DB Foods, Wimborne Dorset
Established in 1991, DB Foods Ltd, is one of the U K 's largest independent meat wholesalers. Their fleet of 26 refrigerated vehicles, services over 600 retail and catering butchers throughout the country with regular supplies of fresh and frozen meat, poultry and game.
Of their staff, 21 are full-time drivers who keep the fleet of Man HGV'S operational around the clock in response to customer requirements.
The company is rightly proud of its healthy turnover of over £50 million and a continued steady growth rate of 15 - 20% p.a.
A few years ago, when David Bayer, Managing Director, realised that his existing vehicle tracking system was fast becoming outmoded, a business colleague recommended the Quartix system. Leaving nothing to chance however, David reviewed no fewer than 5 different tracking systems before making his choice.
‘The Internet access facility, together with an impressive on-line demonstration, were the deciding factors in choosing the Quartix solution,’ says David, ‘I wanted nothing less than a system that could provide total control of my distribution operation.’
David recalls that the installation process was highly efficient, with tracking devices fitted to the first 12 vehicles, on site, in one morning. Straight away, the DB Foods’ customer list was programmed into the software and all personnel now use the detailed, real-time positioning and recording of vehicle locations to empower their daily, work-based decisions.
‘This is in complete contrast to our previous system,’ comments David, ‘where there was no Internet access, and only the Transport Manager was fully conversant with the software - which had to be used with a dedicated computer.’
A frequent traveller to countries in South America and the European Union and in regular contact with his multi-lingual Buying Director based in Holland, David takes full advantage of Internet access to the Quartix system. ‘It’s such a difference to what’s on offer elsewhere,’ he explains.
DBFoods pride themselves on the calibre of their team of drivers, none of whom raised any objection to installation of tracking technology. With commendable empathy, Bayer acknowledges the difficult and often stressful nature of his drivers’ work, but feels that the system can be helpful to employees – in often unexpected ways.
‘We had one instance’, he remarks, ‘where a customer claimed non-delivery of an order. Unfortunately the driver hadn’t obtained a verified signature and the situation could have deteriorated had we not been able to print off and send the daily tracking record which proved that our driver had attended their premises on the day and stayed long enough to have unloaded. Needless to say, the client had to quickly backtrack!’
Mr Bayer reports that his Transport Manager has found the Quartix provision to be more reliable than tacograph data for monitoring driving speeds and time spent on-road. ‘We obviously want our drivers to stay within the law and the system helps with our ‘duty of care’ towards them.
Also from a management stance, the system is useful to gauge the integrity of new drivers and deters drivers from making unscheduled journeys. The zoom in/out facility has been used to print out maps of customer location, to help any driver new to the route.’
When asked about improvements to customer service, David replies,
‘Our clients are impressed by what the system can offer and now don’t hesitate to ring up and find out when their delivery will arrive. The system facilitates improved planning – especially in relation to urgent deliveries. When dealing with perishable goods, efficiency has to be the watchword and we use the tracking system to eliminate time delays as far as possible.’
Mr Bayer feels that the system is a definite crime deterrent. ‘This type of technology has revolutionised vehicle security,’ he states, ‘The tracking devices are so discrete that they’re almost indiscernible when fitted and the company has made cost savings of over £2000 on fleet insurance as a result.’
David’s advice to other firms considering investing in Quartix tracking technology, is to take advantage of the universal nature of the system by getting all staff involved. ‘Our sales team use it more than anyone, but warehousing staff have used it to upgrade the efficiency of their reloading arrangements – with planning now catered for to the last 5 minutes.
David Bayer has been sufficiently impressed by the system, to have already recommended it to other distribution companies.
For further information on DB Foods Ltd, see
www.dbfoods.co.uk
For online demo or details of system trial, visit
www.quartix.net or phone: 0870 013 6663.
