Why Improving Sustainability Drives Business Profitability in Building Supplies

As well as higher and unpredictable fuel costs, those running commercial vehicles are also seeing increases in vehicle insurance the driver wages. Transporting goods simply costs more. So, what’s this got to do with sustainability?  Sustainability means that ‘what we do today doesn’t deplete resources for the future’. Strictly, it does not cover things such as air and sea pollution, CO2 emissions and climate change, but most of us have tended to adopt the term ‘sustainability’ incorporate ‘going green’ and eco-friendly so that’s what we’re discussing here.

Transporting building supplies has always been relatively costly. What’s being ordered is very unpredictable day to day and loads vary considerably. It’s not easy to plan optimum loads and routes and is by nature pretty inefficient.  The result can easily mean more miles travelled with not a lot onboard.  Many builders’ merchants and specialist trade outlets are also increasing their delivery services, making it more convenient for builders on onsite.  Some are also expanding deliveries to homes.  This all means it’s difficult to reduce CO2 emissions; for most it means their carbon footprint is expanding.   

There are however some very good business reasons for becoming more environmentally conscious.  Things can be addressed in store and in the office but in reality the main polluters are vehicles.  Transport is where efforts need to be focussed and the measures employed here to reduce emissions also reduce costs.  That’s why sustainability improves profitability.

So, what’s this all got to do with Podfather? Well, Podfather offers automated route planning and delivery scheduling. It helps you to plan optimal routes and improve vehicle utilisation.  You probably have drivers with excellent local knowledge and very experienced schedulers, but Podfather provides a smart tool to at least make their job easier and faster. Crucially, it allows you to operate in a more dynamic way, adapting the transport plan as orders come in and re-jigging things when unplanned events throw a spanner in the works.  

The automation not only make things a lot easier and quicker, but it saves unnecessary mileage.  Podfather customers often report they manage the same number of deliveries as before but with a reduction in mileage of at least 10%, often much more. In turn, that’s a reduction in CO2 emissions and more sustainable use of the fleet.  It’s all good for business as well.  It’s not just the cost saving in fuel; it also means fewer driver hours and less wear and tear on vehicles; vehicles which are very costly to run.

Podfather also keeps you informed of the real-time location of your vehicles, enabling ETA updates. The data however can be used to compare the delivery plan against the actual route and journey times. Drivers also use their app to complete their vehicle checks and report any defects. Both datasets can then be used to analyse fuel consumption and vehicle condition - by vehicle and by driver. The data can be used to improve routes, address issues of poor fuel consumption and investigate the reasons for excessive vehicle wear and tear.  Again, sustainability equals profitability.   

Podfather customers agree.  Jake Dowson, IT Development Manager at Stormking, the GRP building components supplier reckons Podfather has helped improve vehicle utilisation by 10 percent and comments.  “We are running a much more efficient distribution operation with Podfather in place. The benefits are far-reaching - from our internal teams for whom processes are so much faster, to our customers who are really liking the ETA notifications that we now provide.  Add in the efficiency savings we are making as a result and it’s easy to see that this really has been a great investment for our business.”

Elsewhere Edward Parlato, Branch Manager at Browns Builders Merchants in Derby says: “We are already seeing the positive impact of Podfather on the business. Our fleet utilisation is much higher, with less downtime and fewer trips back to depot, and our customer interactions are more informed.”