“We did have a logistics system in place prior to Podfather but it was very regimented and didn’t allow us to react to changing circumstances or business fluctuations,” commented O&S Doors IT Manager Gareth McMurray. “Each device, i.e. phone, was fixed to a specific vehicle so in order to cover every eventuality we would have needed many licences. Podfather is different. It allows us to use our resources intelligently and respond to delivery peaks quickly and without disruption to the high-quality service our customers expect.”
Headquartered in County Tyrone in Northern Ireland, O&S Doors produces more than 70,000 individual cabinet frontals and door components every week. From its 410,000 square foot state-of-the art production facility, it supplies all sizes of kitchen, bedroom and bathroom (KBB) businesses from independent tradesmen to construction contractors and large-scale distributors such as B&Q and Wickes. Using its own fleet, together with third party haulage partners and parcel delivery companies, it serves the whole of the UK and Ireland and also operates trade counters and showrooms in Dublin and Manchester.
“Our USP is that we understand our customers and their requirements,” McMurray continued. “We have more than 6,000 door styles and finish combinations available ex-stock, but we can also create bespoke, custom solutions with different sizes, colours and finishes. This is the quality of service that has established O&S Doors as the leading manufacturer in our sector and it’s this reputation that we need to maintain at all points of the customer experience.”
Using Podfather, which includes logistics planning, route optimisation and proof of delivery (POD) functionality, O&S Doors has been able to replicate its reputation for quality across its delivery operation. Integrated with the company’s ERP system using the Podfather API, customer orders are automatically allocated to a vehicle and driver. Using the Podfather app, drivers can access their schedule together with last-mile routing and navigation, as soon as it is created and without needing to go into the office. Drivers also use the Podfather app to capture, record and share, in real-time, proof of delivery evidence including date, time and location stamped signatures and photographs.
“Podfather’s POD features have had a significant, and hugely positive, impact on our business,” McMurray added. “Digital notifications are sent, as they are captured, to the office and to the customers. This has reduced the number of calls we receive as customers are able to self-serve delivery information, it also means we have the information we need to answer remaining queries. This has probably reduced the number of credit notes or replacement orders we have to issue by 50 percent.”
In addition to deliveries made, O&S Doors also uses Podfather’s POD workflows to support its trade counters. Each of the 4 outlets acts as truck with daily orders allocated to it and collection evidence captured, in the same way as delivery evidence, using the Podfather app.
“As a conservative estimate I would say that Podfather saves around 4,000 sheets of paper a day,” concluded McMurray. “This equates to around 3 million during our Podfather journey or nearly 400 trees.”
