trans-o-flex ThermoMed Austria: new dispatch software and self-handling by drivers accelerate delivery and increase transparency – recipients can receive detailed advance information with an expected delivery time window.
Großebersdorf got the ball rolling. The trans-o-flex ThermoMed Austria GmbH (TMA) branch near the Austrian capital of Vienna was the first to introduce new dispatch software and self-handling for delivery drivers at the beginning of February. The rollout is expected to be completed in the remaining three branches in the spring.
“We are pursuing four main goals with the new processes,” says Thomas Handlos, Managing Director Operations of the Austrian company. “The new dispatch software speeds up and optimises tour planning for our delivery vehicles. Secondly, the software can estimate the expected delivery time and communicate it to recipients. Thirdly, implementing the new processes in Austria represents a major step towards harmonising the IT solutions used by trans-o-flex companies, since the processes are already established and proven at trans-o-flex Express in Germany. Fourthly, the new self-handling module ensures that delivery drivers can start their routes more quickly.”
And how will these goals be achieved? Here are the most important questions and answers concerning this:
How does the new dispatch software speed up and optimise the tour planning of delivery vehicles?
Until now, the efficiency of dispatch in Austria has largely depended on the experience and expertise of our dispatchers and drivers. This is because the dispatch was performed manually, with the recipient’s postcode as the main criterion and other secondary criteria such as the size of the consignment. The new software, on the other hand, automatically creates the optimal routes for all delivery tours for the respective branch. In doing so it considers predefined factors such as goods receipt times or express deliveries by 12 noon. However, the dispatcher is not made redundant. Rather, they can adjust the suggested vehicle allocation or stop sequence if they can produce a better solution based on their personal knowledge.
Will every recipient now receive a notification in the morning that a consignment is on its way and the time window in which it is expected to arrive?
This depends on whether the senders subscribe to the service on behalf of their recipients. Three things are required for this: customers must book the service, transmit the recipient’s data to trans-o-flex and simultaneously obtain the recipient’s consent to be contacted by trans-o-flex.
How important is the harmonisation of the IT solutions across trans-o-flex companies?
Harmonisation lays the foundation for the various operational units of trans-o-flex to more achieve a uniform level of quality and higher levels of customer satisfaction. Standardising software systems also saves time and money. For instance, focusing on a small number of IT systems reduces the variety of variants, which lowers the costs of both the development and maintenance. Thus, there are fewer software variants, while the need for variants to be tested and training provided for them is reduced. And ultimately, software harmonisation goes hand in hand with process harmonisation. This makes it easier for staff from other sites to step in when other employees or transport partners are absent.
What does self-handling actually mean? How does the new self-handling module work? And why can delivery drivers start their tours more quickly now?
When a delivery driver has finished loading their vehicle, they previously had to leave the transhipment hall and go to a dispatch office. There, checks were performed to ensure that the route was fully loaded and ready to depart. Where the self-handling is concerned, the driver now no longer needs to leave the hall, but can instead go directly to one of the self-service terminals located in the transshipment hall. There the driver scans a QR code and the consignment is checked digitally. Any necessary accompanying documents are printed out automatically at the terminal. This saves the driver time walking around and means they don’t have to queue at the dispatch office, allowing them to start their tours earlier. This enables them to spend more of their working time on deliveries and therefore deliver more consignments.
Thomas Handlos, Managing Director of Operations at trans-o-flex ThermoMed Austria
