With some deliveries being time critical, and others taking place out of hours or to unmanned sites, Nippon Gases needed a solution that could satisfy the requirements of all customers. Thanks to Podfather, time-critical customers now receive ETA notifications and delivery tracking, while out-of-hours customers get real-time and location-stamped electronic proof of delivery confirmations. As a result, Nippon Gases has seen an uplift in customer satisfaction and has been able to speed up internal processes and reduce paper across its operation.
Nippon Gases is using Podfather’s route planning and delivery tracking solution to manage vehicle movements across its dry ice division. The product is dispatched from two warehouses, located in Immingham and Hounslow, and delivered to over 900 customer locations across the country. Having relied on a combination of paper-based processes and a basic route optimiser for many years, the Nippon Gases team saw the need to introduce ETA notifications and vehicle tracking to improve operational visibility and customer experience across its business.
“Before Podfather we had no visibility of order progress once our vehicles had left the depot which made it difficult for us to give the delivery time updates that are critical to some of our customers,” comments Carl Woollins, Managing Director UK and Ireland at Nippon Gases UK Limited. “Now, thanks to Podfather we have full visibility of where our drivers are all the time, and our customers are given ETA notifications that we know we can achieve.”
Nippon Gases use Podfather to manage delivery routes, gather vehicle checks, track vehicle movements, issue customer ETA notifications and capture electronic proof of delivery. Transport teams use the cloud-based back-office system and each driver has the Podfather app downloaded onto a smart handheld device. Jobs are shared to drivers’ handhelds and the Podfather app collects vehicle locations, negating the need for in-vehicle telematics. Once drivers are onsite Nippon Gases get time and location-stamped proof of delivery, which includes photographs, with all information sent directly to the customer as well as to the Nippon Gases team.
“Introducing Podfather had an extremely positive response from our customers,” adds Woollins. “With Podfather issuing ETA notifications, and tracking our deliveries, we have real-time fleet visibility of both what is going on out on the road, and exactly what has been delivered to each of our customer sites. It’s really been a great addition to our business.”
“This is a really good example of how using Podfather for your delivery tracking and ePOD can have a big impact on customer experience,” adds Colin McCreadie, Managing Director at Podfather. “The cost and time efficiency benefits of going paperless with Podfather are well publicised but, as shown here at Nippon Gases, customer satisfaction, which has huge implications on repeat ordering and cash flow, can be key driver in deciding to select and implement our advanced, yet easy to use technology.”
