In a cut-throat world, connections count
Ireland has no wholesale courier structure as exists in the UK, though there are probably a dozen quality independent retail operators, plus a number of mainly Dublin-based motorcycle couriers.
The market is too small for wholesalers at the airport.
It’s cheaper for the independents to wholesale in London or use DHL, ” says Joe Costigan, MD of the Connect Group.
Connect is the closest home-grown alternative to the integrators. Founded by Costigan in 1999, it serves mainly the advertising, medical and financial sectors.
He says 99% of business is in Dublin and Wicklow, where pick-ups and collections are made by Connect Couriers. A sister company, Air Connect International, looks after overseas shipments.
Deliveries outside Dublin, on behalf of customers such as Asia Pacific, Transworld, WPE and Express Air, are passed on to Interlink.
“We have been totally focused on exports, but inbound is building all the time, ” says Costigan. “We’re doing a lot of back-selling from that as well.” Connect can make collections up to 6.50pm in Dublin city after already calling on its larger customers up to three times earlier in the day. “We get traffic even the integrators can’t deal with, ” says Costigan.
The company puts shipments on four or five flights a day into the main UK provincial airports, allowing same-day delivery to many destinations. Its main UK hub for onward destinations is London Heathrow. Early BA and BMI flights out of Dublin are in London by 9am, allowing mid-afternoon delivery into many major European cities.
Direct flights ex-Dublin, for example twice-daily services to Brussels and Düsseldorf, are used where they can further increase flexibility.
Connect’s partner, May Courier, can drive down into Germany, the Netherlands and France with packages off these flights.
“We have hit the marketplace in a good, positive way, ” says Costigan, who credits Asia Pacific in the UK with helping him develop a global network of destinations.
Proof of delivery is available on the web through POD Wizard. “We’re using the technology of other people to integrate our traffic, ” says Costigan.
Business was 25% higher in April than a year ago, despite Ireland’s sluggish economy and worldwide problems in air cargo. “You can’t always see what’s round the corner, and in two or three months it might look very different, but the courier sector does not seem to be hurting the way freight is.
We haven’t added many customers, but they are growing their volumes, ” Costigan says.
Connect handles just 150 to 200 shipments a night, but Costigan feels relatively unthreatened. “The days of entrepreneurs starting up are over. You can’t get a data entry clerk for less than t21,000- t22,000. Then there is the IT investment.” Nor does he worry too much about the integrators.
“They could choose to undercut us on price, but they can’t match our 24/7 service. Local business is cutthroat but we are getting loyalty because of our service.
A customer knows he can ring me at three in the morning if there’s a problem.” He isn’t offering his phone number, but you get the point.
