A new integrated proof of delivery system from The Barcode Warehouse is enabling Mercia Garden Products to respond more quickly when problems arise in the delivery process.
The garden building and furniture company needed a proof of delivery solution to replace its paper based delivery system to improve efficiency and customer service by allowing better communications with its third party haulage contractors.
“We wanted a solution that would enable us to record accurately the delivery of our range of garden buildings, both to our customers’ homes and retail outlets,” said Ian Yarrow, Mercia’s finance manager.
Durability was a priority for the mobile devices that would run the proof of delivery software.
Yarrow said: “We chose the Motorola MC55 as it is a rugged mobile computer, which delivers electronic signature capture and imaging capability.”
“The proof of delivery software running on the MC55 has really enabled us to improve our customer service. We know exactly when a delivery has been made or, if a driver has run out of time, not been made.”
Mercia builds up loads for delivery at its central depot in Sutton on Trent, before its contracted hauliers deliver them across the UK.
With the previous paper based delivery system it could take up to one week for the relevant delivery paper work to be returned for manual processing by Mercia’s admin staff.
This meant that it could be several days before Mercia was aware that a delivery had not been made, or whether components were damaged or missing.
“Crucially, the moment we receive a picture taken by the MC55 showing that any of the components of the building have been damaged, an automatic alert is triggered allowing us to contact the customer to apologise and arrange to deliver a replacement, or in the case of non-delivery to re-schedule,” said Yarrow.
