New Wave Seafood transform their distribution operation with  ‘PODStar’ Proof of Delivery system from Touchstar Technologies

Background

New Wave Seafood was set up by Tim Boyd in 1989 to provide top-quality fresh fish and shellfish to some of the most discerning restaurants in the heart of England. In his first year of business, Tim was just a man with a van and a passion for seafood; over 30 years later, the Cotswold-based company has gone from strength to strength and now consists of over 71 experienced staff and a fleet of refrigerated vans delivering to more than 700 loyal, satisfied customers (many daily) in 11 counties, including 10 restaurants with Michelin stars.

In 2003 the company added a range of speciality foods, many sourced locally (such as Cotswold game), and an extensive selection of dry goods and other chef's essentials. Although stored in a separate building, the fine foods and seafood can be combined in one delivery.  

The Business Objectives  

Although the business has grown over the years, New Wave continues to be an independent, owner-operated business; because they are not owned by anyone else, they have greater flexibility and are better placed to serve their customers' individual needs. The filleting team works through the day to prepare orders to meet the client’s exact specifications, and the refrigerated vans deliver 6 days a week.

To continue leading the way in seafood delivery, New Wave continue to invest in the latest technological innovations and industry solutions. The aim is always to enhance New Wave’s working practices and fine tune efficiency throughout the distribution process, from fish stock management to logistics, resulting in a superior customer experience.  

As an integral part of this process, New Wave sought a system that would optimise its delivery operations. After an extensive and thorough examination of available systems the management team selected the ‘PODStar’ Electronic Proof of Delivery system from Manchester-based Touchstar Technologies.  

The Cloud-based PODStar system offers a planning tool that automates existing manual processes. New Wave can utilise up-to-date information to create job runs and to allocate drivers and vehicles. Once a manifest has been created it is then automatically sent out to the drivers. Once downloaded the driver can receive their jobs and, ultimately, provide electronic proof of delivery in real time. The delivery drivers are equipped with smart phones with the handheld device used for both proof of delivery / signature capture and tracking of the driver location. Back at the New Wave Headquarters, management can view a real-time update on a ‘jobs table’ and the driver’s location, as well as additional data on the job status and driver performance. The system has also proved invaluable for ‘asset tracking’ the valuable trays utilised for fish and food transportation.  

The Outcome  

Marcus Cooper, Operations Manager for New Wave Seafood headed up the implementation team, working closely with the business development and project management teams from Touchstar. He describes how smoothly the implementation process went; “We have only been using the system for a short period of time but it has already proved to be an asset for customers chasing POD’s and for locating the drivers on their deliveries. In the near future we will be utilising several other features of the system, including being able to give customers an ETA for their deliveries.

The proof of delivery system immediately reduces our paper usage by at least 50 per cent. We’re encouraging our clients to go paper-free too by receiving their invoices by email instead of a paper copy. Together we can work towards reducing paper waste, which will not only benefit the environment but will also save us all space and time spent filing and searching for paper invoices that can be lost, complete or archived. The PODStar mobile app is very easy to use with very minimal driver training on the handhelds required. I have rolled the system out to all my drivers with very minimal disruption to our operation and I would highly recommend the PODStar solution to anyone looking to move away from a paper-based delivery system.”