Icebox, an ice delivery and experience company, is improving customer service, increasing driver efficiency and reducing its environmental impact after the implementation of Podfather software.
The new solution, which includes logistics planning, route optimisation and proof of delivery (POD) functionality, has enabled the London-based firm to reduce its back-office admin load, cut its paper usage and slash its delivery times.
Delivering premium quality ice across the UK and Europe, Icebox operates a mixed fleet, ranging from small vans to large, refrigerated trucks, making between 60-100 deliveries a day.
Prior to Podfather, the firm relied on paper manifests, phone calls and spreadsheets to allocate and track deliveries, and the process, which took several hours a day, involved back-office staff manually organising routes, updating job statuses and handling driver communications.
Icebox selected Podfather for its ‘all-in-one’ functionality, which includes route planning and optimisation, real-time tracking, ePOD management, and automated reporting, but also considered a number of other factors. These included strong peer reviews and recommendations, timely and proactive support and account management, and competitive pricing.
“Podfather has been a game-changer for our business; improving efficiency, reducing costs, and enhancing customer satisfaction,” said Piotr Korotkiewicz, operations manager at Icebox. “Using Podfather we have enhanced our customer experience with faster response times and accurate ETAs, we have better health and safety compliance with automated vehicle checks and issue reporting, and we have improved the flow of information with digital PODs and photographic evidence, which has led to faster resolution of delivery issues and improved billing accuracy.”
Icebox has also reduced its reliance on additional admin staff, improved efficiency to offset fuel and wage increases, minimised paper use and fuel consumption, and now captures and stores digital records to help it comply and report on regulatory requirements.
“Podfather has, and continues to, support our business growth, allowing us to scale operations without increasing costs. Key achievements that Podfather has contributed to include a growth in revenue, a reduction in costs and an increase in customer retention,” Korotkiewicz concluded.
