Case Study - 3663 First for Foodservice

Flottengr??e: 2500 Previous System: Access ProduktFleetWave Date Installed: February 2007

Client Quote

The process is now more manageable and information is easily obtained. By using Fleetwave, we have reduced our parking fines by 15-20%. This has been achieved by collating all the data, identifying hotspots and then dealing with the issues-for example, finding parking alternatives at delivery points.

3663 Fleet Support Manager

Introduction

3663 First for Foodservice is one of the UK's leading food service companies with sales of over £1.5 billion a year. The company delivers quality ingredients, finished products and equipment to the catering industry. 3663's Fleet Support team, based in Galashiels, manages over 1,000 trucks, 750 cars and 700 fork lift trucks and sundry mechanical handling equipment. The administration comprises eight office-based staff and three field-based Fleet Managers.

Client Brief

The primary objective of the 3663 fleet software project was to provide the Fleet Support team with one master database, to hold vehicle, fridge and mechanical handling equipment data. Prior to installing the new fleet management software system, data to support the fleet operation had been held on four internally developed Access databases. These databases were critical to the smooth running of the fleet administration, but it was thought that it would be impractical to develop the databases any further, as they were not flexible enough to cope with the increased demand for information now required. The browser-based flexibility of Chevin?s FleetWave management information system was therefore the ideal solution for 3663's Fleet Support Team. The existing transport operation data was migrated to the new FleetWave system, which could then be maintained centrally by the 3663 Fleet Support team. Added functionality was to provide access to the 3663 finance department and individual depots, allowing for input of depot-specific data and the retrieval of specified reports. The deployment of the system also allowed for other objectives to be realised, such as providing access to trading companies and reduction in the duplication of data. Accordingly, 3663 required three system access levels to be available: 1. Central fleet management team administration 2. Individual depot access 3. Finance department access With the capability to support an unlimited number of users at various sites, allied to the ability to be accessed and updated from any global location and with powerful, in-built reporting tools, Chevin's FleetWave solution fitted 3663's specific requirements. A further key element to the 3663 FleetWave system is a module that was specifically developed to manage the large number of penalty charge notices (PCNs) that the company receives when trying to deliver its food products.

Client Benefits

Lynsey Roberts, 3663 Fleet Support, comments: "We deal with approximately 1,000 PCNs per month. The notices are faxed to us on a daily basis by the depots and we then process them, deciding which ones we are paying and which we will appeal. They are all recorded on FleetWave on a daily basis with any correspondence relating to each individual fine, and the system will generate appeal letters as and when they are required. Various reports can then also be generated, including; total amount of fines paid, identification of "hotspots" and top ten lists of any category, for example; location, driver or vehicle. Once the reports are generated, the data is used by each depot to look into delivery locations and the restrictions in force and to see if there are alternative parking areas, so as not to incur any further penalty charges; for example, delivering at a different time of the day. Previously, the penalty charge notices were managed locally at depot level, but there is now a central structure in place for all depots to follow, and the process is now more manageable, information is easily obtained and it is all stored on one centralised database." Susan Morrison, 3663 Fleet Support Manager, adds: "By using the Fleetwave software package, we have reduced our parking fines by 15-20%. This has been achieved by collating all the data, identifying hotspots and then dealing with the issues-for example, finding parking alternatives at delivery points." 3663 currently processes approximately 1,000 penalty charge notices per month, with an estimated annual cost to the company of £1 million. By using the FleetWave system, the number of fines received has reduced by 15-20%, saving the company between £150,000 and £200,000 per annum. With the increase in efficiency arising from the implementation of the FleetWave system, and by ensuring that all PCNs are processed in a timely manner, Chevin Fleet Solutions enables 3663's fleet operation to save time and to save money.