With over 8,000 products stocked, across fresh, frozen, chilled, ambient and non-food products, Thomas Ridley delivers to schools and care homes, football clubs and pubs, farm shops and fine-dining establishments, using its own fleet of temperature-controlled vehicles. Thomas Ridley prides itself on delivering food for life, and helping customers get everything they need, with a fast and friendly service.
“Podfather has supported us at every step of the journey to ensure the solution we needed was the solution they provided,” commented Chris Davies, Assistant Transport Manager at Thomas Ridley Foodservice. “As we have evolved and had to respond to changing market pressures, so have they, and I can confidently say that Podfather is here to stay helping us to live up to our pledge to ‘deliver food for life’.”
Prior to implementing Podfather, which includes logistics planning, route optimisation and proof of delivery (POD) functionality, Thomas Ridley operated manual processes supported by paper documents; making around 460 deliveries a day, this resulted in more than half a million sheets of paper a year. Using Podfather’s automated processes and digital manifests, Thomas Ridley has already seen a reduction in paper within the delivery operation of more than 50 percent, a saving equivalent to nearly 40 trees a year, and is continuously striving to achieve further improvements.
Thomas Ridley has also realised improvements in customer experience, evidenced by reduced queries and requests for updates. Once routes are sorted, goods picked from the warehouse and loaded onto the trucks, ETAs are automatically issued to customers. As the schedule unfolds, customers can self-serve revised delivery times using real-time tracking information direct from the driver’s Podfather app. This has significantly reduced the number of calls received by the Customer Service team.
Detailed reporting has also resulted in efficiency gains for Thomas Ridley. In addition to a standard suite of performance dashboards and reports, Podfather has supported Thomas Ridley to configure outputs, using real-life data to report on everything from vehicle wash records for the Food Standards Agency to individual customer SLA metrics.
Thomas Ridley has also benefitted from Podfather’s configurable Vehicle Check functionality. In addition to the usual legal requirements and Daily Vehicle Walkaround Checks that are recorded and shared using the Podfather app, Thomas Ridley has developed a suite of checks specific to their fleet of mixed temperature trucks. These allow the foodservice company to report on and ensure compliance with a range of industry standards and accreditations.
Thomas Ridley Foodservice is a leading regional foodservice wholesaler providing a trusted and flexible solution for professionals in the kitchen. Part of the Caterfood Group, Thomas Ridley is passionate about providing a personal, and flexible service, for all customers, while operating in an eco-conscious way. It constantly works to maintain its reputation for quality products and ingredients, delivering value, convenience, and outstanding customer service, whilst still retaining a personal touch.
