predicting parcel volumes. The firm that handles around a quarter of parcel deliveries in the Republic believes the new mathematical model developed with Dr Tom Sawyer from the university’s Judge Business School will help improve its planning and management of deliveries.
Dublin-based Nightline said the model allows it to more accurately direct resources from its business-to-business activities towards its business-to-consumer operations, with planning months in advance.
The system could be crucial to smooth running in the run-up to busy periods like Christmas, but is also important throughout the year, the company said.
“We wanted a system which would make us even better prepared to cope with the sort of changes that are happening in terms of how and when parcels are generated, and where from – not only at Christmas, but year-round,” said Nightline CEO John Tuohy (pictured right).
“We believe that, after undertaking the research, we have something that no other delivery business currently has at its disposal – a means of accurately predicting what resources are needed to service the changing and seasonal nature of parcel traffic.”
Dr Sawyer’s model is based on an approached used in the healthcare sector for coping with resourcing issues. The researcher said predictions were more accurate nearer the time, but could be used to plan months ahead.
Up an running at Nightline, the system was already in use during this winter’s peak period, helping the company cope with the conditions.
“Most parcel companies used to carry a majority of business parcels, but internet shopping is gradually changing that,” said Dr Sawyer, adding that the different types of client place different demands on a delivery company’s resources.
“Being able to meet the respective demands of both those types of traffic effectively is key to whether you can maintain a good level of service or not,” he said.
With clients in the mobile phone, entertainment, fashion, healthcare and food manufacturing industries, Nightline is currently in the process of expanding its network with a EUR 5.5m redevelopment of its headquarters in the Irish capital, and a trebling of the size of its operations in Belfast.
The company founded in 1992 has a network of seven depots across Ireland and a UK regional office in Altham, Lancashire.
