By @SimonCocking
Describe the company – the elevator pitch …
Parcel Connect does what it says on the tin; we connect parcels with people. A personalisation platform enabling Irish consumers to send, collect and return parcels and/or online shopping from their home address or any one of our 1000+ convenient pick-up and drop off points across Ireland. We also allow customers to receive goods from UK online outlets that do not deliver to the Republic of Ireland, by way of a virtual address.
How are you different?
Aside from having Ireland’s largest network of ‘PUDO’ (Pick-Up – Drop-Off) convenience stores nationwide, Parcel Connect’s USP is our personalisation, storing consumer delivery preferences to provide a consistently convenient delivery service every single time. In summary, we look to differentiate ourselves by offering innovative services that empower users to make shopping online a personal, flexible and enjoyable experience.
Why will the company / product do well?
Because we take pride in continuously refining our proposition through constant development. But more importantly, we aim to grow our clients’ businesses through consumer centred services such as Click & Collect or seamless Returns solutions. As consumers increasingly see the value of personalised services to support their online order, collection and return needs, Parcel Connect is ideally positioned to take advantage of the significant growth projections for this specific sector over the coming years.
Where are you based?
We spread ourselves across two offices, one in the Fastway Couriers Depot in Dublin (so we keep our fingers on the pulse of our technology and services) and our main offices in Swords (making it easy for trips to and from the airport).
When was the company launched?
It’s a blurry memory as we started as a service within Fastway in early 2013. We officially launched our store network on the 24th of October 2013, and incorporated Parcel Connect Ltd in Sept 2014… so somewhere in the middle of those dates!
What have been your biggest wins to date?
I could easily say the launch of FREE returns with Littlewoods Ireland in October 2013 as this gave us the push to launch the network of stores, but more recently it’s been our ‘In-flight divert to store’ service that’s live with ASOS, Boohoo and MissGuided as this epitomises our philosophy of personalising delivery and adjusting to the customers needs.
What type of people (market segment) are you trying to attract to your product?
We separate our ‘markets’ into two groups, Clients and Customers. The clients we attract are parcel senders, from those sending 1-5 parcels a week to the big eCommerce retailers as mentioned. Our customers are those that we share with our clients…. The parcel receivers who use our services to improve their online shopping experience.
Photo Caption: Danny Hughes, Co-Founder and CEO of Parcel Connect
Tell us about your team?
They’re brilliant, they believe in what they’re doing and why they’re doing it… which is the important part. I know they’re great because we have to share them! We’ve a three way team structure, four of us are contracted to Parcel Connect and offer services to Fastway Couriers, five of the team are Contracted to our technology partners Scurri and offer services to Parcel Connect and Fastway Couriers, and over 20 people are contracted to Fastway Couriers and similarly offer services to Parcel Connect. It’s a great model, sharing expertise and maximising efficiencies through logical resource rotation. It sounded crazy at first but we’ve proven that it can work really well for all three parties… but most of all the team!
What are your long term plans for your product / company?
International expansion through our crowd platform. We’ve designed our systems to be easily ‘integrateable’, (which is half the challenge in the eCommerce logistics industry) and we’ve a number of opportunities lined up to extend our reach beyond Ireland in Q2 2016. The main focus being a crowd sourcing application that we believe will change the way people send and receive goods well into the future. In the meantime, we’re launching our new www.parcelconnect.ie website in January that will bring our digital face up to speed with the work we’ve been doing in the background.
What are your favourite tech gadgets?
If you want a breath of fresh air I can tell you my least favourite if you like! My iWatch is useless! It’s always out of battery!
But on a more serious note… I’ve always been a fan of an iPhone and I think I always will be. I’m obsessed with user experience, and if my 18 month old niece can operate a phone from top to bottom then they’ve quite clearly nailed it.
What tech gadgets do you wish you could use to help you?
Whilst Google glass has gone quiet recently, it would be great to replace hand held scanners with the glass. It would be great to enable couriers to simply look at a parcel to log the label, view a route plan when driving from drop to drop and capture images of the customer on the door step for verification. Maybe one day.
How do people get in touch with you?
Check out www.parcelconnect.ie or Find us on Facebook
If you would like to have your company featured in the Irish Tech News Business Showcase, get in contact with us at Simon@IrishTechNews.net or on Twitter: @SimonCocking