Home Delivery Network (HDN), the UK’s largest dedicated home delivery and collection service, hasannounced a partnership with Fastway Couriers, the leading Irish courier company, to extend the
network of services it already provides to UK clients into the Republic of Ireland.The partnership provides a cost-competitive, fully tracked 48-hour and 72-hour parceldelivery service throughout the Republic. Plans are also being considered to roll out furtherservices including time-specified delivery.
Launch customer for the new partnership is Shop Direct Group, which transferred all of itsbusiness from An Post at the beginning of September following a competitive tender. The value ofthe contract and volumes involved were not disclosed.
Brian Gaunt, chief executive of HDN, said: “We are delighted to be working in partnershipwith Fastway, the leading couriers in the Republic of Ireland. Fastway have the high service ethosthat our customers demand and key to the consistent delivery of high service has been the real timetracking capability which Fastway have deployed across their network. This has been interfaced intothe Home Delivery Network systems to provide clients and customers with real time parcel visibilityfrom pick up in the UK to delivery in the Republic.”
Bobby O Keeffe, chief executive of Fastway, said: “We are delighted to have established apartnership with Home Delivery Network and to have worked with them to provide Shop Direct Groupwith a solution that provides substantial cost improvements, whilst driving lead time reductionsand improved parcel visibility to their customer service teams. We are sure that our partnershipcan bring similar benefits to other UK retailers.”
Home Delivery Network Limited (HDN) is the UK’s largest home delivery and collection serviceoperating two national sorting centre, 50 parcel depots and four specialised operations sites forheavy and large items.
Fastway Couriers is part of the New Zealand-based international network which is the world’slargest courier franchise with over 1,500 franchisees in 10 countries and group turnover of $441million. In Ireland, Fastway operates 11 depots and one central sorting centre.
