A mobile solution from Spirit Data Capture has proved the right recipe for enhancing the efficiency of JJ Foodservice's delivery operations

Although JJ Foodservice already enjoys one of the highest profit margins in the food sector, the company wanted to become even more efficient – especially in its distribution operations.

JJ delivers a full range of foodstuffs from five distribution centres, and decided to automate the way it captured data relating to the truck-based deliveries it makes from these centres.

Previously, most of the data collection was carried out manually, using paper-based processes, but this approach had proved slow and cumbersome.

 

As IT manager Rif Kiamil explains: 'We realised that our systems didn't really show us what was happening in this key part of our company's activities. We wanted a better system that would provide us with real-time data relating to deliveries on the road.

'We also wanted to improve the efficiency with which we picked and handled our stock – and to boost our productivity in terms of deliveries.'

The company started looking at the options available. One of its key criteria was to source equipment that would be really reliable. 'We've seen too many mobility projects fail as a result of poor and unreliable hardware and software,' says Kiamil.

The search led the company to Spirit Data Capture, an independent consultancy that acts as a distributor for a range of leading brands in the data capture and mobile computing markets.

'Spirit was able to source some unique hardware that no-one else in the UK could offer,' Kiamil says. One of these solutions was the M3 Sky from M3 Mobile – a fully-featured PDA that runs a version of Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.

The M3 Sky includes Bluetooth wireless connectivity, GSM and GPRS communications and GPS location-finding. 'It offered us the reliability we were seeking, it was nice and compact and it was competitively priced.'

The new devices were issued to all JJ Food Service's delivery drivers. They are now being used for a wide variety of applications ranging from proof of delivery and providing invoices at the point of delivery through to internal product auditing and stock checks.

They also enable the system to track the positions of vehicles during deliveries, and will eventually be used to help the drivers navigate to their destination.

Spirit supplied the company with a complete hardware solution. In addition to the M3 Sky devices, it provided Extech mobile printers, cases, chargers and various other accessories. 'They also helped us to get the maximum benefit from the hardware and software,' Kiamil says, 'and shared their in-depth knowledge of the application programming interfaces and software development kits for the devices.'

JJ Food Service says the M3 Sky units have made a significant difference to the efficiency of its distribution operations. The company has made real savings by increasing the effectiveness of how it loads and routes it vehicles, and through better stock control.

Rif Kiamil concludes: 'We now know what is happening with our delivery service at any point in time. We can keep our customers informed about the progress of their items as all of our systems are updated in real time. The M3 Sky has improved the productivity of our drivers, and enables us to deliver more items with fewer trucks.'