Customer Stories /

Irish Ferries & Irish Continental Group (ICG)

Sector:
Transport

Size:
300+

Client Since:
2012

Main Services:
Custom-built, online-booking system

Technologies Used:
SQL Server, SharePoint, Azure

Irish Continental Group (ICG) plc is the leading Irish-based maritime transport group. It carries passengers and cars, freight and container, on routes between Ireland, the United Kingdom and Continental Europe. It also operates container terminals in the ports of Dublin and Belfast.

The Challenge

Irish Ferries Freight wanted a replacement booking system that catered for both its B2B and B2C customers. Irish Ferries Freight was on a mission to break the mould when it came to an online booking experience.

“What stood Spanish Point apart was their openness and attitude towards working with a concept that Irish Ferries Freight wanted to try in an effort to completely challenge the online booking experience for the customer. The team at Spanish Point showed enthusiasm and excitement around the challenge of creating something from scratch without any reference points outside of an idea.”

Ger Galvin

FREIGHT SALES AND MARKETING MANAGER, IRISH FERRIES FREIGHT

The Solution

In response to this brief, Spanish Point created Freight Engine 2.0 – a modern web application designed for scalability, usability (tablets, desktop and mobile) and security. It is designed to deliver exceptional user experience, incorporating multiple persona modelling coupled with top-end UX designers. It includes a modern content management system enabling the business to manage and deliver user-specific content.

Underlying the system is an architecture that supports horizontal scalability, incorporating network load balancing, scale out web and application servers and the latest SQL Server database technology. It is cloud-ready with the ability to leverage the advantages of cloud deployment.

As a business application, Freight Engine 2.0 delivers a level of UX that is normally associated with high-end, dynamic content, public-facing web sites, winning us the Innovation and Excellence Award at the 2016 Transport and Logistics Awards.


“Since launching the new product our online bookings have risen by 30% owing to how incredibly efficient and simple it is to use for our customers. It also meets with their very specific needs, and the success of the mobile site gives customers 24/7 access to doing business with us. 85% of Irish Ferries Freight bookings now come through the online channel, making it a vitally important business tool for our customers and for the company.”

Ger Galvin

FREIGHT SALES AND MARKETING MANAGER, IRISH FERRIES FREIGHT

Key Benefits

A fully personalised and customisable system

A responsive mobile site that retains full desktop experience

Invoices, statements and credit notes available online in real-time

75% reduction in number of clicks to only 3 before a booking