Podfather’s four essential steps for a swift and successful software project roll out

What is PODFather?

The Podfather system provides a simple solution to the complex problem of managing a fleet of vehicles. The system allows companies to plan routes, collect vehicle check information, track deliveries, send automated customer notifications and capture real-time electronic proof of delivery information with one cloud-based back office system and an easy to use driver smartphone app. PODFather is relied on by a wide range of companies from the logistics, construction, home delivery, field service and healthcare sectors and is favoured by transport and IT departments across the country as their system of choice for helping to plan and manage their fleet movements.

Top four tips for a successful PODFather system roll out

During our 20-year history we’ve rolled out hundreds of systems to companies from a wide variety of industry sectors. Each implementation is different, each company is different but there are four key steps, that we know will help you, and us, get your Podfather system in place, and delivering benefits as swiftly as possible.

Step one – assign a PODFather project owner

All Podfather customers are assigned a dedicated account manager. Each of our highly skilled account managers is responsible for ensuring a successful system rollout. They are also your first port of call for any post implementation questions, new user training or system upgrades. Having a dedicated account manager means that you are in safe hands and that we, here at Podfather have a specific team member who is tasked with getting you up and running.  If you are looking to introduce Podfather to your distribution operation we strongly advise you to do the same – assign a project manager or give roll-out accountability to a member of your IT, operations or transport team. The introduction of a route planning and ePOD system touches many divisions within a business – IT, transport, customer service, and accounts to name but a few – so you really need someone who has ultimate responsibility for getting your internal teams to work together for a swift rollout.

Step two – get your data organised

The Podfather system is incredibly clever and intuitive however any software system is only as good as the data that it’s given to process. Here at Podfather, we have specific templates that show you how data needs to be laid out for a quick and fruitful upload. Our sales team, and your account manager, will make sure you have all the templates to hand once you have agreed to embark on your Podfaather journey. We can’t crack on producing optimised routes and generating real-time electronic proof of delivery information if you don’t have your customer, vehicle and product information ready for us to process. So, get your data organised, follow the template format and you will find that your system rollout will pick up the pace. 

Step three – get your hardware in place

This may sound obvious but make sure you have the right hardware in place to get planning with Podfather. Your back-office team will just need a PC or laptop and a robust internet connection, but your drivers will need a smartphone or tablet to run our driver app. The technology can be basic, and we have both Android and iOS versions of the app available, but it needs to be in place and ready for drivers to download our app (you will find it in the App store). Our sales and account teams can advise on which devices our customers most commonly use, should you need a bit of help making that decision. Don’t forget that if you use third-party subcontracted drivers all they need to do is download the Podfather driver app onto their phone and away they go!

Step four – be ready to roll out

Once you’ve made the decision to purchase Podfather we hit the ground running and will get your account set up, ready for you use, as quickly as we can. For simple installations this can take a matter of days, sometimes hours, at which point your new Podfather system will be ready for you to start using. It’s worth being aware that if you are rolling out our standard out of the box system you can be up and running really quickly so be ready to hit the ground running…we certainly will be!

Podfather remains committed to developing and delivering advanced, yet easy to use, software solutions that tackle the changing needs to today’s fleet operators. If you are interested in finding out more about our route planning, vehicle tracking, customer notification and ePOD solution give us a call today on tel: +44 (0) 131 553 0400.

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