V J TECHNOLOGY CHOOSES TOUCHSTAR TO POWER NEW DELIVERY SYSTEM
V J Technology (VJT) is one of the UK’s leading distributors of fixings, fasteners and building consumables, supplying some of the most renowned names in construction and civil engineering.
With offices and distribution sites in the South East and Glasgow, VJT focusses on providing a first-class experience to its customers, using more than 30 years’ experience in the construction industry to deliver a comprehensive service and impartial technical advice. The company also boasts a vast product range with over 13,000 products in stock.
VJT recognises the importance of continuing their focus on providing an efficient and customer-centric delivery process and so turned to the PODStar system, from Manchester-based TouchStar Technologies, to assist with streamlining delivery systems and further ensuring the health and safety of their drivers by reducing the number of calls per day from head office to check on a delivery status.
With demand reaching up to 50 deliveries per driver per day, the number of calls being made to the drivers by head office were identified as being inefficient and heightened the potential risk of accidents due to the distraction of being on the phone so often.
Reviewing historic Proof of Delivery (POD) and recording onsite discrepancies also proved challenging. To remedy this, VJT was able to utilise TouchStar’s PODstar system to link with its own enterprise resource planning system, which enabled drivers to simply scan barcoded boxes onto a vehicle and verify the load. PODstar also provides route optimisation, ETA and auto-send of POD to the client once gathered.
The ease of the system allows VJT drivers to download their daily delivery schedule to their Android-based PDAs meaning that drivers retain the ability to change job sequence on their PDA if changes to the schedule are required. Meanwhile, drop down discrepancy codes are built for the driver in the event of an onsite incident, such as ‘cannot deliver’, ‘wrong address’, ‘customer not available’ and so on.
The connectivity of the solution means VJT’s head office is informed in real-time of driver status and deliveries, schedule changes and other incidents so that next day delivery schedules can be planned, instead of having to wait for drivers’ paperwork to be returned.
The feature-rich and flexible PODstar solution, with local UK-based support, has enabled Touchstar to listen, configure and adapt the solution to VJT’s requirements. As more feedback is given – from drivers, IT and management – TouchStar is able to continue updating the system to grow and change along with VJT’s needs.
Aaron Buss, Transport Manager for VJT commented: “TouchStar’s PODstar system has revolutionised our delivery service. As well as saving time, the real-time visibility offered by the system means problems can be acted on immediately rather than waiting for a driver to return to the depot.”
“Mistakes have been reduced, productivity has been increased and duplication of effort has been eradicated. Meanwhile, customer satisfaction has grown thanks to the slicker service, drivers aren’t slowed down by paper processes and managers are able to make informed decisions thanks to the increased flow of accurate information.”