1. Customer satisfaction scores improve by 75%
2. The time efficiency of logistics jobs improve by 50%
3. Insurance premiums reduce by 15%
While every telematics business offers vehicle tracking, Beatties instead needed a partner who could help them get telematics hardware to effectively interact with their package tracking interface – something that sounds relatively simple to do, but no one seemed to have the capabilities
Teletrac Navman stood out head and shoulders above the competition thanks to its advanced API. We were extremely grateful and reassured that a potential supplier would give us this sort of access to the backend before a deal was struck
Telematics Integration
PROBLEMS WITH INTEGRATION
While every telematics business offers vehicle tracking, Beatties instead needed a partner who could help them get telematics hardware to effectively interact with their package tracking interface – something that sounds relatively simple to do, but no one seemed to have the capabilities. Suppliers either didn’t have an API to work with, or it wasn’t particularly advanced if they did.
At the time, the business’ drivers were debriefing their jobs at the end of each shift, which wasn’t giving customers a particularly up-to-date picture on the status of their deliveries and there were delays in dealing with any issues – something that Beatties recognised needed to drastically change in order to remain relevant and competitive. The reams of paperwork and data input required to stay on top of the volume of deliveries was becoming an operational nightmare.
Fleet Management Software
A MARKET-LEADING SOLUTION
Not only did Teletrac Navman have a technically more advanced API, it also allowed Beatties (via an NDA) to have access to it before a deal was struck, in order to test its suitability for linking any telematics hardware with the package tracking interface.
On top of this, Teletrac Navman provided its market-leading Qube 300 telematics box, forward-facing Dash Cams, as well as its MNAV 750 sat nav unit, which can be taken out of a vehicle and used as a signature capture tool.
Beatties also took Teletrac Navman’s award-winning DIRECTOR platform, which is an advanced fleet tracking system that enables fleet managers to have access to real time data in one easy-to-use interface. It provides fleet managers with a diverse range of information, from the location of individual vehicles (tracked in real time) to monitoring fuel usage and driver performance. It can also help to significantly cut fuel costs through more effective route planning, optimise vehicle use, increase business productivity, improve driver behaviour (which equates to fewer incidents), and potentially reduce insurance premiums.
Telematics Solution
TELEMATICS PROVES A GAME CHANGER
According to Ken Hughes, IT Manager at Beatties, this collaborative approach to telematics has been “a game changer for Beatties.”
He adds, “Teletrac Navman stood out head and shoulders above the competition thanks to its advanced API. We were extremely grateful and reassured that a potential supplier would give us this sort of access to the backend before a deal was struck. We immediately knew that not only was it likely to have the best solution to meet our needs, but it was a true partner in every sense of the word. It’s this sort of unrivalled customer service that as a result enables us to be a better operator.
“Our drivers are now able to debrief each job in real time, which not only updates our systems, but also the customer portal as well, giving all parties maximum visibility of the status of each job – we’re talking a maximum of 30 seconds from a delivery being made to the info being live on both portals. This has massively relieved the burden of paperwork from our drivers and means their shifts are focused on deliveries.
The system has worked so well that we’re now collaborating on a tablet-based system to potentially replace the MNAV, which will allow us to capture photographic evidence of the packages on delivery and immediately upload to each manifest, again saving the business time and money.
To maintain our promise to customers to use the most up to date fleet, we’ve also coded the API to track mileage from each vehicle’s odometer readings, with the data coming into DIRECTOR. This then alerts us to when a vehicle is ready to be sold or renewed in order to keep the fleet fresh. We also may rotate vehicles onto different routes as a result of the readings, ensuring they don’t exceed our preferred mileage for that particular vehicle.
The forward-facing dash cams have also been a fantastic addition as they eradicate the ambiguity that comes with an accident, allowing us to resolve the matter quickly and efficiently. In the event of a bump or a crash, an alert is sent directly into DIRECTOR and we can see second-by-second footage of the incident. This helped to drastically reduce our insurance premiums, allowing us to reinvest back into the business.
Telematics Insights
ABOUT THE CUSTOMER
Beatties Distribution Services Ltd. certainly stands out from the crowd when it comes to courier companies, in so much that it prides itself on having the capabilities to deliver anything, anytime, anywhere. The family run business has been serving the people of Northern Ireland since 1985 and operates a fleet of 56 vehicles, ranging from courier and transit vans, all the way up to 40ft articulated lorries, ensuring it can deliver anything and everything, from envelopes to aircraft parts.