DA Systems, a leading UK provider of mobile data and transport management solutions for the transport, retail, healthcare and field service sectors, is pleased to report that its existing customer, Speed Couriers, has successfully grown its medical courier division by 45% and secured an important new business contract with an NHS Trust. These achievements have been attributed to the important contribution DA Systems’ Advanced Courier Interface (ACI) technology has made in enabling Speed Couriers to provide a highly efficient and reliable service, with 100% traceability of medical consignments at all times.

An ACI user for over a decade, Speed Couriers is the North West’s largest independent courier firm and seen demand for its medical courier services double in the past 5 years. Most recently the company secured a contract with a major North West NHS Trust to provide on-going transportation services to connect NHS hospitals within the region, which will help the Trust save costs and become more efficient.

Designed by DA Systems specifically for the courier industry, ACI has played a vital role in enabling Speed Couriers to grow its medical courier division and offer a secure, time critical service to the NHS Trust and other clients. The solution provides real-time track and trace functionality plus the ability to automatically email electronic signature capture to provide proof of delivery for every consignment.

On behalf of the NHS Trust, Speed Couriers provides an on-going outsourced transport service, which includes the provision of 4 vans on a permanent basis, responsibility for sample collection from local area GPs and a continuous shuttle service between the hospital sites. In addition to transporting medical consignments, Speed Couriers also provide a secure transportation service for the Trust’s specialist monitoring equipment. This benefits the Trust by giving it greater flexibility over how to allocate financial resources. Rather than automatically having to purchase multiple units of test equipment, it can be transported to the different sites as needed by patients, leaving more resources available for other requirements.

Using ACI, Speed Courier’s medical customers have the ability to communicate via a real-time portal to pre-book transport services and pinpoint the whereabouts of test equipment and other medical consignments in real-time. Services can be operated in a ‘self-service’ manner, enabling the customer to have full access to the job booking system and schedule pick-ups and drop offs directly, improving speed and efficiency.

“Our contract with the NHS Trust illustrates perfectly how the ACI technology has supported the on-going growth of Speed’s medical business by allowing us to be completely accountable for the service we provide and giving the customer full visibility online of every consignment,” says James Hadley, Commercial Director at Speed Couriers. “A major benefit of ACI is its ability to consolidate data from multiple sources into a single source of information for customers and the control room to act upon quickly.”

“Technology is important for any courier but is especially critical for the medical sector because of the time sensitive nature of their work,” says David Upton, Managing Director of DA Systems. “We are delighted that ACI has enabled Speed Couriers to expand its business so effectively and we wish them continued success for the future.”