Podfather’s planning app delivers big benefits for drivers
The Podfather system helps fleet operators tackle the complex tasks of planning routes, tracking vehicles, and capturing electronic proof of delivery in real-time. The decision whether to introduce such technology is often driven by operations, logistics or IT management teams but there is a large group of people whose day to day lives will change with the introduction of Podfather…and that’s drivers. In a world where many operators are still reliant on the generation and return of paper tickets to track orders, it is not just management teams who are having to adapt to the introduction of new technologies. Here we look at what benefits Podfather brings to the lives of our customers’ drivers.
Podfather's benefits to drivers
As a business we are always keen to publicise the top level benefits of using Podfather’s route optimisation and ePOD system, namely the eradication of paper tickets, reduction in operating costs, improvement in on full in time deliveries and increased customer satisfaction scores but there are big benefits for drivers too.
No more worry over the loss of or damage to a paper ticket
The big benefit is that introducing Podfather means no more paper tickets. We appreciate that this will take a while to get used to but time and time again we have seen drivers embracing the new technology that is put into their hands once Podfather is introduced to a business.
With Podfather information about jobs will be shared with drivers via a smartphone or tablet. Drivers can log in and see the schedule for the day. Each job entry will give all the information that would normally be held on a paper ticket, and more, including a link to satellite map navigation to make it easier to travel between delivery points.
There are no more issues around lost or damaged tickets and every time a driver completes a job, all information is uploaded straight back to the transport office, in real-time. This is better for you, better for business and better for the environment. We have some customers reporting that they are saving tons of paper each year because of switching to Podfather.
No more discrepancies with customers over who was where and when
When a driver or service engineer arrives on site to make a delivery, or visit a customer, Podfather logs the arrival time. This is great for helping management teams deal with customers who may question arrival times or who may repeatedly keep drivers waiting… it’s all transparent… no more disagreements over who arrived where and when. Vehicle locations can even be shown on the map so there is no ambiguity. This will help resolve any disputes or discrepancies quickly.
Customers know when you are coming and can be ready to accept delivery
Podfather automatically generates ETA notifications for customers. Once vehicles are out on the road customers will receive delivery time updates and can proactively log onto our customer portal to see when a vehicle is due to arrive. The benefit for drivers is that customers can be ready to receive a delivery, reducing waiting time and speeding up your transition onto the next job. In addition, if there are certain customers that are repeatedly keeping drivers waiting, this will be visible and can be dealt with by your customer service teams.
Realistic route plans keep workloads achievable
One of the big benefits for drivers is that the whole area of route planning becomes much more accurate with Podfather. Management teams can easily see how much time it takes to deliver certain items, or to certain customers and can tweak scheduling settings accordingly. This means that not only are you presented with an optimised route plan; you are presented with a realistic one.
Real-time data will help make customer disputes a thing of the past
Sometimes there are disputes over what was delivered and when. With Podfather you will be able to easily log exactly what items are being delivered, which ones are refused by the customers and take photographs to prove where you left items if the delivery is out of hours or the recipient is not present. All information from the smartphone devices is uploaded back to the transport office in real-time. So, if there is a question, an item is marked as missing, or a customer denies receiving a delivery, you will have all the information you need at your fingertips to show exactly what happened when.
Sub-contractor drivers have an online record of all completed work, for ease of reporting & payment
If you have sub-contractor drivers using Podfather can make life so much easier. Your driver will need their own smartphone, onto which they can download the PODFather app. They get all the functionality of any inhouse driver, plus the added benefit is that you record all their job completions in real-time, giving you an accurate record of all hours worked and miles travelled on any given shift.
It really is easy to use
We understand that not everyone is a technology whizz kid, so we have designed the app to be really easy to use. Process pathways and action commands are clear and concise enabling drivers to complete a vehicle check or log a completed delivery with just a few simple taps on the smartphone screen. We provide training, user guides and in cab tip sheets to ensure each driver can get to grips with our app as quickly as possible.
If you have any questions about Podfather’s route planning, vehicle check, customer notification, driver app or electronic proof of delivery software give us a call today on +44 (0) 131 553 0400 or use the contact form on this web page to get in touch.
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