“Podfather is helping us move the management of truck parts deliveries into the 21st century,” commented Andrew Moreton, Group Parts Sales Manager at HTC. “With Podfather we can capture, use, and share digital records of what has been delivered, and what hasn’t, what’s been returned, and what hasn’t, and where our drivers are at any given point in time.
“This is a game changer! It is already saving us time and money and our customers are noticing the difference,” he added. “With the ongoing support from Podfather we have some ambitious plans for the future, building on these early successes. We can see that information is key and that analytical data is the way forward and, with Podfather, we have both.”
As London’s largest DAF dealer group, HTC Group operates a network of 10 branches covering London, the Home Counties, and the South East. Offering daily, on-demand deliveries of parts and consumables for trucks, trailers, and vans, HTC has a fleet of around 40 delivery vehicles making, on average, more than 1,250 deliveries a week to single truck owners, large national fleet operators, such as Royal Mail, and everything in between. Every HTC depot maintains an extensive stock of parts for both DAF and other makes through its TRP parts range.
HTC selected Podfather following an extensive review of similar solutions, a decision based on system performance, pre-sales service, and post-sales support. Currently rolling out Podfather across its network, the software is already having an impact with configurable daily guided vehicle checks ensuring both drivers and vans are safe and roadworthy, and up to date with servicing and documentation. Podfather has also had immediate impact on Proof of Delivery reporting.
“Before Podfather, everything was paper-based,” Moreton continued. “This caused real problems if delivery sheets weren’t filled in correctly or if they weren’t returned to depot by the driver. Even if everything went to plan it was still time consuming to trawl through reams of paper to get to the bottom of problems.”
Real-time tracking and digitally captured date, time, and location stamped photographs and signatures for Proof of Delivery ensures that information is easily recorded, shared, and available at the touch of a button to answer customer queries or for management reporting and audits. It is hoped, working with Podfather, that this solution can also be used to introduce a digital parts return workflow and help manage imprest stocks (parts owned by the dealer but residing at a customer site) stock reducing credit notes for ‘missing’ items by up to 50%.
HTC is also using Podfather’s planning, routing, and optimisation tools to improve the speed and efficiency of its delivery operation. “We previously relied on depot and driver knowledge and experience when looking at the order of deliveries and the routes we were taking. However, the Podfather algorithms mean we can be smarter. This is already improving efficiency and will, in the future, allow us to have a more holistic approach rather than depot-focused, and we can introduce more reactive deliveries rather than the traditional morning or afternoon options.”
HTC Group is part of Ballyvesey Holdings, the privately owned parent company of a wide range of trading subsidiaries. Established in 1970, the group’s main activities are centred around transport and logistics, truck sales and aftersales support, transport industry services, construction equipment sales, and property rental and development. Ballyvesey owns more than 25 businesses and employs over 2,250 people.
