How MaxOptra has helped businesses throughout Covid-19. And will continue to do so.

At MaxOptra, we are proud to work with 500 customers, boasting roughly 5,000 vehicles.

That’s 3 million routes being planned every month, thanks to our system.

We have worked with many of these businesses throughout Covid-19 to address, and solve, their challenges.

From pivoting businesses from B2B to B2C to deal with the temporary closure of their customer base. To managing order overwhelm with a reduced workforce. And everything in between.

As we face a second wave of Covid-19 and increased restrictions throughout the country, we will continue to support our customers. Both old and new. To help them solve their challenges, navigate a turbulent economy, and keep their business successfully running.

Some of our customer successes during Covid-19

We have supported many of our customers to ensure their business stays open and trading throughout lockdown and beyond. However, thanks to our help, some have actually seen an increase in orders and deliveries, even during this difficult period.

Read on to hear some of our recent customer successes.

Charles stamper Reduced planning time by 80% and can now serve both B2C and B2B customers

Holt Farm reduces planning time by 80% and continues to support the community through lockdown

Sambrook’s Brewery reduces planning time by 50% and can now service both B2B and B2C customers pre and post-lockdown

With the help of MaxOptra, Delifresh increased deliveries by 33% and can now support NHS workers at Nightingale Hospital

How are we helping customers manage during Covid-19?

Obviously, reading about other businesses and their success is all well and good. But how do we manage to achieve this with them?

Below is just some of the advice and services we are offering businesses to help them throughout Covid-19.

Remain agile

The most important thing that businesses need to keep in mind right now is to remain agile. There has been frequent talk of the “new normal”, but the ironic thing about this phrase is that any sense of normal isn’t likely to exist in the near future.

Specific cities and businesses may find themselves put under lockdown as soon as they’ve re-opened, and advice and procedures are likely to change as we continue to learn and adapt.

To ride this wave, businesses must remain nimble and agile, embrace new technology and automation, and have contingency plans in place for various situations and eventualities.

Implement dynamic routes

Many businesses work on a fixed route basis – which raises significant challenges and limitations for those dealing with business change or pivoting from B2B to B2C.

Dynamic routes allow businesses to plan routes daily, weekly, monthly, or however frequently they require a dynamic schedule. Systems such as MaxOptra utilise algorithms which produce efficient and reliable routes, fast. Taking into account traffic conditions and known roadworks, as well as vehicle capacities, live order volumes and delivery time windows.

All of this supports businesses in avoiding any potential inefficiencies of fixed routes, reduces excess mileage, keeps customers happy and, as a result, cuts operational costs by up to 20%.

Maintain the quality of your orders

Not all deliveries are equal – some need to be received faster and some orders contain fresh goods that need to reach customers in peak condition. Particularly since there has been an increase in food and fresh goods orders to the home during lockdown.

It’s a further complication when you’re already managing a packed schedule, delivering to new addresses, or dealing with a reduced workforce.

Systems, such as MaxOptra, let distributors of fresh goods maintain the quality of their deliveries by assigning which orders should be delivered first. For time-sensitive or fresh orders they can assign an onboard time limit to reduce wastage and make sure deliveries are of the highest quality. Our system also assigns mixed temperature vehicles to the right orders to make sure you’re using the right tools for the job.

Track routes and deliveries

One of the results of a B2C pivot or change in business model is losing track of where deliveries are, or how delivery routes are performing.

For any business who is running a distribution fleet, it’s important to know what’s going on once the vehicles have left the depot.

Businesses can either link route optimisation systems to a vehicle telematics device, or utilise a driver app, such as what MaxOptra offers, to monitor what is going on in real time via track & trace functionality.

This on-the-day visibility enables businesses to proactively deal with any delays or issues as soon as they occur. At the end of the day this valuable data aids driver debriefing, route refinement, and management KPI reporting.

Automated email & SMS updates for customers

Another result businesses having to change their strategy is communicating with a different group of customers, which can quickly become complicated.

Keeping customers happy is a key goal for any business, and automated email and SMS updates can help businesses to do this without an increase in workload.

These updates can include when a delivery is scheduled to arrive, when it’s on its way and even when it’s nearby. Not only does this reduce the workload for businesses who often have to deal with customer enquiries, it’s also incredibly beneficial for the end-customer.

For added peace of mind, our driver apps which incorporate ePod functionality allows drivers to log proof of delivery signatures, photos and comments.

Implement a driver app

For paper-based operations, a change in strategy, increase in orders, or a reduction in workforce can quickly result in chaos.

We recommend that any business facing significant change implements a driver app, such as the MaxOptra iOS and Android app. This will allow businesses to run a paperless operation whilst automatically pushing jobs to their drivers.

Businesses will also be able to track delivery and driver progress, whilst dealing with any issues and amends in real time.

Overall, a driver app will streamline the entire delivery process – ensuring businesses can keep on top of their routes, drivers, deliveries and documentation.

MaxOptra support group

To help businesses implement all of the above, the MaxOptra team have been lending a helping hand to struggling businesses by offering the MaxOptra system, plus support and consultancy services, free of charge, no strings attached.

We have found that this has relieved the burden of planning, and offered businesses a way to pivot from B2B to B2C, as many of our customers have already done so.

Get in touch with us for more information. Alternatively, check out our case studies from Holt Farm and Wellocks.