JK Services are a family-run haulier based in Suffolk. Established in 2016, the company has seen impressive growth, already operating a fleet of 10 arctics and 8 vans. In this exclusive HaulTech interview, we talk to Kyle Haynes, Transport Manager of JK Services to talk about the way the company’s growth has inspired a revamp of their processes.
HaulTech: Kyle, can you tell us about your role?
Kyle: I am the Transport Manager for JK Services. I oversee the well-being of the drivers and ensure compliance is being met while also scheduling vehicles in for maintenance and ensuring they’re running okay. We do a lot of work nationally and with pallet networks, a lot of my role is making sure these jobs go smoothly.
HaulTech: After doing the role for so long, you decided to make a change and opt for a Transport Management System, can you tell us why that is?
Kyle: As long as I have been here, we’ve always worked with spreadsheets which seems logical when you are a small business. But as things grow, you get more spreadsheets to stay on top of everything and it’s a continuous loop of spreadsheets which makes it really difficult to get to the information you need. So I wanted to move to a Transport System to stop all of the hassle associated with spreadsheets and focus on a system that has everything in one place. Now I have a system, it’s much easier to add work and look back at historical jobs. The right idea would have been to start with a Transport System in the first place.
HaulTech: Have you noticed any other changes in the company since introducing Transport Software?
Kyle: There are so many other things it’s helped with. The system connects with our accounts package so invoicing is now really fast, we probably do it in half the time we did it before. And before we made errors by duplicating work, the system doesn’t allow that now, it will flag if we accidentally duplicate something. The biggest breath of fresh air for me is being able to assign a driver to a job with ease, it takes me seconds and I can now schedule everything so efficiently that it gives me more time to prioritise things I wouldn’t have had as much time for before.
HaulTech: Was it difficult to learn a new system and way of working?
Kyle: It probably took me a few hours to learn the system on my own and a couple of weeks to fully get used to the idea of “this is the way I work now”. There are a few questions that I had to ask but someone was always there on the other end of the phone at HaulTech to help me out whenever I needed it. Once you start to work in this way, you wouldn’t want to go back to do it any other way, it becomes the norm.
HaulTech: Why did you choose to go with HaulTech?
Kyle: They’re a company who have the same values as us, being family-run gave them the edge over corporate companies, the system does everything we need it to do and it’s a low-cost solution.
HaulTech: Would you recommend the system to other haulage companies?
Kyle: Yes of course, all your work is in one place, it’s simple to use, it’s efficient. To me, it’s a no-brainer to have a Transport Management System.
We’d like to thank Kyle for taking the time to talk to us about his experience with Transport Management Software.
If you are similar to JK Services and want a system to help keep you on top of your workload then contact HaulTech today by clicking here, calling 01782 662244 or saying hello@haultech.co.uk.
