Andrew Ingredients streamlines transport management with Pocket Box Fleet

Andrew Ingredients, a leading ingredients supplier for the bakery and food services sectors, reports that it has transformed its transport and warehouse operations with used vehicle and asset management solution, Pocket Box Fleet. Since adopting the software, the company has streamlined its management processes, enabling it to strengthen safety compliance, reduce maintenance costs by 10 per cent, and free up more than 40 hours of time each week.

“Following strong and consistent growth in recent years, I would not be able to coordinate our compliance and maintenance requirements without Pocket Box Fleet,” explained Sammy Adams, operations manager at Andrew Ingredients.

“The software has become invaluable, providing the data capture and reporting tools essential for managing our fleet of HGVs and fork-lift trucks, along with other materials handling and warehouse machinery.”

Andrew Ingredients operates a fleet of nine 26-tonne HGVs with tail lifts and ten fork-lift trucks from a 35,000 sq ft warehouse in Lisburn, Northern Ireland. The facility stores over 2,000 ambient food products, serving customers across the UK and Ireland. Over the past five years, the company has been taking order fulfilment to 800 Irish customers back in-house, with 96% of 1,200 weekly orders now handled by its multi-drop delivery service.

To support the ongoing growth and changing logistics requirements, Andrew Ingredients decided to implement Pocket Box, replacing a previous paper-and spreadsheet-based system. This was designed to simplify vehicle safety checks, compliance reporting and maintenance scheduling, with all information available via the cloud-based software. The company has since extended the scope of the solution, using Pocket Box’s asset management module to track a wide range of warehouse equipment and cleaning tasks.

QR codes are located on all HGVs, fork-lift trucks, machinery and warehouse locations, so drivers and operatives simply need to scan them using a Pocket Box-enabled mobile device to bring up the required check or task. Bespoke pre-shift, walkaround checks have been created to align with the necessary health and safety and food standards requirements, with photo capture and accurate timestamping. Any missed checks immediately trigger an alert, allowing the operations team to quickly resolve an issue.

“If something is not completed, it appears on my to-do list to chase up, so nothing can be overlooked,” added Sammy Adams.

“Nothing can be faked, because everything is timestamped and all details are stored digitally in one place. This is combined with maintenance scheduling so we know what we have coming up and once completed we can upload any supporting documents. When we have a DVSA or BRCGS audit, everything is available with a click of the mouse, which means there is no risk of misplaced records or compliance gaps.”

Andrew Ingredients is using Pocket Box to make informed decisions around vehicle procurement. Data insights into vehicle performance and defects are helping the company to calculate the most appropriate time to replace a vehicle to reduce maintenance and operation costs. As a customer-driven business, it is also crucial for Andrew Ingredients to minimise vehicle downtime to avoid service disruptions and reputational damage.

Sammy Adams concluded: “Pocket Box is playing a significant role in us providing a first-rate delivery service and maintaining a facility with BRCGS AA accreditation, both of which contribute to the success of the business. We are also planning to increase our warehouse capacity by around 50% and expand our vehicle fleet as part of a five-year growth strategy, so it is crucial we have the systems and processes in place to help achieve our objectives.”

Jim Finnegan, CEO of Pocket Box commented: “Our cloud-based software was developed to take the stress out of fleet and asset management. We are working with a growing number of road transport and warehouse operators because we are providing the digital tools they need to stay compliant, reduce costs, and stay in control.”