A multimillion-pound technological cocktail of electronic data interchange, satellite tracking and radio frequency scanning equipment has driven massive expansion in a company operating in one of the most traditional industries.
Some £18 million in investment in new technology over the past 10 years has transformed Irish Express Cargo (IEC) from a freight forwarder into a key logistics operation. And now the company is looking to the Internet to further develop its business.
IEC's revenue has doubled to £34 million and staff numbers to 850 in the last four years. It has six warehouses in England and operations in Limerick, Cork, Scotland and Sweden. Its three Dublin facilities are about to merge at a new site in Blanchardstown, which will house the largest purpose-built logistics centre in the State.
Central to this rapid growth is the IT section of IEC, headed up by Ms Josephine Eviston, information technology director. She joined the company in 1987, and since then has developed in-house a centralised computer system providing seamless information flows to employees and customers.
"Technology is the engine that runs our business. We pump cash into it at a tremendous rate," says IEC managing director, Mr Finn O'Sullivan. "The outsource mentality is now a given. Manufacturers will never go back to non-core activities, so as long as the IDA keeps bringing punters to the table irrespective of the industry we will handle them."
Technology companies like Dell, Gateway, Intel and Compaq are IEC's biggest customers.
Ms Eviston originally joined the company to automate the customs handling part of the operation which had been steeped in bureaucracy causing huge time losses. She developed a system based on electronic data interchange (EDI) with the customs office. Now EDI is a core part of IEC's operation.
All the software has been developed inhouse on a Unix-based system with a Universal 4GL database. Via this centralised processor, transportation, inbound freight management, inventory control, warehouse management, distribution, fleet management, ISO quality control, and value added services are all completely integrated. The end users largely work off dumb terminals which facilitate customised, speedy data entry.
Nearly a decade ago IEC joined a pilot project with Aer Lingus to set up Cargo Community Systems (CCS) which enables electronic booking of space, shipment tracking and schedule inquiry via airway bill references. By keying in the cargo reference number, full details can be furnished within eight seconds. This has speeded up the air freight delivery end of the business significantly.
Seven years ago IEC set up a satellite tracking system in Britain, which operates on the RAM mobile data network. It works off the GSM network in Ireland providing proof of delivery information within minutes of arrival.
As the truck driver hands over the cargo he gets a signed hard copy docket of receipt. He then scans the docket's bar-coded delivery reference using a hand-held device which records the date and time of delivery. He keys in the signature, and places the scanner on a cradle installed in the truck, which downloads the information back to the central system. Within minutes of handover proof of delivery is available on the track-and-trace system. "Our next big plan will be to develop the freight collection end of the business. We can make the communication two-way with the drivers by sending information out alerting them to schedule changes and redirections. The final solution is a completely streamlined process with data captured at the outset and flowing freely to the end of process," says Ms Eviston.
At any given time the position of IEC's 150 trucks can be located on the central system via a global positioning system (GPS) satellite. A map of the area is brought up on the screen identifying the truck's exact position. This system operates in Ireland and Britain. The company is awaiting installation of detailed mapping for Europe.
IEC has also adopted radiofrequency (RF) technology to manage inventory movement. Workers in the warehouses use hand-held bar code readers and forklifts equipped with scanners. The supervisor works from a central screen depicting stock levels, and products ready to be receipted or moved. He then sends information to the forklift screen assigning the operator to move a palate from a particular location to another.
"Now that we are operating on such a large scale, a manual effort would be inoperable," says Ms Eviston.
An average of 450 users and 90 customers log onto the company's central system on a daily basis, with a further 35 customers operating customised EDI interfaces. Inventory transactions run to 5,500 per week, and e-mail messages number 5,000 over the same period.
Now it is looking to the potential of the Internet to improve its business. Already the "track-and-trace" system is online, though Ms Eviston wants to refine the service by developing the inventory requirement. There have been numerous requests from customers looking for a customised online service.
Dell computers is about to link its online tracking system with IEC's, so the customer can view not only what stage his or her computer is at in the production process, but where it is in the delivery process also.
Increasingly, IEC is partnering computer companies to provide complete logistic solutions and Ms Eviston believes the way forward now is to locate the freight business on the customer's premises. IEC is already situated on the premises in Dell in Limerick, and it manages a 24-hour, seven-days-a-week service for Compaq in Scotland.
A stock market flotation is becoming a realistic prospect though it is not envisaged for some time yet. "It is not something we are looking at in the very short term because we are spending too much money at the moment. As long as we have a comfortable bottom line which helps us develop the business, then we are in no rush until everything is securely in place," says Mr O'Sullivan.
"In general people are amazed at the level of technology we have to offer. The US would be behind us in a lot of ways and we have had many approaches to establish an operation in the US. We are willing to trial any technology, as this is the only way to get more customers and create leading edges," says Ms Eviston.
