March/April 2005

One of the latest operational activities to benefit from a mobile computing solution is meals on wheels deliveries. Flowfood, an Ashton-under-Lyne based manufacturer and distributor of frozen ready meals, has opted for the Wireless Delivered solution from Talecom, and reports striking savings.

The company runs a meals on wheels service for Stafford County Council, using 38 delivery vehicles based at three depots in Cannock, Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyne. Previously it used a paper-based system to generate drivers' delivery lists in its central depot, then faxed them to the depots.

Once the day's deliveries were completed, the sheets were returned to the depot, which in turn sent them back to the central depot to be entered into the computer. This process took at least two days.

Delivery lists are now sent directly via GPRS to drivers' PDAs, saving around 200 pieces of paper a day, plus the hour and a half it took to fax them to the depots. At the end of the day, lists are transmitted directly back to the central office computer, where they are processed automatically. Any amendments can be made immediately by the driver in front of the customer, and their signature can be captured.

 

The recommendation of Talecom reportedly came from network operator O2.