As part of its exciting 2015 development plans, PHS Teacrate is introducing handheld personal digital assistants (PDA’s), to provide real time information for its office removals operation. The business, which rents, sells and delivers around 25 million packing and other crates each year, is to offer its customers from January 2015, paperless delivery scanning.
This will enable removal companies, major rental hirers’ and facilities managers to have delivery information that will allow the tracking of crates during delivery, collection or if switched between internal departments or offices. The investment by PHS Teacrate should reduce stock losses, whilst also highlighting potential bottlenecks and overcoming some of the perceived anonymity involving unmarked delivery crates.
The paperless solution provides vital delivery and collection information which can either be automatically emailed directly to the customer or accessed via a portal login solution. The driver’s handheld PDA immediately alerts PHS Teacrate in the unlikely event of any delivery or transcript errors allowing the firm to take immediate action.
Introducing environmentally friendly handheld PDA devices will reduce the amount of paperwork involved and is part one of a three phased technology investment programme, which will eventually allow large organisations to handle their own internal moves by giving facilities managers access to optional barcoded delivery crates. The final phase of the programme will provide access to various additional reports including unallocated crates, stock flow, daily summary reports and even extended rental alerts.
PHS Teacrate’s decision to introduce handheld PDA solutions is expected to increase crate visibility, provide better crate control and give customers an improved flow of information in an inexpensive but more effective and environmentally friendlier method.
Whilst everyone involved can profit from the new crate tracking, the company envisages that rental customers will enjoy the most benefits from new service due to the often high volume of crates involved.
The barcoding of crates will be offered to customers in early 2015 as an optional second phase for those using its lidded containers LC1, LC2, LC3, LC6 and computer crates IT1 and IT2.
Managing Director, Gordon Philip, who is pioneering the project, says: “Providing our customers with real-time information is a no brainer because the technology is easy to understand and use, and also acts as a reminder that we take crate tracking very seriously. We will also be introducing optional barcode tracking because it is now relatively low cost and will provide some of our customers with much needed extra information.”
PHS Teacrate handles millions of crates every year in a variety of dimensions. It operates its own fleet of vehicles from eight depots and has a reputation for fast and reliable delivery which has put it at the forefront of the industry.
Parent company PHS Group is one of the UK's leading workplace service providers. It has grown from a family run firm in 1963 to become a multi-divisional, multi-national company, servicing over 200,000 customers at over 450,000 locations. The Group employs more than 5,000 staff and has a wide network of over 140 regional service branches, strategically located throughout the UK.