“We’ve spent a lot of time and money developing the technology in-house so we won’t be selling it to others – it’s our USP,” Shiels says.

This summer the company intends to launch Predict collections with testing already underway.

GeoPost’s Predict service, combined with the growth of internet shopping, has meant that business has bounced back from the recession and is now booming.

The company ordered 800 new Mercedes-Benz Sprinters last year with another 700 already ordered this year. Shiels says the company has created 100 jobs in the past six months.

Aspirational car policy

Around 10 years ago, the company went from a restricted car policy to an aspirational one for recruitment and retention purposes. “We want to be an employer of choice,” Shiels says.

The choice list is extensive and drivers are entitled to a BMW in every car grade.

The most popular brands are BMW, Audi, Volkswagen and Mazda, but Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Ford, Honda and Skoda are also on the fleet.

Emissions are restricted to 160g/km, but the average is just 138g/km so Shiels is considering lowering the cap this year.

In addition to the 200 company car drivers, GeoPost has 250 cash allowance drivers whose car must be no more than five years old.

Its contract hire provider, Zenith, performs checks on MOT, insurance, driving licence and service history.

Although the company cars are contract hired, commercial vehicles are on an operating lease as GeoPost maintains them in-house.

“The transport department is run like a contract hire business,” Shiels says. “We have 20 people in the department, including accident and legal specialists, along with a head of transport.”