Better Customer Communication with Order Delivery Tracking
Since 1978, Shepley Wood Products has served the Eastern Seaboard with integrity and success. In looking to improve the delivery process for their customers, they began searching for a solution to organize deliveries, simplify communication and increase visibility. They decided to implement DQ Technologies’ Order Delivery Tracking (ODT).
“The benefit of ODT is that we capture and measure time and distance and associating those costs at the order level,” says Tony Shepley, President of Shepley Wood Products. “This gives us true activity-based costing information where we can look at the effect of delivery cost on our gross margin.”
With ODT and Agility, Shepley has the complete package for improving their delivery process. “We track the miles of the route and determine how much it is costing us to make that delivery,” Shepley’s System Manager, John Howell, said. “Based on the truck, we have a cost-per-mile number, so we can calculate the overall delivery costs. Our general manager can watch the delivery screen and know at a quick glance exactly where we are during the day.”
General Manager Tom Dennison monitors delivery screen activity throughout the day to make important decisions related to yard staff. Using the On Time and In Full Report from Agility, he tracks how many deliveries are on time and how many are made without backorders. “We use the On Time and In Full Report to make sure we are using our resources effectively,” Dennison said. “For example, we look at staffing levels, peak times, and other factors to determine if we need to shift employees around at certain times.
With GPS tracking on all delivery trucks and sales team vehicles, as well as dynamic Geofencing around Shepley’s location and job sites, they can monitor and send information about turns, stops, speed and distance travelled back to ODT.
“All of the information in ODT feeds back into Agility, so the salesperson can open the sales order right from their desk and determine in real time if it’s been picked, checked, or delivered,” Shepley’s System Manager, John Howell said. “The other thing our sales staff can do is right click on the ODT screen. It brings up a Google map and drops a pin right where the truck is. It takes visibility to another level.”
ODT provides Shepley with a wealth of information and a standard of accountability they didn’t have previously.
We are right on the money
“Not only are we looking for deliveries to be made on time and in full, but we are looking for reasons why they aren’t,” said Shepley. “Was it a vendor backorder, an unrealistic time period we set up, or what? ODT helps us find the answers. In the old days, you could fake it, but with Agility and ODT, it’s a higher level of performance.”
Shepley’s use of technology to improve deliveries separates them from their competitors. “Instead of saying to our customers, ‘We are a good company. Most of the time we get there on time.’” Shepley said. “With ODT, I can say ‘98.2% of the time we are right on the money – and we are working on the other 1.8%.’”
