TRANSPORT AND MATERIALS HANDLING
PODFATHER: A SOLUTION YOU CAN’T REFUSE?
Will McGill finds out how logistics technology can help both merchants and manufacturers. A
few years into the tech revolution taking place inside builder’s merchants across the UK, Podfather is continuing to offer its paperless,
electronic and simple solutions.
The company provides software to automate the administration and management of delivery operations, as Colin McCreadie, managing director of Podfather, explains: “It’s an end-to-end solution that manages the process from order to delivery, with software for scheduling, routing live-connected to driver mobile devices that provide tracking and electronic proof of delivery - to anybody that needs to know.
“Walk into any busy office and you’ll still see evidence of manual working; paper on desks, in filing cabinets, with wall charts and marked-up whiteboards. With Podfather, everything is on the computer removing the need to handle paperwork or undertake laborious data entry. In fact, our customers often report a 50% saving in administration; they are twice as efficient.”
Schedule visibility
McCreadie says that Podfather’s up to date information service allows customers keep up to date with scheduled deliveries. The software continually updates, so customers can receive an accurate ETA by text or email. “On delivery, the driver uses their mobile device to capture a signature for an electronic proof of delivery (ePOD) which immediately updates the back-office system and the customer. We’d say this is becoming pretty essential for any merchants wanting to compete today,” he adds.
“Delivering building supplies is fraught
with challenges. There might not be a postal address, site access might be confusing or difficult, and there are often different people onsite. Customers say deliveries haven’t turned up or are damaged. With Podfather drivers can take photographs to confirm the delivery location and show the supplies are unloaded and undamaged; evidence that is crucial to quickly resolve disputes.” He says: “Even before the pandemic businesses were looking at getting rid of paper but COVID really accelerated the move to digital. Podfather’s software eliminates all the paper associated with running a delivery operation and there is a lot of it. “However, the real interest amongst builders merchants is not about the paper itself; it’s about benefits of going digital which really impacts those in administration, customer service and management.” An example of Podfather’s work in action is at Breedon who supply construction materials across the UK and Ireland. he group has rolled-out Podfather to process over 8,000 transactions a day.
The system has enabled disparate processes to become aligned and focused with the eradication of paper tickets, helping to improve customer service and accelerate cash receipts. Podfather has given Breedon an effective solution capable of scaling up to meet the operational demand required. “We knew this was a big project as we
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had multiple business divisions that we had to create a robust and scalable process for,” comments Peter Coyne, GB project lead - continuous improvement, Breedon. “This was a business transformation project that involved the careful consideration of many different workflows. Taking the time to get it right really paid off and we could not be happier with the results that we are seeing at this stage.”
At present, more than 95 percent of jobs are processed electronically and the project team is now looking at how Podfather can work with them to optimise the ePOD functionality even further.
Key collaboration
Rob Titley, head of IT at Breedon Group, says: “By working collaboratively, we have delivered a fantastic result. To be able to ramp up our electronic ticket numbers in just a matter of weeks of the changeover shows how successful the entire team has been.” McCreadie comments: “Podfather includes scheduling and routing software that helps to optimise the transport operations, reducing unnecessary miles and creating an accurate delivery plan. The software can handle pre- allocated jobs, or pre-ordered routes and routes can be tweaked to make sure they are efficient, meet time windows, and don’t break any weight or access constraints. “Some companies are quite reliant on
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net January 2024
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