Catering Butcher Uses Podfather Software to Launch Delivery Service
Overview
Edgefield Craft Butchers is Scotland's newest catering butchery, operating since January of this year. Despite being a new name, the business boasts an impressive pedigree, being proudly family-owned and operated by the son and grandson of Master Butchers.
The company services top-class restaurants and prestigious hotels across the whole of Scotland and Northern England. Growing its B2B service rapidly, Edgefield currently operates five vehicles and executes up to 150 deliveries a day.
Challenge
As a brand-new operation, Edgefield Craft Butchers had a unique advantage but faced a critical choice regarding how they would manage their logistics. They wanted to avoid the pitfalls of outdated methods from the very beginning.
- The company wanted to ensure its newly launched delivery service was efficient, cost-effective, and entirely customer-focussed from day one.
- They needed to adopt modern technology to avoid becoming encumbered by the legacy systems and manual processes common in traditional delivery setups.
- As they launched and rapidly scaled their B2B service, they required a system capable of handling high daily delivery volumes while providing real-time visibility.
Solution
Having previously encountered the software and received strong recommendations, Edgefield integrated Podfather with its ERP system across the entire delivery workflow. Drivers begin every shift by undertaking vehicle checks—including capturing photographs—guided by and recorded on the Podfather app, ensuring roadworthiness and alerting management to maintenance needs.
The company utilises Podfather to plan and optimise its fixed delivery routes. The app provides real-time tracking for customer ETAs from the moment a driver logs in, achieving telematics functionality without the extra hardware costs. Edgefield also deployed the electronic proof of delivery (ePOD) features to capture date, time, and location-stamped signatures and photographs.
Results
The integration of Podfather has had an immediate and significant impact on Edgefield’s operations, notably reducing the paperwork burden from multiple sheets per delivery down to just one. By optimising their routes, the company has ensured maximum efficiency in terms of service and mileage, effectively controlling their operational costs.
The use of ePOD features means that delivery evidence is automatically shared with both customers and back-office teams, informing invoicing and boosting the overall customer experience. Having established a solid foundation with real-time updates and efficient routing, Edgefield is already planning to introduce automated notifications, performance dashboards, and a 'follow my driver' self-service tracking option to deliver further benefits as the business expands.
Although we are a new name on the catering butchers' block, we have an impressive pedigree and heritage, being proudly family-owned and family-operated, by the son and grandson of Master Butchers. However, as a new operation, we had the chance to do things differently. We weren't encumbered by legacy systems or process and we knew we wanted to use the latest technology to ensure our delivery operation was efficient, cost-effective and customer focussed. I had come across Podfather before, and it also came highly recommended, so after initial discussions we took the plunge, and, we haven't looked back.
Richard Watson
Operations Director, Edgefield Craft Butchers
