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Wellocks

Wellocks launch new 'Wellocks At Home' offering during the pandemic with the help of MaxOptra

180
Fleet size
"Without MaxOptra we would not have been able to get Wellocks At Home off the ground, and I don't know where we would be right now. The customer service has been exceptional, with all queries resolved easily. The system has allowed us to move the business forward, and we're excited to use more functionality to improve our offering"
About Wellocks

Wellocks was originally a family-owned company spanning four generations. It was started by its original founder in humble beginnings of a small market stall selling fruit and veg.

Fast forward to today, and Wellocks is owned by William Jackson Food Group. A similarly family orientated business that owns numerous brands in the food sector.

William Jackson Food Group was able to continue to take Wellocks on their journey where they now run a fleet of 180 vehicles to supply high-end hotels, football clubs, and restaurants such as Foodwell in Manchester, Michelin starred The Angel at Hetton, and Wild Restaurant in Harrogate.

 
Display of Wellock produce, including grapes, proscuitto, cheese, and hot cross buns
The challenge

However, after the pandemic in 2020, Wellocks faced a new challenge. Many of their usual customers were temporarily closing due to lockdown measures, meaning Wellocks had to change their strategy.

So Wellocks set up Wellocks At Home – delivering the same top-quality produce they supply to Michelin-starred restaurants, straight to customers’ door. From seasonal fruit and vegetables, artisan cheese and speciality eggs, to trade-secret pantry essentials.

However, Wellocks were running on a fixed route, reactive basis. Meaning they would manually have to manage changes to orders, delivery times, customer requests, and schedules.

Wellocks knew that they could not execute Wellocks At Home working in this manner without a considerable amount of extra man-hours. They would not be able to supply specific time windows, have any measures in place, and would not be able to identify if the drivers and routes were working efficiently and effectively.

 
The solution

Fortunately, Wellocks already worked with MaxOptra on a fixed route basis, so contacted their Account Manager for advice and support.

Wellocks knew that their route scheduling would have to be instantaneous due to the varying orders and customers they would now be supplying. But due to MaxOptra’s ease of use and dynamic routing capabilities, this has been a breeze.

Wellocks at Home were set up in 2 days and at their busiest period, Wellocks were putting 9,000 orders per day through the MaxOptra system. Totalling 530 routes per week.

 
The results

Since using MaxOptra in this way, Wellocks have been reaping the benefits.

They have been able to keep drivers on rota and always on time, and they have utilised operational windows to improve their customer service levels.

MaxOptra was able to integrate into all areas of their business, with vehicle integration for drivers being particularly useful. And the supply of live data back to support teams has significantly improved efficiency.

The system has allowed Wellocks to identify cost and carbon saving opportunities. And has also integrated with their other sister companies.

Importantly, Wellocks are now able to drill down into KPIs and manage their fleet and resources far more effectively. This has been particularly important over Covid-19, as they needed to utilise resource as best as possible, and determine the most cost effective routes available.

 
Wellocks delivery drivers smiling and standing infront of Wellocks van
The future for Wellocks

Wellocks have also begun exploring more functionality in MaxOptra. Such as SMS communications for both their Wellocks and Wellocks At Home customers.

And they have just implemented the customer service element offered by MaxOptra, so that all sales teams have updated ETAs on routes in real-time.

 

"Without MaxOptra we would not have been able to get Wellocks At Home off the ground, and I don't know where we would be right now. The customer service has been exceptional, with all queries resolved easily. The system has allowed us to move the business forward, and we're excited to use more functionality to improve our offering"

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Craig Coupe
Head of Transport at Wellocks
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