CCP improve customer service with Podfather

Delivery software reduces use of paper and delivers significant improvements in customer service

CCP Building Products, part of Sigma PPG – a cluster of companies specialising in the manufacture of precast concrete products – have introduced delivery software from Podfather to improve their customer service.

Serving builders’ merchants and construction projects across the north-west of England and Wales, CCP can make up to 90 deliveries a day using third-party haulage contractors. Since implementing the Podfather ePOD solution, CCP have significantly reduced the amount of paper they use, and the resource associated with producing and processing it, and have improved customer service by capturing and sharing, in real time, comprehensive digital evidence of deliveries made.

‘Before we started using Podfather it almost felt that we were drowning in paper,’ commented Zoe Scourfield, company secretary at CCP Building Products. ‘Every delivery had a triplicate paper job sheet that drivers collected from the depot. Once the delivery had been made and signed for, this then had to be returned to the office for filing and, in the case of a query, we had to physically find the relevant paperwork, scan it, and email it to the client.

‘All this took time and paper and, as we operate deliveries from two sites, could introduce significant delays when dealing with customers, which potentially impacted on our cash flow.’

Since implementing the Podfather delivery system earlier this year, CCP have eliminated paper from their delivery operation, saving around 60,000 sheets of paper per annum; the equivalent to 7.5 mature pine trees. Additional savings, both environmental and economic, have been achieved as a result, as paper no longer needs to be stored or accessed in case of query.

On top of the benefits of paper-free deliveries, CCP are also realizing significant improvements in customer service with the capture of date-, time-, and location-stamped photographs and signatures at the point of delivery. Using the Podfather app, running on any mobile device, drivers can record, in a matter of minutes, and share, in real time, this information with the back-office team and even the customer. This is reducing the number of inbound calls about deliveries and the time taken to resolve the few queries that do still occur.

‘It’s still early days for us and Podfather,’ continued Ms Scourfield, ‘but each day we discover something new, and each day we realize how that can positively impact our staff, our customers, and the environment. We are confident that in time we will adopt other aspects of the Podfather system, such as automatic ETA notifications and updates, load planning, and route optimization.’

CCP are trade suppliers who produce more than 24 million precast concrete blocks annually. Previously called Cheshire Concrete Products, CCP have supplied aggregates and concrete blocks for more than 60 years. With manufacturing facilities for concrete blocks in Middlewich and Llay, CCP offer full coverage to builders’ merchants in the North West and North Wales from the south of Birmingham to the north of Lancaster. Following the acquisition of Aberdo Quarry, CCP are also able to supply both premium and non-premium aggregates to the building trade.