L&R Haulage build premium furniture delivery service with PODFather
Sep 21, 2020
L&R Haulage, the white glove home delivery specialist and owner of Elegant Home Interiors, is reaping the benefit of introducing PODFather's route planning and electronic proof of delivery software to its home delivery operation.
With a commitment to offering premium service for both its own products, and its network of independent furniture manufactures, the L&R Haulage team saw the need to improve delivery planning and execution practices. Having heard nothing but good things about the PODFather solution, L&R Haulage took the plunge and now use the system to plan routes, track deliveries, send customer ETA notifications and capture electronic proof of delivery information in real time. As a result, L&R is benefitting from better operational visibility, improved customer experience and faster time to invoicing which is helping to facilitate future business growth.
"We pride ourselves on offering a premium delivery service and the PODFather system is instrumental in helping us achieving that goal," comments Luke Gerard, Owner at L&R Haulage. "Before PODFather everything was planned manually but now, not only do we have optimised delivery plans, but we have the technology in place to monitor and manage our growing operation in real time."
L&R Haulage use PODFather to plan delivery routes. Orders are submitted online, via phone and some customers us the PODFather portal to submit their delivery requests. PODFather then calculates the best delivery routes considering any customer time window preferences, delivery restrictions or vehicle capacity constraints. Once routes have been planned PODFather automatically sends an email to each customer, notifying them of their delivery time slot.
"Our customers love the real time visibility that PODFather gives them," adds Gerard. "The PODFather customer portal allows our customers to log in, place orders and see when their items are on their way. Add the fact that we can now offer real time proof of delivery, with accompanying photographs, and we have seen our customer satisfaction scores soar."
A big benefit for the L&R Haulage team has been the impact on time to invoice and company cashflow. With an automated process, no paper tickets, and real time receipt of all electronic proof of delivery notifications, the L&R Haulage team is now able to invoice faster which has had had a massive impact on company cashflow and future growth. "At a time when we're launching our own furniture business it's imperative that we have the right business systems, like PODFather, in place to help us maximise our ability to make a positive impact on the booming furniture home delivery market," comments Gerard.
"The are exciting times for the L&R Haulage team and it's great to be embarking on this new adventure with them as they launch their own furniture business," comments Colin McCreadie, Managing Director at PODFather. "The PODFather system is a great tool for businesses where premium service is a must. Not only can you plan optimised routes and track them but using features, like our ETA notifications, customer portal and electronic PODs, can really help to improve the last mile delivery experience for the end customer."
