Project
The Belgian food delivery company goes fully digital, ready to scale with Urbantz last mile delivery management platform
The food delivery industry has undergone a dramatic transformation in recent years, not least in the field of last mile delivery where customer convenience continues to drive up demand and delivery reliability is of paramount importance.
One company all too familiar with this challenge is Solucious, a B2B food service delivery partner based just outside of Brussels.
Part of Belgium’s well-known Colruyt Group, Solucious is a dynamic, values-driven company, serving the entirety of the country. It has:
Solucious aren’t just in the business of food delivery though. They also cover non-food items such as kitchen utensils and cleaning products, catering to a wide range of diverse companies including hospitality firms, care homes, nurseries and schools, and even community kitchens.
It’s no wonder that operations and order management tended to get complicated at Solucious when they were managing all of this via a manual, paper-based system.
There was an added complication if something was missing from an order. The driver had to do a handwritten note and hand this to the dispatcher, who would then have to type it up manually. It was all quite archaic really!
Isabelle Goossens – Project Implementation Manager
The Urbantz delivery management platform – a digital solution to the rescue
One of Solucious’ core company values is reliability. The team prides itself on a complete and convenient delivery service that’s supported by high stock availability and ease of use.
When assessing their options for a last mile delivery management software solution, Solucious were happy to see that Urbantz not only shared the same values, but also offered a ready-to-go platform with the dynamic route planning, driver management and customer experience features that it required ‘off-the-shelf.’
Not only that, but the Urbantz platform could be fully customised. This was particularly important for the digital transformation project that Goossens was leading, with a team of drivers assembled to test out the functionality of the driver’s app as part of the implementation process. The Urbantz team were on hand to support them throughout this, as well as gather their feedback and requirements in order to optimise the solution.
As Maxence De Vroey, Head of Fleet, Dispatching & Planning at Solucious, explains: “It was a big change moving to digital, but our drivers are happy to work with Urbantz because it’s easy. It’s just one PDA and everything is automated per their needs.”
Solucious drivers, dispatchers and customers all now benefit from the delivery management platform:
- Drivers can now clearly see what they have to do when they arrive at their drop-off points.
- Dispatchers can use the real-time, visual dashboard to see where each driver is and how they can be assisted if there are any problems.
- Customers can check their order status via the track-and-trace feature, and can prepare in advance of the order arriving.
Seamless, digital delivery – no more manual paperwork
Previously, the Solucious drivers and fleet management team were working entirely from paper. A driver’s typical day involved lots of manual checks, time spent locating customer comments, and heavy admin to file papers, note problems and log stock.
Now, the driver’s day goes much more smoothly as everything is contained within the one platform. There’s no manual paperwork and no delays, and the central management dashboard automatically updates in real-time too.
It’s not only resulted in a 50% drop in incomplete or missed deliveries for the company, but it’s also had great feedback from the entire team and their customers.
“You can access client information very easily and see the progress and backlog of drivers. You can also see the impact any delays will have on the following customers because the system automatically recalculates.
“There’s a lot of information on the dashboard, but it’s still very intuitive and easy-to-use. The Urbantz software really does help us deliver on time. ” explains Isabelle Goossens.
Scalable delivery tracking for an ambitious, growing business
With the Urbantz delivery management platform and track-and-trace software, Solucious are gearing up for their next phase of growth.
The Urbantz solution can be easily configured into a powerful last mile delivery platform for grocery workflows that keeps costs down and efficiencies up with features such as delivery scheduling, task allocation, dynamic route planning and real-time tracking.
All delivered via an intuitive, visual dashboard that helps them see exactly where their drivers are at any one time.
Solucious now have a solution in place that supports their scaling operations and ensures that their reliability metrics continue to be hit.
What’s important to us is that we are reliable, and that we deliver on time, at the right place, every time. Urbantz has helped us achieve these goals.
Isabelle Goossens – Project Implementation Manager, Solucious
Summary
By implementing the Urbantz solution, Solucious are able to hit their key company goals of being reliable, easy-to-use, and digital.
With the delivery management platform and real-time dashboard the team have a new-found confidence in their ability to deliver on time, every time, to valued customers all across Belgium.
As a result, they have managed to reduce incomplete deliveries by as much as 50% and are now actively working on expanding their last mile operation.