“Prior to Podfather we relied on paper tickets and phone calls,” commented Louise Patterson, Office Manager at Cross Group Aberfeldy. “For large contract jobs this could mean up to 50 transfer notices for just one invoice. These either had to be physically returned to the office, scanned and collated, or the drivers took photos and sent them through. Either way, it was time-consuming, laborious, and open to errors.
“We looked at a number of solutions before selecting Podfather, but they all seemed really complicated and overwhelming, not something that would work with a smaller operation like ours,” she continued. “Podfather works really well for us, it was easy to set up, easy to use, and it stays up to date with all relevant regulations.”
Cross Haulage is part of the Cross Group Aberfeldy, a family business that has expanded and diversified since its inception in 2018 as a civils and construction company. Located in the heart of Scotland, Cross Group now has four divisions, 40 staff, and a growing client offering. Cross Haulage maintains a modern fleet including a 32-tonne HIAB Beavertail, four 8-wheeler 32-tonne steel-body tippers, two volumetric concrete mixers, an 18-tonne tipper and an articulated lorry with various trailers and an escort vehicle. Operating across Scotland, Cross delivers and collects a wide range of materials including bulk, aggregate, equipment, and plant, offering seamless integration with existing supply chains and logistics networks.
Cross has rolled-out Podfather across its haulage division with drivers undertaking guided vehicle checks at the start of every shift ensuring vehicles are well maintained and road-worthy. Using the Podfather app, drivers have all the information they need at the touch of a button, including schedules, routes, and any job-specific instructions. They can also capture electronic evidence of completed jobs including date, time, and location stamped photographs and signatures. This wealth of information, in digital form, is then available in real time and can be shared with customers, back-office support teams, and regulatory compliance bodies.
“At every touch point Podfather has reduced the paper we produce and consume, and the admin resource associated with it,” Patterson concluded. “This is resulting in up to 40% fewer invoice queries, as the customer has already signed off the delivery, and faster payments. The improvements in customer service have also had an impact and I can confidently say we recently won a significant contract based on the fact that we have automated PODs.
“Moving forward, we are looking to implement Podfather within some of our other operations where it will be used to track plant and materials across our Civils, Developments, and Plant Sales divisions.”
