Ireland’s biggest independent delivery firm Nightline has opened a €2 million depot in Dublin to support its parcel locker network as volumes continue to grow.
The country’s Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Alex White TD, hailed the Nightline Group's progress as a shot in the arm for the economy as he formally opened the 30,000 sq ft facility, which has created 20 jobs and is dedicated to servicing Nightline's award-winning network of Parcel Motel locker terminals.
The minister described the developments as "great news" for Parcel Motel's subscribers, commenting: "It will also drive competition in the sector and ensure that Ireland remains a well-connected and efficient network for private residents and businesses alike."
The new depot on Dublin’s North City Business Park has three times the number of workstations to process goods for delivery to Parcel Motel lockers than the system had been able to call on at Nightline’s Mygan Park headquarters.
In parallel, eight of the company’s 11 sites across the Irish Republic are also going to become alternative parcel pick-up points for subscribers to the Parcel Motel system. Consumers will be able to collect packages directly from Nightline’s premises in Athlone, Tralee, Waterford, Sligo, Cork, Galway and Limerick rather than from a Parcel Motel terminal.
Parcel Motel General Manager, Orla Sheils, revealed that growing demand from Ireland's online shoppers had swollen the number of users to more than 160,000 people while the Parcel Motel network has handled more than 1.5 million parcels in the last year – more than double the figure for the previous 12 months.
“As the number of goods bought via the internet continues to rise, we recognise the value of providing even more capacity to cope, hence a depot solely processing parcels destined for lockers across the country. We are confident that it means our being able to cope with the expectations of consumers and retailers as we prepare head into the busiest period of the year for the parcel industry,” she said.
Sheils said the changes underlined how important convenience is to consumers. “The volume of online orders placed by Irish shoppers is one of the fastest-growing in all of Europe. They need the kind of flexibility, convenience and economy in deliveries which Parcel Motel offers.”
Recent figures from e-commerce analysts concluded that Ireland had become western Europe’s fourth biggest online marketplace, spending some €4.6 billion with internet retailers during 2013 alone.
