Lessons from the Fastway Couriers Ireland Collapse
The recent receivership of Fastway Couriers (Ireland) in late October 2025 exposed a structural
vulnerability in the Irish parcel-delivery market and revealed how exposed many SMEs, online retailers
and smaller manufacturers remain when a critical distribution partner fails. Fastway’s parent company,
Nuvion Group, appointed joint receivers Mark Degnan and Brendan O’Reilly of Interpath Advisory, placing roughly 300 direct jobs at risk. Within days, Irish media reported that up to 50,000 parcels were still in Fastway’s network and would need to be returned to senders via the company’s main hub in Portarlington, Co Laois. This collapse did not occur in isolation. The receivers cited sustained inflation, rising operating costs and ongoing price pressure in the parcels market as factors rendering the business no longer viable in its current form.
For many SMEs who relied heavily on a single courier at low per-parcel rates, the receivership is a stark reminder that distribution is not a commodity service. It is a core operational risk. To protect themselves against future shocks of this kind, businesses should strengthen three procurement disciplines: due diligence, value-based selection and whole-life risk assessment.
Strengthen Supplier Due Diligence and Financial Viability Checks
Fastway’s receivership followed sustained commercial pressure, rising operating costs and the broader competitive strain within Ireland’s parcel-delivery market. While the company’s internal financial metrics remain confidential to its auditors, several public reports noted that the business was under significant pressure well before the formal appointment of receivers. This underlines why SMEs must incorporate proportionate financial checks into their supplier-selection process. Buyers should review publicly available information, including Companies Registration Office filings, to identify patterns such as delayed submissions, recurring losses or liquidity concerns.
It is equally important to understand a courier’s operating model. Many parcel firms in Ireland rely heavily on subcontracted or self-employed drivers, a structure that can become fragile when volumes fluctuate or when cash-flow difficulties emerge. In such models, delivery reliability may deteriorate quickly during peak seasons or disruptions. Operational resilience should form part of due diligence. A prospective supplier ought to be able to explain how it manages seasonal surges, depot outages, driver shortages and route disruptions. Buyers should also confirm that insurance cover, particularly goods-in-transit insurance, is adequate. When a courier collapses suddenly, inadequate cover can expose retailers to direct financial loss.
Buy on Value, Not Price
The Irish courier market has spent years driving delivery rates downward, with per-parcel pricing
becoming a key competitive battleground. This has created what ISME CEO Neil McDonnell has
described as a race to the bottom. While low delivery prices are appealing, they can signal structural
weaknesses, including underinvestment in IT systems, thin operating margins, a high dependence on
subcontracted drivers and limited customer-service capacity. Fastway’s receivership illustrated the real
cost of these weaknesses. Price alone cannot indicate reliability, network strength or continuity of
service. Not all promises has the same value. If UPS or DHL are more expensive, their global brand and
reach reflects the value of premium brands in this space. This is perhaps a new version of the old
procurement maxim: nobody ever got fired for hiring IBM.
A value-based procurement approach should consider proven delivery success rates, customer-support
capability, tracking technology, responsiveness during peak periods and overall operational stability. These criteria protect a business far more effectively than a superficial saving per shipment. The internal cost of courier failure is frequently underestimated. Customer complaints, refunds, reshipments and reputational damage typically outweigh the small savings associated with ultra-low delivery rates. A courier that charges slightly more but delivers consistently will almost always be cheaper in the long term.
Apply Whole-Life Value Thinking
Whole-life value means assessing not only the immediate transport cost but the downstream risks. A
small saving on delivery becomes meaningless if the collapse of a courier jeopardises tens of thousands
of euro in stock or prevents fulfilment during critical trading periods. Fastway’s failure occurred as retailers were preparing for peak demand period at Christmas. With up to 50,000 parcels stranded in the system and major operators such as DPD, UPS, and DHL often operating near full capacity during November and December, many SMEs were unable to secure alternative capacity at short notice. Limited spare capacity is a well-known structural feature of the Irish market, particularly in the run-up to Christmas.
Businesses should therefore avoid relying entirely on a single courier. Maintaining a pre-qualified
alternative provider, even at low volumes, ensures continuity if the primary provider collapses or
becomes overwhelmed. Scenario planning should include how the courier manages cyber-incidents,
sudden falls in driver availability, depot closures and unexpected volume spikes. A supplier unable to
outline credible contingency measures is, by definition, a higher-risk partner.
The Fastway receivership is a clear warning to Irish SMEs that distribution is a critical supplier category
requiring structured procurement discipline. Business owners can outsource delivery responsibility but
they can never outsource accountability for key supplier relationships. Strengthening due diligence, shifting from price-led to value-led decision-making and applying whole-life risk assessment are essential
steps for business continuity. As operational costs rise and peak-season pressures intensify, these measures will help SMEs avoid disruption, protect revenue and ensure that the final, crucial step in the supply chain, getting goods to customers, remains secure.
Sources:
Fastway Couriers Ireland (part of Nuvion Group) did enter receivership. https://www.hgvireland.com/fastway-couriers-update-receivership-announcement/
The move placed approximately 300 jobs at risk. https://www.irishtimes.com/business/2025/10/28/hundreds-of-jobs-under-threat-as-fastway-couriers-enters-receivership/
Fastway staff left without pay while up to 50,000 packages yet to be returned https://www.irishtimes.com/business/2025/11/01/fastway-staff-left-without-pay-while-up-to-50000-packages-yet-to-be-returned
Packages-yet-to-be-returned Costs drive Fastway Couriers Ireland into insolvency https://www.cep-research.com/2025/10/30/costs-drive-fastway-couriers-ireland-into-insolvency
London private equity firm backs buyout of Irish group Fastway Couriers https://www.irishtimes.com/business/london-private-equity-firm-backs-buyout-of-irish-group-fastwaycouriers-1.486866
