With seven cash and carry depots, 70 vehicles and over 7,000 independent retail customers located across England and Wales, the Parfetts team needed a software solution that could help to improve distribution efficiency across its convenience store network. Having reviewed the systems the market had to offer, Parfetts felt that Podfather’s breadth of functionality, ease of integration and proven experience in the food wholesale sector made it the right choice for its growing business. Having first introduced Podfather in early 2018, Parfetts now relies on the system at three of its seven depots, with the remaining sites due for rollout in the coming 12 months.
“With Podfather we get a broad range of functionality, from route planning, vehicle checks and the driver app, through to delivery tracking, customer notifications and electronic proof of delivery, all in one system that has integrated easily into our operation,” comments Simon Hardisty, Head of Information Technology at AG Parfetts & Sons. “We have used other proof of delivery systems in the past but as our business has grown, we needed a solution that could grow with us, and that’s why we selected Podfather.”
The Podfather system is used to plan routes that see a fleet of 70 vehicles making temperature-controlled deliveries of ambient, chilled and frozen items to Go Local and Go Local Extra Convenience stores and independent retailers located across England and Wales. Orders are uploaded from Parfetts ERP system into Podfather which then plans all the delivery routes for the day. Routes are uploaded to drivers, via the Podfather smartphone app which also allows each driver to collect and upload all their pre-departure vehicle check information. Once vehicles are out on the road, Parfetts use Podfather calculated ETA notifications to inform its customers when deliveries are expected. Podfather’s electronic proof of delivery and end-of-day vehicle check closes the loop and gives the Parfetts logistics team full visibility of the whole order process, from start to finish.
“The Podfather system has enabled us to improve how we utilize our vehicles which has been hugely important this year when we’ve been experiencing unprecedented order volumes due to the COVID crisis,” adds Hardisty. “With Podfather we can maximize how we allocate deliveries to our vehicles and optimize our vehicle movements out on the road which has improved overall fleet efficiency and reduced our transport running costs.”
“We offer an easy-use solution to the complex problem of planning and managing a high-volume delivery operation,” comments Colin McCreadie, Managing Director at Podfather. “The Parfetts implementation is a great example of how our route planning software can make a big difference to vehicle utilization and overall fleet efficiency. The system’s scalability has enabled us to grow with the Parfetts operation and we look forward to working with the team as Podfather is rolled out across the remaining depots.”
