Routing software like Package.ai helps make deliveries and service calls a snap
By Alan Wolf, YSN
Short of a dramatic drop in fuel prices, perhaps the greatest gift to dealers that dispatch delivery and repair trucks is routing software.
A kind of GPS on steroids, these programs determine the most efficient order of customer stops, provide directions, monitor the truck teams’ progress and report their whereabouts in real time to customers and managers.
The resulting savings in fuel consumption and time spent on the road and planning routes is considerable, while the positive customer experience derived from transparent and accurate arrival times is priceless.
For many BrandSource members, AVB partner Package.ai is the go-to platform for routing software, with some opting for the company’s complete CRM (customer relationship management) package of chat, online review oversight and post-purchase offers.
Brian Ashworth, owner of M&H Appliance in Mora, Minn., and a member of the BrandSource Service Committee, described on a recent committee call how his service techs had previously spent an hour each morning mapping out their routes, arguing over assignments and generally wasting a good amount of time. By implementing Package.ai’s program, the order of the service calls, the most efficient routes to get there and which jobs are assigned to whom are all automatically determined. And the icing on the cake, Ashworth added, is that customers now know when to expect the house call, allowing them to better schedule their own time.
M&H operates out of four locations, but Package.ai’s software can also scale up for larger, multiregional chains like Big Sandy Superstore, which manages 25 showrooms across Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, Indiana, Michigan and Missouri, and is served by a fleet of over 100 vehicles. Although considered one of the fastest-growing home furnishings retailers, the BrandSource member’s rapid expansion also caused growing pains in the form of poor delivery confirmation rates, a large number of failed delivery attempts and a less than optimal customer experience.
“We not only wanted to become more efficient and effective in our fulfillment process, but also wanted to change it from being viewed as a cost center to an opportunity to create engagement and trust with our customers,” said Big Sandy president Trey Vanhoose in a statement issued to Package.ai. Within a few months of implementing the software solution, the time and labor required for last-mile delivery planning and customer support dropped by 50%, confirmation rates rose by 40%, failed deliveries fell by 5% and positive online reviews grew by 100%, Big Sandy reported.
“We were able to reduce costs and measurably improve customer satisfaction,” Vanhoose said.
Similarly, the logistics team at Pittsburgh-based Don’s Appliances was devoting five hours a day to mapping out delivery routes for drivers at the chain’s 11 stores, yet still only achieved a delivery confirmation rate in the 60% range, causing a high number of failed first-delivery attempts. According to Package.ai, implementing its routing software at Don’s freed up more than 100 hours of employee time each month that would have otherwise been spent planning out delivery routes, while confirmation rates grew by over 50% and positive online ratings soared by more than 200%.
“We’re turning deliveries into dollars,” Don’s co-owner Tim Hillebrand told the software developer.
To hear more about the platform firsthand, AVB Marketing’s Caleb Ferguson spoke with Package.ai General Manager Ralph Shulberg, himself a former retailer, on the floor of BrandSource’s Convention 2022 Expo:
BrandSource, a unit of YSN publisher AVB Inc., is a nationwide buying group for independent appliance, mattress, furniture and CE dealers.
