Farrall's improves communications with ePOD

By introducing ePOD (Electronic Proof of Delivery Technology) for its Palletforce customers, Farrall's Transport is improving communications for customers as well as streamlining operations within its network.

Farrall's Transport has significantly improved communications for its Palletforce customers due to a national roll out of ePOD technology by the pallet network. The new Electronic Proof of Delivery (ePOD) technology offers an innovative 'proof of location' service, which pinpoints exactly where customers' goods have been delivered, as well as recording the time and signature of the recipient.

The system covers the complete network to not only give a 100 per cent track and trace capability from depot to depot but also to provide instant updates for customers to track their consignments at any stage of its journey - whether from collection, to being delivered to the Palletforce Hub, and right through to its final destination and successful delivery.

Customers can also gain access to this information by typing in their delivery details into a new iPhone app, called Palletforce Pallet Tracking. The easy to use app is now available as a free download from the iTunes App store.

"Live tracking from the vehicle pinpoints where a driver is on his daily routine, so if a customer rings requiring an estimated time of arrival, we can check where that driver is up to with the specified delivery and feed that back without contacting the driver and hindering his progress," says Paul Mather commercial manager at Farrall's. "Once at the location the signature is captured electronically for proof of delivery so the realtime system allows each depot to see that their pallets have been delivered, allowing tracking from loading points to delivery points."

All the necessary information coming into the control centre at Farrall's Transport, direct from the requesting depot, is then passed onto the driver in one go, again minimising the number of phone calls. On their return, drivers report to the system that they are empty or that the collections are now completed and they are ready for any other collections if required.

This has contributed to a 100 per cent operational improvement, according to Mather. He said: "We can click on a driver's registration number and find out where he is up to with his day's work. As he completes a delivery and it is signed off electronically it disappears from his run sheet. We can actually see the daily work schedule as it diminishes from the first drop. You can then optimise the schedule by adding collections without the need for any phone calls."

Mather concluded: "Not only does ePOD make operational life so much easier but it also helps us to reduce paperwork and allows us to invoice on the day."

Farrall's trialled ePOD for PalletForce and then commenced full implementation at the beginning of 2013. It has now been implemented in every depot.

If you have an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch you can download the app using the link below or by searching for Palletforce Pallet Tracking in the iTunes store. http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/palletforce-pallet tracking/id531335996?mt=8