LEAMINGTON SPA: A new transport management system designed to improve customer service will help Drain Center save around £8,500 in fuel costs and reduce driving time by 1700 hours a year in the London area alone.
Initially called the ‘London Project’, the transport management system was introduced to the nine Drain Center branches in the City to improve the efficiency of customer deliveries. The system provides Drain Center with the most logical and cost effective way to run delivery vehicles, while still giving the individual branch total control over its fleet. The result is quicker deliveries but with fewer lorries on the road, saving on both fuel costs and CO2 emissions.
In just one month after the implementation, the London Drain Centers saved over £722 in fuel costs (119 gallons) and reduced driving time by 148 hours. In fact, the London Project has been so successful that it has already been rolled out to most Drain Center branches in the South with plans to implement it across the rest of the country.
Shaun Higgins, London project manager of Drain Center, part of Wolseley UK, explains: “The whole point of the London Project was for our branches to work together to make our deliveries more efficient for customers, grouping them together so they are fewer and faster and ensuring stock comes from their closest branch to save time. However, the improvements in service have also brought significant benefits to our business. Huge cost savings have been made, whilst our sales figures in London continue to rise. Feedback from customers has been very positive and has clearly given us the edge in a very competitive London market.
“One of the key elements of the transport management system is Hub and Spoke. This provides the facility to transfer orders onto other branches closer to the delivery site, while still retaining the sale. By introducing the system to all of the London branches, we were able to take a vehicle out of the fleet, while at the same time taking on more sales, cutting down on the deliveries needed to complete an order and covering less distance.”
Jan Ross, branch manager at the Isleworth Drain Center, comments: “The biggest difference to our customers has been the speed of their orders. The new system means that if items are out of stock at our branch I can arrange delivery from another London Drain Center quickly and easily. Even if we don’t have all of the items in stock, we’re able to fulfil next day orders using our branch network.”
The nine Drain Center branches that took part in the original London Project are: Brimsdown, Hither Green, Isleworth, Windsor, Bermondsey, Barking, Wimbledon, Orpington and Highgate.
Drain Center is a leading national supplier of drainage products to the professional construction market. With over 80 branches across the UK, Drain Center branches stock a wide variety of products for both above and below ground applications and the utilities industry ensuring customers can get the products they want when they need them.
