Trakm8 SWIFT Delivers For Sprinter Couriers

IMPROVING THE DELIVERY PROCESSWith six vans and 36 sub-contractors across the UK, Sprinter Couriers (SP) handles more than 100 deliveries a week. With over 35 jobs on the board at any one time, Sprinter Couriers would have to manually contact its drivers to find out their progress and then feed this back to the customer.David Gill, Sprinter Couriers managing director, explains: âWe were finding that we spent most of our time contacting our drivers to find out where they were so that we could give accurate forecasts to our customers. With our operation growing, it was becoming too much of a burden to manage. Instead of being reactive, we needed to take a more proactive approach, where we could provide accurate delivery times to our customers up-front.âBACK ON TRACK WITH TRAKM8Sprinter Couriers had heard about vehicle tracking technologies and wanted a solution that was quick and easy to install and one that wouldnât impinge on the daily running of the operation. Having looked at solutions from Navman and other companies, Sprinter Couriers decided that Trakm8 SWIFT offered a simpler and more cost-effective solution.The Trakm8 SWIFT units were installed within each of the six Mercedes sprinter vans in a matter of hours. Sitting on the dashboard, the wireless units are small and discreet and barely noticeable. Only a green flashing light attracts attention, which helps act as a deterrent to would-be thieves. This light indicates that the device is wirelessly transmitting the GPS position for each van to a central office server. The server decodes the information which is automatically fed straight into a database and onto the screens of office staff who can instantly see where their drivers are.GETTING THE BIGGER PICTUREThe solution met with minimal resistance from staff, as they quickly recognised the benefit of not having to call into the office to let the office know when a job had been completed. It didnât change the way that they worked, it simply improved productivity. Instead of having to drive back to the office to get details about their next job, they could be automatically directed to another job within the same locality.David comments: âIf a customer requires a pick up at short notice, we can find the nearest vehicle via âreal timeâ mapping and they can be re-routed straight to the customer. This not only ensures maximum efficiency but is enabling us to increase the number of deliveries that we can do.â As well as providing live GPS polling, Trakm8 SWIFT also provides historic journey updates so that Sprinter Couriers can get details of average speed, mileage and idle time for each vehicle. This helps them to ensure road safety, with drivers cautioned if they are seen to be speeding, as well as adhesion to working time directives as they can run a timesheet report for each driver. David concludes: âBy using the Trakm8 SWIFT service, we not only have a greater control of our fleet, but it means we are reducing our phone costs. We are doing an extra five deliveries a day which is the equivalent of an extra £10,000 per year. These efficiency benefits also translate into a better quality of service for our customers, and as our service expands we can ensure that we can continue maintaining a high standard of customer service.â

Author: Chris Mardo, Trakm8 - Mob: 0845 832 3142

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