“At Lakes Showering Spaces, sustainability isn’t just a buzzword; it’s a core pillar of our ethos,” commented Operations Director Chris Thain. “In recent years we have taken significant steps towards sustainability and we have achieved a 24% reduction in carbon emissions. The use of Podfather has certainly contributed to this.”
Kevin Hart, Warehouse & Distribution Manager, added, “We did have a system in place before Podfather but it wasn’t really up to the job, so when I was brought in to look at the warehouse and distribution side of the business, specifically addressing sustainability, operational efficiency, and cost effectiveness, I knew this was something we needed to change.
“Podfather gave me everything! It gave me sign on glass, tracking, customer updates, planning, and route optimisation,” he continued. “And in terms of impact it has delivered; before Podfather we were averaging van fill rates of around 60% so we were travelling a lot of miles carrying just fresh air. Now we have days when we are up to 100% but on average I would say we operate at about 85%. We are also doing more drops per vehicle – up by at least 50%.”
Lakes is also utilising Podfather’s configurable customer notifications, live tracking and ePOD capture tools. “We are also using Podfather to improve the customer journey with advanced notifications of when the delivery is due and updates during the process if a delay is likely. Customers also get a notification, including date, time, and location stamped photos and signatures, when the delivery is completed.
“The combination of notifications and live tracking also helps us support our drivers. Because we have complete visibility, we can support them whilst on the road in terms of finding locations and responding quickly should a problem arise.”
Going above and beyond to support customers, Lakes is also working with Podfather to develop additional applications of the system. Employing a dedicated team of specially trained technicians, Lakes offers an impressive after-sales service including on-site visits for installation issues or to support its lifetime watertight, guarantee.
“We are actually extending the use of Podfather, beyond deliveries, to include routing of our technicians, and, rather than ePOD capture, we are hoping to use it to share on-site photos and technical reports,” Hart added. “We are also looking to deploy newly released functionality, which is available to all users as a matter of course and without additional charge, such as the product scanning feature to improve our OTIF delivery rates.”
Lakes Showering Spaces was founded as a family business in 1986 and has built a strong reputation for quality, first class customer service, commitment to quick delivery, and innovation.
The company is certified Carbon Neutral Plus, as well as ISO 14001 and 9001 accredited.
