Maxoptra finds a route to £1/4million saving in steel transport

One of the UK’s largest steel stockholders has realised savings in the region of £250,000 per annum, following the implementation of a telematics integrated route planning and scheduling solution. The Maxoptra cloud based software, integrated with the WEBFLEET management solution from TomTom Telematics, has helped Industrial Metal Services (IMS) reduce on-road costs, maximise vehicle efficiency and fleet capacity, and boost customer service. The Maxoptra system was implemented in collaboration with TomTom partner, Communicate Better.

“Our main rationale was to improve our customer experience and maintain our competitiveness,” commented Mark Williams, Operations Director at IMS. “However, the initial investment in technology has been self-fulfilling, realising savings that are now being used to invest in other technologies, such as newer vehicles, to achieve additional benefits.”

In business for more than forty years, IMS operates three depots holding in excess of 20,000 tonnes of steel product. With more than 4,000 individual stock lines, which can in turn be customised by in-house service teams, IMS is proud to offer a next day service to more than 5,000 customers across south, east and central England using a 60 vehicle delivery fleet.

Prior to the implementation of Maxoptra, IMS struggled with what they described as a ‘one dimensional’ paper based planning process. Order paperwork was manually grouped and, using a wall mounted map, routes planned.

“As we simply couldn’t take into account all the factors associated with each delivery, we developed a workaround solution. By starting with the furthest delivery from depot, we were less likely to have drivers stranded if their hours ran out,” continued Williams. “Using Maxoptra, we now automatically produce efficient routes, taking into account all aspects – such as order volume, weight and size, as well as driver hours, traffic conditions and individual customer requirements.”

Since implementing the Maxoptra solution, IMS has reduced its on road costs by around £250,000 per annum - achieved through fewer miles, reduced maintenance costs and increased productivity by around 20 percent. Automatically produced ETA texts inform customers when their delivery is imminent, resulting in fewer failed deliveries and less on-site time for drivers. IMS has also significantly reduced its environmental impact and has plans to utilise Sign on Glass technology to achieve a ‘zero forest kill’ operation.

“The results to date have exceeded expectations. Not only have we achieved significant savings and increased capacity within the business, but our customers are happier, our drivers are happier, and we are working to make the environment greener,” concluded Williams.

CONTACTS:
Jane Geary, Tel: +44 (0) 1666 823306, [email protected]. www.maxoptra.com