Carvers Building Supplies is the latest merchant business to begin rolling-out route planning and electronic proof of delivery software from Podfather to help streamline its distribution operation.
Based in Wolverhampton and with a fleet of over 30 vehicles delivering building materials across the West Midlands, Carvers was looking for a solution to help improve efficiency and remove paper from the planning process. The introduction of Podfather is part of company’s wider drive to update internal systems and improve efficiency across its business.
Podfather states that its cloud-based back-office system and “easy-to-use” driver app will enable the team at Carvers to optimise routes, capture vehicle defect checks, issue customer ETA notifications, track drivers and capture electronic proof of delivery without the need for paper tickets. By swapping from a manual process, it contends that Carvers “will be able to eradicate paper, reduce planning admin, provide operational visibility across the business, and improve customer service.”
Furthermore, electronic POD data from Podfather “integrates seamlessly” with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central used by Carvers. This eliminates “flitting between systems or having to manually input data to give drivers and back-office staff an instant and single view of jobs, routes, delivery progress and PODs.”
Craig Whitlock, the merchant’s IT Manager, said: “Over the past few years, we at Carvers have been working to modernise our internal systems and we are now at a point where we can really add value to our investment.
“One thing I have been particularly passionate about is making us more efficient across many parts of the business. Podfather stood out as a company that can really help us add this mantra to our transport operations. And with improved integration to our Microsoft ERP, we felt now was the right time to bring in their expertise and I’m excited to see the value we expect they can bring to Carvers.”
Colin McCreadie, Managing Director at Podfather, added: “We are delighted that Carvers Building Supplies has joined the growing list of companies using Podfather to plan and manage day-to-day operations in the building materials sector. Our core product gives users the breadth of functionality needed to improve efficiency, control costs, and improve service.
“We look forward to seeing this implementation roll out and the predicted benefits become a reality for Carvers.”
