SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS
Software solution assures accuracy of deliveries A new route optimisation software solution has helped a Queensland-based food delivery company streamline its deliveries. Food & Beverage Industry News explains how. City Country Foodservice utilised RouteOptimiser to streamline its food delivery service.
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ity Country Foodservice is a family-owned company that has been in operation since 1981. Based in Queensland, City Country utilises a network of suppliers to supply foodservice operators throughout Queensland, including clubs, pubs, hotels, motels, cafes, restaurants and more. To ensure the safe and timely delivery of high-quality food and drink items in the Queensland area, City Country operates and manages its own fleet of vehicles, including 17 trucks and other vehicles.
The challenge Ensuring the timely arrival of food and drink to customers is of vital importance to City Country. The stock needs to arrive on time to ensure foodservice operators can meet the needs of their customers – particularly when it comes to fresh dairy and food service products. As such, City Country needed a way to accurately schedule deliveries, where drivers could complete the most amount of jobs while remaining compliant with regulations, such as Chain of Responsibility and work and rest requirements. This activity was taking the dispatcher up to an hour and a half per day to complete.
If a big order came in, it could change everything. Additionally, to ensure City Country provided its customers with a high standard of professional service, it was critical to be able to supply accurate ETAs to its customers. However, without knowing where their trucks were and what jobs had been completed, it would take up to an hour to liaise with the customer and driver. If any issues emerged, or a change was required, the dispatcher would have to call various drivers to fulfil the order and ensure delivery. Not only was this time consuming and frustrating for drivers and customers, but the inefficient, manual processes also were not costeffective and meant the dispatcher was constantly working on the schedule.
WebFleet PRO TRUCK 8275 installed across its fleet of 17 vehicles, to create a planning and operations execution management platform. The combined solution has enabled City Country to optimise its delivery schedule, taking into account all restrictions, loading and delivery times, as well as vehicle weight and loads. The delivery schedule is then directly transferred to WebFleet and the drivers’ on-board terminals. The solution enables the dispatcher to create an optimised schedule and have full visibility of the fleet; what jobs have been completed; if there are any delays; and what is left to be delivered. If changes need to be made, the dispatcher can identify the best drivers to complete the job in the most cost-efficient manner. Thanks to the full integration of RouteOptimiser with WebFleet, if a customer makes an enquiry about the ETA of a delivery, the dispatcher can provide a real-time update directly from RouteOptimiser. This mitigates the need to call the driver while on the road.
“The combination of WebFleet and PTV RouteOptimiser has revolutionised the way we manage our fleet operations. It has enabled us to optimise our deliveries, provide our customers with accurate ETAs and respond dynamically to their needs,” said Jason Hinkle, assistant general manager at City Country Foodservice. “The ease with which we can now schedule all our routes has been a game-changer, particularly with the routes being automatically loaded straight onto the driver terminals. It has saved us so much time and enabled the team to focus on more strategic tasks for the business, rather than being caught up on tedious administrative tasks.” Since PTV RouteOptimiser and WebFleet have been installed, City Country has: • Reduced administration time by 15 to 20 per cent. • Reduced fuel consumption by more than 10 per cent. • Restructured delivery days to utilise assets across all days. • Reduced distance travelled by 10 per cent. F
The solution City Country needed a solution that would enable it to optimise the delivery schedule based on restrictions, regulations and timings, create visibility of its fleet, as well as reduce the time-intensive tasks associated with running a fleet. City Country selected PTV RouteOptimiser, combined with
46 Food&Beverage Industry News | February 2020 | www.foodmag.com.au
City Country delivery drivers save time using the new software
