Freightlink Europe is constantly improving their operations and their recent introduction of a driver in-cab app has pushed them further forward than ever before.
A while back, we wrote an article covering how Freightlink Europe joined HaulTech for a Transport Management System (TMS) to bolster their business and reinforce their core values of honest and speedy customer support. This collaboration led to Freightlink being able to reduce their administration duplication by 80%, a reported increase in staff productivity and a higher customer satisfaction rate. We sat down with Operations Director, Tom Peterson to discuss his honest thoughts on introducing technology into the business, his change of heart about transport software and the introduction of HaulTech.Connect, the in-cab driver app.
HaulTech: Originally you were circumspect about Transport Software, can you tell us why?
Tom: No one likes change and when you operate a certain way and then introduce something else into the business, it’s a question of why? Why try to fix something that isn’t broken? I didn’t want it in the business at all and the funny thing is, until the system is up and running and you’re fully on it, only then do you realise how much you truly needed it and now? I would think it’s daft to work any other way!
HaulTech: At what moment did you realise that introducing the software was the right choice?
Tom: It took a bit of adjustment, it’s not easy to just change the way you are working but once the leap was made and I came to appreciate the change, that’s when I realised we should have introduced a system a lot sooner than we did. We are getting work scheduled faster, and invoices done at such a quicker pace, it’s created a massive amount of time for us where we can focus on other parts of the business.
HaulTech: What would you say is the biggest change you’ve seen to the business since the introduction of the TMS?
Tom: It’s hard to narrow it down to just one thing. Internally, it’s been a success amongst the team because they’re not having to duplicate or wonder where they’ve placed paperwork and it’s much easier to schedule work. But there’s also been a noticeable difference for our customer base because the system keeps us more informed allowing Freightlink to give a more fluid customer experience. In fact, thanks to the breakthrough it’s why we introduced the driver app (HaulTech.Connect).
HaulTech: And how have you found the app?
Tom: We are saving an extra hour and a half a day. It’s that good, we are able to send drivers their jobs and information simply, we can update them instantly without having to try and urgently call or text them any changes. We don’t have to wait for them to return with PODs, they literally image capture or signature capture their collections and deliveries and it hits the system. Our operational efficiency is through the roof, again, it’s something else where I was hesitant and now wish we had introduced sooner.
HaulTech: What would you say to a company that is against the system?
Tom: Take the leap, we are amazed by the progress it has allowed us to make. Don’t get me wrong, you can’t just have a system and expect the job to be done for you. It does take effort from yourself to make progress and become efficient but as long as the effort is made, then the system is for you.
If you are interested in improving your operational efficiency and skyrocketing your productivity similar to Freightlink Europe then contact us today by clicking here, calling 01782 662244 or saying hello@haultech.co.uk.
