For any company, being in high demand is the ideal opportunity. But when you’re managing jobs manually, it quickly becomes a time-consuming nightmare. Traditional methods of managing deliveries and customer communication — like inputting spreadsheets and keeping on top of a flurry of back-and-forth emails – are slow, cumbersome and put you at risk of human error.
One of our customers, Fulton Hogan, found themselves in this predicament. Landing several big jobs made scheduling deliveries more complicated, especially as some of these contracts required transport of bitumen, classified as a dangerous good.
Communication make-over
Relying on old processes left Fulton Hogan a step behind. “In the first year of these projects, we received penalties for late and cold deliveries because there was a breakdown in communication,” says Jeff Sherriff, National Transport Manager at Fulton Hogan. We recommended moving to an electronic freight management system, to enter, build, cost and schedule jobs more easily. With research from Canon Australia showing 63 per cent of workers waste up to 10 hours a week[1] on repetitive or manual admin, this kind of electronic solution frees up staff – whether drivers, back-office or management – to focus on critical tasks and bigger picture thinking.
“We get the same information back at the office, so in terms of allocating vehicles we can make sure we are meeting our legal requirements.” says Sherriff. And because the system also connects to an in-vehicle device, drivers can upload documentation or delivery details to the system immediately, speeding up admin and invoicing. Gone are the days of crunching numbers and poring over spreadsheets.
Putting customers first
Relying on manual practices, phone calls and fractured workflows makes it hard to provide a seamless customer experience. Allowing customers to place orders directly online makes it easier for Fulton Hogan to capture all relevant information, demonstrate a delivery was completed and generate proof of delivery in real time. “Since implementing this system, Fulton Hogan has met all its delivery requirements and our customer experience has improved substantially,” says Sheriff. It’s now considering automating temperature monitoring to provide customers with access to live updates, so they can track their bitumen order en route.
The power of digital tools
Holding onto the way you’ve always done things is an easy trap to fall into. But with a wealth of digital tools now available, it’s an ineffective way to grow and scale a company. Automating manual processes and daily tasks opens up a whole range of new opportunities – from transforming the customer experience to better retaining staff and even taking on more business.
[1] WAKE UP TO WORK 3.0: PUT AN END TO MUNDANE MANUAL PROCESSES, Canon, 2013