With a journey spanning more than six decades, J.B. Rawcliffe & Sons Ltd emerges as a distinguished transport trailblazer in the U.K. Their services encompass everything from general cargo to handling extraordinary loads, heavy lifting, precision installations and removals. With a fleet of 16 vehicles and 100 trailers, J.B. Rawcliffe & Sons have pinned themselves as a one-stop shop for all their customer’s needs. However, with great success comes great struggle. J.B. Rawcliffes & Sons Ltd were suffering an administration headache with the amount of paperwork that comes along with being a haulier. In this article, we speak to Stuart Rawcliffe who tells us about the company and how a Transport Management System was the cure for the firm’s administration woes.
HaulTech: Stuart, can you talk to us about your role at Rawcliffes?
Stuart: A major part of my role is project planning for abnormal loads or our installation projects. We do a lot of work with power transformers, taking them from the factory to the site, getting them on the plinth and installing them and I’m responsible for making sure this process runs as smoothly as possible.
HaulTech: Nearly a decade ago, the company completely changed its background processes moving from paper to Transport Software, what were the thoughts behind doing that?
Stuart: At the time the company had been in operation for 61 years, still using paper and pen to plan work, write tickets, record jobs etc. And people may say if it’s not broken don’t fix it, but I don’t agree with that, because pen and paper as a process works but it’s not efficient enough. We were at full capacity and drowning in paperwork, we had cabinets full of tickets and I wanted us to have something in place to support the company. So we did some digging and found out about Transport Software which has completely changed the game for us.
HaulTech: How has the Transport Management System changed the game at JB Rawcliffe?
Stuart: We’ve made a significant reduction in our paperwork, which has brought numerous advantages. It not only results in a tidier workspace and eliminates redundant tasks but, most importantly, the system ensures we’ll never lose crucial documents again since everything we require is securely stored digitally. Having our past work saved in the system is a significant advantage for us. Whenever we encounter a technically challenging job, I can easily revisit my previous work, review the job notes, and use them as a foundation for tackling the new challenge.
HaulTech: How do other departments feel about the system?
Stuart: Our accounts team love it, the system allows them to invoice rapidly. After years of using the system, we are much more productive and that also creates a good atmosphere for the team to be in. We are looking at expanding our product range and using the driver app next.
HaulTech: Would you recommend a system to other companies?
Stuart: It’s a great system and I recommend it for other hauliers, it’s a scary step to take but we couldn’t imagine doing our work without the HaulTech system now.
