“The introduction of Podfather has made a huge difference to how information flows across our business,” comments Martin Walker, Transport Manager at Flanagan Flooring Distributors. “It has integrated nicely with our ERP system, which is where we struggled with previous system suppliers, and it now sits at the heart of our transport operation.”
Flanagan Flooring uses Podfather to plan and manage its daily delivery operation. Job information flows from Flanagan Flooring’s ERP system straight into Podfather which then takes over with delivery tracking, performance monitoring and electronic proof of delivery capture. Podfather’s driver app ensures routes are communicated straight to driver handhelds, and that all ePOD information is captured and shared with head office in real time. With paper tickets eradicated, and information visible to all business departments, Flanagan Flooring is reaping the benefits of having introduced Podfather into its planning process.
In the year before Podfather was introduced Flanagan Flooring reported using over one million sheets of A4 paper in running its transport operation. Now paper has almost been completely eradicated. However, the big benefits come from the visibility that Podfather gives a range of business divisions across Flanagan Flooring. All teams now have real time visibility of exactly what is going on out on the road. Any order discrepancies are immediately flagged allowing customers service teams to jump on any possible queries or issues.
“Podfather has had a huge impact how on we manage our invoicing process. When we used paper tickets our accounts team would have to wait several days to get proof of delivery, now it is instant,” adds Mr Walker. “As soon as jobs are complete, we can issue invoices which has greatly improved the speed with which we can process and issue invoices. In addition, the real time element that Podfather brings means we can take a much more proactive approach to managing relationships with our customers which is something we didn’t have before.”
“Podfather has a 20-year history of helping logistics operators to plan and optimise performance across their distribution operations,” comments Colin McCreadie, Managing Director at Podfather. “We feel that we have something special; one intuitive solution that tackles the complex problem of planning and managing a busy transport operation. If you currently rely on another provider, we’d love to hear from you and show you just what we can do.”
