ISSUE 1 2010
IRELANd
21
TwoWay eases its way into oils market
Profits at Aramex were up 25% in the last quarter of 2009. The group’s Irish arm, TwoWay- Aramex, was able to make a positive contribution to that improvement despite the current weakness in Ireland’s economy, says Cathal Sheridan, sales and marketing director. TwoWay-Aramex made its
first serious move into oils and lubricants last year when it signed a sizeable contract to distribute packaged products across Ireland for Topaz Energy. Safety and quality standards in the sector are demanding, but the company has witnessed an increase in customer compliance standards and measurement programmes across all industries and feels it has benefited from this. “Customer input in these
key areas has helped us improve our own internal processes,” Sheridan says. Value for money and cost
effectiveness have gained heightened importance in the recession. Customers increasingly look for pricing tailored to their individual needs through contingent (activity-based) contracts. “You have closer dialogue with your customers about how you can do things better,” Sheridan says. TwoWa y - A r ame x ’ s sophisticated
logistics
solutions have been built up over many years on the back of its UK-Ireland groupage service, which handles 1,000 tonnes of product a day across Ireland,
the UK and between the two countries. This is now extending further across Europe after TwoWay-Aramex joined forces with BTG in Germany, Currie International covering France, and Franco Vago and Assisped in Italy. A Nordic partner is to be announced soon.
Shared space agreements with other major forwarders helped TwoWay-Aramex open a new 3,000sq metre facility at the beginning of last year to handle the growing groupage business. Meanwhile the company approached the SME sector with a complete outsourced
office management, logistics and distribution service from its Dublin facility and was pleasantly surprised when one company took a large managed unit almost immediately. Later this year comes
an ambitious move into e- commerce. Distribution of
goods ordered via the internet is already big business for Aramex in the Middle East. “We’re developing new software for this service specific to the European market. Here we have to manage Customs integration as well as the complexities of the supply chain,” Sheridan says.
Aramex leaves airfeight for dust
Aramex said its road express service from the UK to Ireland helped vital medicines get through to hospitals and vets during the air transport shutdown, which wiped out air services between the UK and Ireland for several days in April. Customers who previously airfreighted their products, with other operators overnight switched to Aramex’ road express service to maintain their vital time- sensitive deliveries. Aramex’s CEO Europe, Tommy Kelly said the company had been able to make next day deliveries even to rural locations in Ireland. At one stage, Aramex was running over 25 trailers a night. He added: “Our late cut-offs combined with the size and scale of
our operation means we can accommodate last minute additional customer volumes with ease. And right at this minute it is reliability that these types of customer need to make sure their products arrive on-time and in the right condition. Latest cut off in London is at 19:00 with Dublin, Cork, Shannon and Belfast all receiving direct services the next day.
Kelly added: “In these very difficult and constantly changing times
I am delighted to report that we have been able to meet 100% of our customers’ requirements.”
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