We’re all more concerned than ever about our impact on the environment.
‘Reduce, reuse, recycle’, going zero-waste, a ban on single-use plastics, and the electric vehicle movement are all buzzwords for the sustainability efforts that we know are necessary.
Renewable energy is another.
The sustainable energy choice
The UK’s pellet market has exploded in the past decade, from almost no use of wood pellets at all to today’s premium pellet market of 500,000 tonnes per annum.
Land Energy is the of the largest wood pellet manufacturers in the UK. With a focus on biomass energy sources, they’re bringing wood pellet energy into the mainstream, helping more and more users – both commercial and domestic – to move away from conventional fossil fuels.
Land Energy takes its sustainability credentials seriously.
From their raw materials – using logs rejected by the sawmill sector, sourced from forests within 80 miles of the factory and replanted within 12 months of felling – to the ultra-low carbon footprint of their biomass-powered production process, which uses virtually zero fossil fuels.
But delivering 100 thousand tonnes of wood pellets each year across the UK comes with its own logistical challenges.
Simplifying the bulk delivery process
The key challenge for bulk haulage, like Land Energy’s pellet deliveries, is knowing the exact amount of product to be delivered.
While a traditional goods haulier or retailer knows that a customer has ordered two desks, for example, or six pallets of wine, bulk hauliers don’t necessarily know upfront the exact quantity to be delivered.
With Stream’s Bulk Quantity Adjustments feature, Land Energy’s delivery specialists are able to log the actual metered quantity dispensed, in the driver mobile App, as and when the delivery is made.
By adjusting the quantity of pellets delivered at the point of delivery, Land Energy can offer the flexibility and visibility their customers and operational staff need:
- Back-office operational staff no longer have to spend resources chasing numbers from drivers and manually adding them to the system
- Inventory stays up to date
- Customers can be billed as soon as the pellets are delivered, improving cash flow
- Equally, customers are aware of the pellet quantity and invoice amount as soon as the delivery is made
- Fewer mistakes are made, as drivers record the precise amount of pellets delivered and can even record photos.
Seeing the Benefits of Stream
Customers, staff and drivers have all seen huge benefits since Land Energy got started with Stream in December 2018, and all their bulk-deliveries are being managed with Stream Go. Land Energy’s bulk-pellet customers now get:
- Price quotes sent automatically, including a full breakdown of costs
- Delivery estimates in two-hour time slots, with the option to either accept or reschedule
- Proactive delivery notifications via email and text message
- On-the-day delivery time information with up-to-the-moment accuracy, based on driver location
- Delivery sequence messages, like “There are 2 deliveries before you” and “you are the next delivery”
- The ability to watch the driver on a map and see accurate delivery information, via updated tracking links
- A post-delivery email, complete with details like:
- The exact amount delivered
- The delivery report form
- Information about any issues highlighted by the driver
- The digital signature
One Land Energy customer commented on what a relief it is to be able to see that the Land Energy truck is en route when you’re running low on fuel “What a great system!”.
Drivers, too have seen the advantages of using Stream Go. The wealth of information available in the driver app means delivery specialists are able to just get on with the task in hand. They can view directions, phone numbers and delivery information at the touch of a button. One of Land Energy’s most experienced drivers commented: “it’s such a slick, well thought out system. Stream saves so much time and nobody needs to call me to ask when I’m arriving as my location is fed directly to the customer”.
Turn
Prior to using Turn for our HGV fleet, we relied on our drivers using their own personal SatNav or Google Maps.
“We were heavily reliant on the driver having the right Sat-Nav for HGVs. Google Maps is not a suitable option either, as it currently lacks turn-by-turn navigation for HGVs and other commercial vehicles” says Gary Duckworth, Land Energy’s Transport Manager.
Land Energy has been using Stream to carry out its deliveries for a number of years. When the option to add Turn to their existing subscription arose, they jumped at it.
Gary explained:
“What appealed most was having a HGV-specific SatNav, but without having to have an extra device attached to the vehicle’s windscreen. Automatically pulling through all the truck dimensions from Stream also made it very easy.”
As well as ensuring that each truck now only navigated down roads suitable for heavy vehicles (and avoided low bridges), Gary also explained that Turn has significantly reduced tribal knowledge throughout the logistics operation and increased flexibility:
“If one of the drivers didn’t have specific local knowledge of a delivery location, and how to navigate there safely, that was increasingly an issue. Our transport planning team were having to give more directions and assist drivers with their route planning.
“Don’t use this road, for example, as there is a low bridge. Turn means any of our drivers can jump in the cab and navigate to each delivery location safely. Personally, I’m based in the South West. We do have a lot of narrow roads down here in rural locations, which aren’t necessarily restricted for weight for instance, but we know that they’re not suitable for a truck”
“Using the Waypoints and Avoids functionality in Turn and Stream, we can ensure that these roads are avoided. Likewise, we can ensure that specific access routes are enforced in the app. We can even ‘play’ the route through the app to make sure it’s safe and compliant before the driver sets off”.
