In the Line of New Technology Fire

Sunday Business Post – 7/11/00

By Brendan Killeen

Richard Coffey

Moving from a career in the army to a job in the world of e-commerce may sound like jumping from the firing line into the fire. But Richard Coffey, national sales manager with PubXchange.com, believes his 18 years of service will prove invaluable over the coming months as the online ordering site for the pub and hotel trade finds its feet. A native of Bantry, west Cork, Coffey signed up for cadet school in 1982 and spent two years training in the Curragh. As a commissioned officer, he was posted to Magee Barracks in Dublin before doing a BA in history and geography in Galway.

Coffey, who is married with two children, said that one of the highlights of his career was a tour with UNIFIL in Lebanon, which included several "hairy moments".

"After 18 years in the army I just felt it was time to move on. I asked Richard Finnegan, an old family friend and co-founder of PubXchange.com, for some advice," Coffey says. He was so impressed with the PubXchange site that he accepted an invitation to join Finnegan and his business partner Hugh Grainger.

The site is designed to slimline the ordering process for pubs, hotels and just about anybody in the hospitality business, Coffey says. A bar manager using PubXchange.com can log on to the site over the internet. Using a unique user name and password, the customer brings up a web page specifically tailored to his pub's needs.

"Based on the company's ordering history, we build up a list of the products normally bought and construct the page to suit the individual pub," Coffey says.

If a particular bottling company manufacturers 50 products, but a pub only buys ten of those, only these products will appear. Once a customer has decided the quantities required from each supplier, one click will send e-mails to whole lot. A message is sent back from each to acknowledge receipt of the order.

The benefits do not stop there, as customers can build up an inventory of past orders going back five years that can be checked at any time. Additionally, the site can be used to view live images of premises 24 hours a day, via security cameras. Again, the username and password will protect access to this option.

Coffey acknowledges that the bar trade suffers from "tech phobia", but is confident that PubXchange.com can walk the most reluctant user through the online process.

PubXchange.com charges £495 a year for the whole service and Coffey estimates that the company has at least an 80 per cent take-up after the trial period. It has 70 customers on the books and plans to open offices in Galway and Cork.

© Sunday Business Post

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