Whiteline guarantees delivery quality with CALIDUS ePOD

Eastbourne bespoke window and door manufacturer Whiteline has selected the OBS Logistics electronic proof-of-delivery (ePOD) system to improve delivery quality for its customers. The system will ensure that customers will receive complete orders and prevent goods from being unloaded incorrectly. This will improve customer service and reduce the costs associated with having to reschedule, reship and resupply items at Whiteline’s expense.

“OBS Logistics offered a very competitively priced solution that is both flexible and scalable. Essentially, it will provide the accuracy we need to boost the quality of our deliveries and customer service. We will have a real-time view of the deliveries, showing what has been delivered to each customer and allowing us to address any inaccuracies immediately; this will have a significant impact on our quality of service,” says Ken Gray, Head of IT at Whiteline.

Being a flexible solution, Whiteline will be able to extend the ePOD system’s functionality.

“We need to know that what goes on the delivery vehicle comes off it and that it all comes off in the right order and in the right place. Traditionally, customers in their eagerness to help with the delivery and get their orders off the vehicle will assist the driver with unloading. This can lead to the incorrect items being off loaded with the inevitable impact on other customers. Unfortunately, it is only after the event that such issues come to light,” says Ken Gray.

“We then have to reactively manage and put right any discrepancies, which wastes our resources and holds up work for our customers. We have been working on improving this, so that delivery accuracy is improved hugely and so that we can proactively manage any issues that occur,” he adds.

“On occasions we also need to collect payment before deliveries are off loaded, however, the current system can be 48 hours old and as such disputes can arise, the new system will be in real time and therefore be accurate and up to date. The system will enable us to take much greater control of these outstanding payments. We anticipate being able to deal with debt collection more efficiently and reduce the administrative workload so that our people can have more time to service our customers. Again this will improve our quality of service.”

Looking ahead, Gray sees more potential improvements driven by ePOD. “Once the new solution has settled in, we will look at using the system to improve our returns process by scanning bar codes on return notes, enabling us to respond more quickly to our customers.”

Whiteline is a full-service window, door and conservatory fabricator and supplier, based in Eastbourne, Sussex and serving installers across the South and East of England for nearly 30 years. The company is committed to supporting its retail clients with quality products – like the energy efficient PlatinumNRG range, quality service, innovation and customer support.