Longcliffe invest in Podfather electronic delivery system
New delivery system enhances company’s customer experience and sustainability objectives
WITH their ongoing aim to increase efficiency, deliver a quality service, and reduce environmental impact, Derbyshire-based Longcliffe Quarries Ltd have rolled out the Podfather electronic logistics software system.
By moving to an electronic proof of delivery (ePOD) system, Longcliffe are making orders and deliveries easier for customers, at the same time as removing significant amounts of paper and administration time from the process.
Longcliffe’s logistics manager, James Hopkinson, said: ‘By investing in Podfather we are taking our deliveries to another level. Our overall aim is to improve efficiency for customers and our business – through improved customer service, removing paper from the order and delivery process, and making it slicker.
‘We are also making the process more transparent for the customer – for instance, they will receive a notification that the goods have left our site, and they will be given an estimated time of arrival, giving them reassurance that the goods have been dispatched and are on their way. They can also access an interactive map to show progress of the vehicle carrying their order.’
With Podfather, the paper ticket is a thing of the past – the customer receives an electronic copy in their inbox immediately after the delivery has been signed for. The new tickets include a Google map to pinpoint where the goods were offloaded, and the driver has the ability to take and attach photos of the discharged goods, which is helpful for deliveries to rural locations that have a limited address description. Longcliffe see this as a significant benefit for their agricultural lime customers in particular.
Podfather managing director Colin McCreadie said: ‘We are delighted to be working with Longcliffe to support their sustainability and customer experience objectives. We are confident that Podfather will deliver tangible benefits for customers, the business, and the environment.’
Longcliffe group managing director Paul Boustead added: ‘We produce in excess of 1.4 million tonnes of high-purity limestone and dolomitic products each year. All bulk delivered loads and collect customers will enjoy this new service to streamline their administration and make Longcliffe even easier to deal with.
‘The investment in Podfather supports our long-term goals to continually improve efficiency across all elements of our business. Fundamentally, it’s a key driver for our business to be ‘easy to work with’, and we have identified this as something which will add value to our customers and our offering. From a sustainability viewpoint, introducing Podfather will also reduce the amount of paper that we use, and the amount of time spent in administration for paper PODs etc.’
The Podfather system is being used for deliveries to all of Longcliffe’s customers, from small construction sites and agricultural facilities to the major producers in the precast, sealant, and construction markets.
