Nightline upgrades IT to cope with growing parcel volumes

Irish delivery firm Nightline has made a six-figure investment in its IT infrastructure to further improve its ability to handle growing shipment volumes. The company is spending EUR 200,000 on hardware including more powerful HP servers for its headquarters in Dublin, as well as “sophisticated” new Motorola handheld devices for its drivers.

Installation is expected to be completed by the end of this month, well ahead of the Christmas peak in volumes, with IT staff working through weekends to ensure there is no disruption to customer service.

CEO John Tuohy said the investment came as further refinements to the company’s Smartship IT system, which co-ordinates all aspects of company operations, from collections and warehouse management to deliveries and accounts.

Nightline has spent EUR 6m setting up and upgrading its IT infrastructure since the year 2000.

“We introduced Smartship a decade ago because we recognised the importance in being able to efficiently manage increasing business,” he said.

“In that time, we’ve gone from handling 1,000 transactions each week to around 130,000 transactions per day, so we need IT which can cope not just with our current levels but with still greater volumes.”

Tuohy said his company planned to go on improving its Smartship system wherever possible.

“Everything we do is governed by our desire to give clients even better service,” he said. “By doing that, of course, there is a benefit to the company and it’s no coincidence that our turnover has trebled in the decade since Smartship was introduced.”

Nightline was formed in 1992 and now claims to handle around one in every four parcels on Irish roads through its seven facilities in Dublin, Sligo, Waterford, Cork, Limerick and Galway.

Last year the company opened a new regional office in the UK, and this autumn has seen it upgrading its operations north of the border, with a multi-million euro investment in its Belfast site.