Drowning
in Data?

We were recently fortunate enough to be invited to an event hosting by our partners, Smart Freight, at the Century Club in London.

Ctrack specialises in vehicle tracking and fleet management for SMBs and large companies. They offer 24/7 visibility of fleets and help businesses to save up to 15% on fuel and maintenance costs. Whilst improving operational efficiency by up to 30%.

We partnered with Ctrack back in 2018 to meet the increasing demand for multi-drop distribution, dynamic route optimisation, and live transport management. 

By partnering together, we are able to offer telematics-enabled solutions which use accurate, real-time data to support route optimisation, alongside planned vs actual performance monitoring. 

Our route planning software has been seamlessly integrated into Ctrack’s cloud-based telematics platform, enabling users to obtain vehicle data and real-time visibility as to what is happening out on the road. 

This supports Transport Managers to improve their planning processes, as well as keeping their customers informed and up to date regarding any unexpected delays or issues. 

After 3 years of working together, we wanted to check in with Jason from Ctrack and see how he felt the relationship was going. 

“We have been working with MaxOptra since 2018 and it’s been an excellent relationship from the very start. 

We originally chose to work with MaxOptra as their innovative technology is industry-leading, and their team are some of the best in the business. Our solutions complement each other very well, offering a seamless experience for the end-user. 

Having now secured many satisfied customers, it’s clear MaxOptra pays for itself, this helps us to sell additional services on the back of the return of investment. 

I have worked closely with different departments within MaxOptra very successfully over the past few years. From Sales and Marketing to Support and Implementation, the team go above and beyond. Offering support and advice whenever needed.

I look forward to continuing this relationship with MaxOptra and the team for many years.”

• Jason Laight, Head of Indirect Sales & Partnerships at Ctrack

Fuel consumption has been a hot topic for a while now, for various reasons.

Many businesses and consumers alike are becoming increasingly conscious of saving the environment. Whilst others are looking to save money wherever possible as they recover from lockdown repercussions. 

Additionally, the government are bringing forward the ban on fossil fuel vehicles to 2030, forcing many to consider electric vehicles in the near future. 

And of course, the recent fuel shortages which have left many queueing for hours to fill up their vehicles, having a drastic impact on essential workers and delivery operations.

Whatever the reason for reducing fuel consumption, it’s likely to be a good one. So to help businesses such as yours out, here are 5 ways that you can save fuel without compromising on your delivery operations.

Optimise efficient routes

Let’s start by reviewing your current routes and mileage. 

Whether you run fixed or dynamic routes, if they are not optimised correctly you may not only be wasting fuel, but also hours on unnecessary mileage. 

By using route optimisation technology, you can automatically generate the most efficient route sequences which take into account time windows, vehicles, and load capacity.

This dramatically improves the effectiveness of your fleet utilisation, whilst also reducing fuel, mileage, and costs.

In fact, you can reduce your daily mileage by an impressive 20%! 

Customer communication ETA notifications 

UK retailers, their delivery partners and even consumers are losing an enormous collective £1.6 billion a year, due to failed delivery.

Part of these costs is the additional fuel that is needed to redeliver to an address, sometimes even multiple times. 

One of the main causes for missed deliveries is a lack of customer communication. Customers aren’t aware of when their delivery will be turning up, and therefore cannot make arrangements to be home to receive it. 

To resolve this issue, you can use logistics technology which will proactively send out advance email and SMS ETA notifications to keep your customers regularly up to date.

This can include confirmation of delivery date and time, and then regular updates once their delivery driver is out on the road. 

This helps customers to be in when their delivery is due. And saves drivers time, miles, and of course fuel.

Proof of delivery

Another significant cost for businesses is when parcels go missing or cannot be found. 

The costs associated with this are from customer service teams who have to help the customer. The cost of sending a new item. And of course, the delivery and fuels cost associated with the new delivery 

Electronic Proof of Delivery (ePOD) is a paperless solution utilised on mobile devices. Which can offer businesses complete visibility of when orders have been delivered. 

Each delivery is tracked electronically, and the driver can take customer signatures and photos of the order once they have been delivered. All of which can be sent to the customer and logged with the business.

This confirms the delivery has been made, and exactly where their order has been left.

Go electric

The obvious choice for cutting down on fuel is of course to go electric. 

After all, electric vehicles are much cheaper to run than their diesel counterparts. During trials, the cost of running some electric vans came in at just £4 per 100km which is minimal compared to refuelling.

We appreciate this is a large undertaking for many businesses. But by working with a company such as MaxOptra, we can model your fleet and tell you exactly how many vehicles you will require if you were to go electric. 

Ongoing monitoring and analysis of results

And finally, one of the best things businesses can do to reduce their fuel usage is to continually monitor and analyse their usage and results.  

That way you can identify how efficient your routes are and whether you are wasting fuel unnecessarily. All of which can be utilised to improve efficiency, reduce spend, and keep both drivers and customers happy.

Are you looking to reduce your fuel consumption?

Fortunately, MaxOptra can help you do all of the above and more.

If you’d like to find out how we can improve your delivery operations, and save you money, get in touch with our friendly team of experts.