Companies still managing their pallet and equipment pools through stand alone spreadsheet software are losing thousands of pounds in lost time, productivity and equipment.
According to one leading software company, spreadsheet management is dated, time inefficient and lacks the power of integration to effectively track and collate pallet/delivery information.
Ewa Groszek, operations director with Equipment Tracking Ltd maintains that the failure to accurately collate equipment information is leading to increased compensation claims and incorrect invoicing.
"With consolidation and the drive to regulate logistics, it is essential that organisations install software that has the functionality to manage large consignments and complex tracking, while allowing integration to collate essential information. The days of the spreadsheet are numbered", predicts Groszek.
Recent figures from the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, reported that the UK logistics sector is worth an estimated £5 billion to the economy. With companies, large and small, managing anything from 5000 to 5 million pallet movements each year, accurate control in the distribution cycle is paramount.
Software developers at Equipment Tracking have worked with operators and managers throughout the industry to build a wealth of knowledge covering everything from in-house systems for hauliers through to complex pallet management programmes for companies including, Heinz and Wincanton.
Their MPC System helps companies to analyse delivery costs by equipment type. The one-touch system allows companies to introduce competitor pallets, differing service offerings and prices together with drill-down access to numerous different information silos. "We have designed MPC not to be colour-blind, like others systems that see a pallet as a pallet rather than a blue for Chep red for LPR and brown for IPP, " comments Groszek
The company currently manages equipment hold pools in excess of 500,000 Chep pallets, plus an addition 200,000 other items. Annually the company direct more than 5 million movements.
Groszek added "We specialise in pallet management. We manage out-sourced programmes and write software for in-house installations. We understand the necessity to ensure data is collated and integrated. Stand alone spreadsheets are slow and involve the use of multiple portals, spreadsheets, or edi declaration processes to manage balances.
"Our customers see cost savings and superior reporting as soon as the software is installed. The information held on the system allows each business to identify high cost areas and improve efficiency; in this way they make additional savings. Not one of our managed customers has incurred any compensation charges to their suppliers from the date we started to manage their pools