HERTS FULLSTOP TRANSFORM THEIR DELIVERY OPERATION WITH ‘PODSTAR'
Background
Herts FullStop is the UK’s fastest growing Education supplier. Headquartered
in Welwyn Garden City, the company has over sixty years’ experience of
supplying goods and services to educational establishments. Their catalogue
service has over 18,500 products, including stationery, furniture, arts &
crafts and classroom resources which are delivered to customers across the
country.
As well as educational establishments the company also supplies other
non-profit making groups such as charities, the NHS, local authorities and
childminder groups.
The Business Objectives
According to Glenn Facey, Head of Herts FullStop, “the
key objective is to continue leading the way, bringing the latest educational
innovations and solutions to our customers. The aim is to enhance our working
practices and fine tune efficiency throughout the distribution process, from
stock management to logistics, resulting in a superior customer experience.”
As an integral part of this process, the company
sought a system that would optimise its delivery operations.
On the
recommendation of long-standing supplier Minster Computer Systems Ltd, the
management team selected the ‘PODStar’ Electronic Proof of Delivery system from
Manchester-based Touchstar Technologies.
The Cloud-based PODStar system provides Herts
FullStop the ability to 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 remotely in the field. Once downloaded
the driver can receive their jobs and, ultimately, provide electronic proof of
delivery in real time.
The company’s delivery drivers
are equipped with Zebra handheld devices which are used for both proof of
delivery / signature capture and tracking of the driver location. Back at the Welwyn Garden City depot, management can view a real-time update on a
‘jobs table’ and the driver’s location, as well as additional data and the job
status and driver performance.
System Integration
The PODStar system can be integrated
to a number of third-party software packages including ERP, Accounts and WMS. In
the case of Herts FullStop, the company were seeking full integration to their
existing Minster WMS system. Minster are an officially certified Touchstar
‘Integration Specialist’ and the two organisations have prior experience of
ensuring smooth data flows between their respective systems.
Linking WMS to
EPOD provides a greatly enhanced level of supply chain transparency and
real-time process control. The WMS will govern classical aspects of the
warehouse operation, including multi-client processing, receipt of goods,
put-away, picking, loading of vehicles, perpetual inventory etc. EPOD will
extend the visibility of stock beyond the warehouse, through to end-delivery.
Integrating the two systems will allow for real-time control over functions
such as stock replenishment and client invoicing.
The Projected Outcome
Glenn Facey has been working closely with the
business development and project management teams from Touchstar and describes
the process thus far;
“Right from the first meeting I was impressed with how
the team at Touchstar firstly presented the product and secondly with its comprehensive
feature set.
I am convinced the system will be an asset for
customers chasing POD’s and for our customer services team in locating the
drivers on their deliveries and being able to give customers ETA’s for their
deliveries. The product itself is very easy to use and we anticipate very
minimal driver training on the handhelds will be required. I’m confident we can
roll the system out to all of our drivers with very minimal disruption to the
operation.
The integration work with the Minster WMS system, that
will be undertaken in a short timescale, will ensure that we have a thoroughly
modern and completely optimised warehouse and outbound delivery operation. I
would highly recommend the PODStar product to anyone looking to move away from
a paper-based delivery system.”