Rapid door-to-door deliveries, Europe-wide
27/01/2017
GEODIS Ireland was named as the Logistics Company of the Year at the Irish Logistics & Transport Awards 2016. Robert Cashman, Deputy Regional Head Ireland and Conor McHugh, Supply Chain Development Manager were on hand at the presentation night in the Doubletree Hotel on April 7th to receive the prestigious award on behalf of the company. We caught up with the former to find out more about this outstanding supply chain operator.
When selected as the Irish Logistics & Transport Awards’ Logistics Company of the Year in April, GEODIS Ireland completed a notable double: in November of last year, they were also named as Logistics Company of the Year at the Irish Exporters Awards. They are clearly doing something right!
With two prestigious trophies on display at the company’s well-appointed, spacious HQ in Mulhuddart, director Robert Cashman says he is delighted that GEODIS is receiving such copious recognition on the awards circuit. This reflects the continuous growth and development of an exceptional logistics and transport solutions provider that currently generates gainful employment for a highly-skilled team of 140 people here in Ireland.
GEODIS has been active in supply chain management in Ireland for 14 years. Their Damastown, Dublin 15 base is one of the largest and most modern freight locations in the country; a 30,000 square metre facility which is ISO-90001, OHSAS 18001, TAPA Level A, AEO, GDP Licence, HPRA and IIP certified.
With worldwide reach, GEODIS Ireland is part of GEODIS – in turn part of the SNCF Group and the No.1 transport and logistics operator in France (ranked number four in Europe). GEODIS boasts a direct presence in 67 countries and a global network spanning over 120 countries.
With its five lines of business (supply chain optimisation; freight forwarding; contract logistics; distribution; and express and road transport), GEODIS manages its customers’ supply chain by providing end-to-end solutions enabled by their people, infrastructure, processes and systems.
In an intensely competitive market, GEODIS Ireland is unique in providing thousands of SMEs and medium-sized businesses all over Ireland with a complete road freight service across all of Europe, importing and exporting from nearly 40 European countries. They provide a secure transport service with a production mix combining flexibility, capacity and productivity.
Looking beyond the management of physical flows, they have recognised expertise in information management to oversee freight flows and continuously optimise transport plans. As growth partner, GEODIS delivers effective security and support for customers’ supply chain.
The road freight division comprises both national and international transport services. The national transport service offers 24 – 48-hour delivery across all 32 counties, with all sizes and types of cargo catered for and all trailer types available. Internationally, GEODIS Ireland oversees more than 140 international movements per week to and from mainland Europe. As one of the largest European networks operating in Ireland and Europe, they deliver full and part loads into more than 40 countries. Online Booking and Track and Trace is available on all national and international deliveries.
Reflecting on the genesis of GEODIS Ireland, Robert notes: “The company was established in Ireland in 2002. Primarily, the GEODIS group won a contract in Dublin to manage the supply chain flows of a high tech multinational and built the 30,000 sqm state-of-the-art high security facility on a green site in Damastown, Dublin to manage their logistic requirements. In 2008, the client decided to migrate their manufacturing to China. During this period there was a huge eastward shift of computer hardware production from Ireland to lower cost economies in Eastern Europe and Asia. As experts in the high tech logistics sector, at a time where high tech manufacturing in Ireland was in decline, it was necessary for us to reinvent the business”.
“We took our specialised skills and targeted the pharma-healthcare sector and the FMCG / retail sector, businesses we knew would appreciate our knowledge in secure and process driven logistics and freight forwarding operations. We ensured our facility was compliant with Pharma Regulations by becoming HPRA and GDP Certified and we educated ourselves with the requirements of these sectors. We started to build an impressive client list and in 2012 we won a major logistics contract for 8,000-9,000 pallets and a second major contract in 2015 for 8,000 - contracts which we still hold today.”
The transition has been seamless and GEODIS Ireland are busier now than they’ve ever been: “Our warehouse is completely full now,” Robert confirms. “One of the challenges we face now is that there hasn’t been a lot of building taking place during the downturn with the result that there is more demand for warehousing space than actual space. This is something the logistics industry is going to have to address if Ireland is going to expand their logistics services to cater for the rising demands from both international and domestic clients.”
“Our groupage business, which is 21 years old and predates the facility, is growing all the time,” Robert continues “We have owner-drivers subcontracted to handle deliveries in the greater Dublin area, while another subcontractor covers the rest of Ireland for us. We are in the process of opening a new dedicated groupage cross-dock on 2,000 metres next door to our main facility.
“We offer a door-to-door service all over Ireland, the UK and Europe and we go to each country with direct import and export services – daily to the UK and twice weekly to Europe. We also own Fortec Distribution, a pallet network in the UK which runs Fortec-branded double-deckers every night in both directions, with volumes increasing all the time.”
Looking to the future, further growth is very much on the cards. “The plan is to grow every aspect of our business in order to better serve our clients,” Robert concludes. “With positive economic growth predictions for Ireland, we are continuously investing in our services to ensure their compliance for our customer’s expanding needs.”
GEODIS Ireland,
Damastown Industrial Park,
Damastown Avenue,
Mulhuddart,
Dublin 15.
Tel: 01 826 3000
Taken from Irish Trucker & Light Commercials magazine, Vol 19 No 6, July 2016
