Computer Transport and Logistics

ATC Logistics

ATC Win Customer Focus and SME of the Year at The Irish Logistics & Transport Awards

We are delighted to announce that ATC is the winner of two categories at The Irish Logistics and Transport Awards 2020 held online this afternoon.

The Irish Logistics and Transport Awards were established over a decade ago to celebrate excellence in the logistics and transport industry and to encourage teams and individuals to continue raising the bar in our industry.

It is a great honour to be a member of the ILTA, and we are humbled with this recognition from the industry today.

 

Customer Focus Achievement Award:

This award recognises the commitment of our company to delivering superior customer service to our clients over the past 12 months. “Loving Our Customers” is a core value of the company, it highlights our pledge to earning and keeping the trust of our clients by continually working as a team to offer solutions that exceed their expectations.

 

Logistics and Transport SME of the Year:

This award celebrates the excellence and innovation that has been displayed by a company over the past 12 months. To win this award means a great deal to us as we have worked tirelessly throughout the year to upgrade our operations and continue our expansion of operations across Europe. Not to mention the commencement of our new HQ here in Dublin which should be finished by Autumn 2021.

Thank You

We want to thank the ILTA for their support and for putting on a fantastic virtual awards ceremony today which has raised all of our spirits.

We would also like to extend our gratitude to the judges who had the unenviable task of selecting this year’s winners.

These achievements wouldn’t be possible without the support and dedication of our entire team who we are incredibly proud of.

Lastly, we wish to congratulate all of the worthy winners in each category who were awarded today.

Here’s to a positive and productive 2021.

Alan, Keith and the Management Team

ATC Recruits New Apprentice from Logistics Associate Apprenticeship (LAA) programme!

ATC have been strong supporters of the Logistics Associate Apprenticeship (LAA) since its launch in September 2018. As Alan said before, “we put a great emphasis on carving out careers for our employees here in ATC, not just a job. For this reason, the apprenticeship programme is a welcomed addition to our business, and we are committed to nurturing our participants with the highest standard of training to ensure the best possible outcome.”

This year we are delighted to welcome our latest recruit to join the programme, Jeffrey Boyle, who is commencing the second and final year of his apprenticeship with us now.

We see the programme as a perfect entry point into our industry, and an excellent opportunity for young apprentices to both upskill and gain a 3rd level academic qualification which is a launch pad for further career development.

To us, the blended learning approach of the LAA programme makes complete sense, as we see our apprentices gain valuable work experience on the job while learning the theory behind industry practices in a classroom environment. The programme also provides a great foundation to promote the logistics industry to a new generation.

We are very proud to support this industry-leading initiative, with our management sitting on the programme consortium and we look forward to its continued success.  Huge thanks to both TU Dublin and FTA Ireland for making this happen and providing a career development path for the future leaders of our industry.

Before I go, here are a couple of the benefits that are to be gained from participating in an apprenticeship programme:

  • They combine practical on the job training with formal classes for learning.
  • There is an agreed contract in place between the employer and the apprentice.
  • The apprentice gets paid while they learn.
  • Candidates are training for a specific role that they will receive a recognised qualification for at the end of the programme.

For more information, visit https://www.laa.ie

Keith Young

Managing Director

Maintaining Final Mile Standards During Crisis Times

The events of the past couple of months have disrupted long-established work patterns and challenged us to re-think many of the fundamentals of work and life. The pandemic has given many of us a real wake-up call both personally and professionally, prompting us to reconsider how we navigate both our daily lives and our businesses.

For many of us operating in the logistics and supply chain industry, COVID-19 has accelerated the need to move systems online to have better visibility of our operations, support our teams, and provide real-time updates to our customers.

Come rain, hail, or a global pandemic; our industry is expected to remain agile, to maintain business continuity and to meet the needs of our customers, no matter what. For many, the goods being shipped are critical to the health and wellbeing of our people and the economy as a whole.

SalesForce recently commented that “in the face of this shifting landscape, companies with strong digital capabilities are turning to digital solutions to optimise their businesses, while others are introducing brand new technologies to transform, empower and future-proof their businesses.”

Given the challenges presented by border closures and social distancing regulations, it has been observed across all industries that customers are more anxious about their consignments and are demanding increased transparency with their logistics partners to facilitate accurate supply chain planning and revising processes.

The key is to stay in contact with the customer at all times and manage their expectations through open conversations and flows of information. I’ve spoken here before about how technology enhances our final mile service by enabling us to be more flexible and resilient.

Slawomir Pawlak (CIO at Raben Group) echoed “entire supply chains are in upheaval, and customers are struggling to regain visibility into the movement of their goods and what they can expect in terms of timing. Now more than ever, it’s critical that we give them the right digital tools to access the data they need”.

Over the past decade, ATC has held an excellent record for meeting delivery windows, consistently exceeding our SLA expectations. We put this success down to four key areas:

  • Dedicated Workforce
  • Investment in Technology
  • Partner Network
  • Personal Service

 

Dedicated Workforce

We are very proud to have a team who enjoy their work and are committed to exceeding customer expectations at every touchpoint. At ATC, we have always maintained an “Open Door” policy, even if that is more of a virtual door these days. We listen to our team to ensure they are happy and performing to the best of their ability with the support of ongoing training. Read our blog “One Man, One Truck” to find out more about what life is like for our truck drivers on the road, albeit it was written pre COVID, so things have changed slightly since then.

 

Investment in Technology

We continuously invest in technology to facilitate internal collaboration while delivering real-time information to our clients and a direct line to their driver.

Our trucks have built-in GPS tracking and communication systems which means that our clients can access the location of their goods giving them peace of mind and assurance that their shipment is secure and on track to be delivered within the allotted timeframe.

Also, our drivers complete electronic logs so we can monitor, in real-time, how many hours they have driven, fuel consumption and monitor their mental wellbeing which is imperative during these strange times that we find ourselves in.

We integrate with our customers systems so that all our information can flow through automatically, allowing them to automate steps further down the supply chain.

 

Partner Network

An essential element of our final mile service is the partner network that we have created. This network enables us to provide a ‘white-glove’ level of service to our clients, whether they are global logistics providers seeking a final mile service or cloud service providers. When combined with local knowledge and capacity, our training, experience and attention to detail help ensure on-time deliveries to the final floor position.

 

Personal Service

Last, but certainly not least, we always say that “We earn our customers’ trust by GETTING THE JOB DONE to the highest standards of safety, security, and reliability — every time”. It is critical to us that every one of our customers is satisfied with the service we provide. We value our client relationships and are very grateful to our data centre providers  and our technology partners for enabling us to stay in contact and continue to provide a high-quality service – no matter what.

So, even in a pandemic, it’s business as usual at ATC.

 

Keith Young

Managing Director

ATC Receives Gold Accreditation from FTA Ireland

Throughout my career, I have witnessed the consequences of transport and logistics companies not keeping a watchful eye over the intricate details of their operations, which, in turn, can lead to severe repercussions down the road. Road safety, vehicle maintenance and legal compliance are more complex than ever, and simply having the paperwork may not be enough for the legislative bodies across Europe.

We decided that the time was right to upgrade our TruckSafe Bronze accreditation from FTA Ireland to Gold. So we invited FTA Ireland into the business to complete a full audit of our operations, systems and processes.

Those of you who have followed our journey for some time will remember that we joined FTA Ireland in September 2018. We rely on our industry representative bodies to increase our awareness of safety standards, legislative requirements put forward by the Road Safety Authority (RSA), and industry best practice. In January 2018, we successfully passed our first audit and received a bronze accreditation.

On Thursday, February 20th, FTA Ireland’s senior Auditor Mr Donncha Cody carried out a risk management and operational compliance audit at our operations centre in Greenogue and our headquarters in Citywest.

The audit benchmarked our compliance levels against the minimum legal standards required to ensure the safe and sustainable operation of all our vehicles and business. The auditor had access to all necessary systems and documentation to complete his assessment against the ten accreditation areas:

  1. Fatigue
  2. Roadworthiness
  3. Driver Competence
  4. Road Traffic Rules
  5. Safe and Legal Loads
  6. Financial Standing
  7. Professional Competence
  8. Contractor and Support Services Management
  9. Sustainable Operations
  10. Health and Safety

In each area, we were able to demonstrate to the Auditor that the system was managed efficiently and effectively, which secured our Gold Accreditation.

This Gold Accreditation is significant for the whole team as it confirms our responsibility to compliance, legislation and regulations in operating a successful transport business that is above and beyond reproach.

We believe that our company’s culture and values have assisted in gaining our TruckSafe Gold accreditation, especially our focus on health and safety. ATC continues to invest in training for all our staff and will continue to hold independent audits from bodies such as the FTA Ireland Truck Safe Programme to ensure we maintain the highest operation standards – always.

 

Keith Young

Managing Director

ATC Support Capuchin Day Centre This Christmas

ATC is proudly supporting the Capuchin Day Centre for the homeless in lieu of sending Christmas cards.

The Capuchin Day Centre is based in Dublin and its main service is providing food to those who are in need. Through donations, the day centre has also been able to offer clothing supplies and clinics to include: dental and chiropody clinics, optical screening, haircut services and much more.

Capuchin Day Centre

Pictured here L-R: Brother Kevin, Adrian Byrne, and Patricia Young

If you wish to make a donation you can do so by clicking here and following the instructions.

We wish to take this opportunity to thank all of our customers and suppliers for another great year and we wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a Peaceful New Year!

 

Keith Young

Managing Director

 

A Year of Reflection

ATC was founded in 1979, and as we celebrate our 40thyear, we are now Europe’s leading Data Centre, Logistics, and White Glove service provider, counting the world’s leading technology customers amongst our clients.

It has been an exciting journey, and all the while, we have been guided by our core values: loving our customers, earning their trust, and being innovative. Our 40thyear has seen many significant highlights that will make this year one to remember.

 

Frankfurt Expansion

This time last year, we announced that we would be expanding our presence into Frankfurt to further serve our customers in the data centre markets across Europe.

In November, I had the privilege to present ATC’s story of growth in Frankfurt at the Hessen – Ireland Business Day, which was hosted in Dublin by Hessen Trade and Invest. We are delighted to say that our expansion into Frankfurt has been a great success and a critical step towards our strategic objective of expanding our European footprint.

Frankfurt is a vital part of our network, home to an expanding local team, and servicing key clients. We look forward to further developments in 2020.

 

ATC Wins ILTA Safety Award

Fast forward to June, and we were honoured to be awarded the safety award by ILTA. This award highlights our commitment to maintaining world-class safety management systems. Safety is everyone’s concern, and this award also recognises the professionalism of all our teams who implement control measures and monitoring systems to ensure operational safety each and every day.

Achieving such a prestigious award, sponsored by the RSA, validates our safety management endeavours and assures our customers that our commitment to safety excellence is unwavering.

 

ATC Turns 40

In October, ATC officially turned 40, and we were truly honoured to have our founders, Alan and Patricia Young, recognised by their industry peers for their 40 years in business at the Fleet Transport awards which happened to fall on the week of our birthday. Alan’s career has spanned three significant phases in computing: from mainframes, through personal computers, and now to cloud computing and the Internet of Things (IoT).

We couldn’t have made it this far without their true dedication and commitment to providing a safe and happy environment for staff and delivering a superior service to clients.

Fleet.ie Online Award

Over the past couple of years, ATC has invested time in improving our online presence to fit the modern world of communication.

To be recognised for such an award means the world to us as we value online communication so much and enjoy sharing our updates and stories with you all here on our website and through our leading social network LinkedIn.

Safeguarding Our Environment

We care deeply as a company about our environment, which is why we continue to invest in the latest technologies to ensure that our trucks are equipped with the most modern Euro low Emission Engines.

We can’t wait for our new Mercedes Actros trucks, with the latest engine technology, to hit the road in 2020!

To conclude, 2019 has been an exceptional and memorable year for the whole team here at ATC. As Alan says, “It has been a fantastic journey, and there are many miles of road left, here’s to the next 40 years.”

 

Keith Young

Managing Director