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June/July 2017 Truck and Track 45
TRANSPORT MANAGEMENT
monthly basis for over 1400 customers via their extensive depot
network, demonstrating an impressive fourfold increase in work,
easily and smoothly managed through their TMS.
The company’s ICT Director Spencer Dixon believes that their
approach to embracing change and adopting new, relevant
technology has been a key factor in their growth and success.
In the 1980s they were one of the first UK transport operators to
issue truck drivers with mobile phones. In the 1990s they started
scanning PODs and offering customers access to them online, and
they’ve been using satellite tracking linked to remote temperature
recording since 2005. Their pioneering ways have continued ever
since!
In 2001 Nagel Langdons were the first to implement Manpack3,
the now ubiquitous Mandata TMS employed by many UK road
transport companies to plan, manage, invoice and report on work.
Installing Mandata ensured that solid foundations were in place
for growth, enabling the company to build upon their investment
and introduce further innovations. Spencer Dixon explains: “When
we introduced Manpack3, we were looking for something that
was truly multi-depot, flexible enough to cope with our complex
‘everywhere, everyday’ operation – and scalable to cope with future
growth in volumes and depots.”
At the time Nagel Langdons had three depots in mainland Britain
(Bridgwater, Taunton and Peterborough), plus partner depots
covering the rest of the UK and Ireland.
By 2004 they were introducing customers to online bookings
and consignment tracking and were able to remotely book their
own shipments directly onto Langdons’ Mandata TMS. After that,
updates from satellite tracking enabled them to monitor the
progress of pallets as they moved through the network.
Chris Wall, Mandata’s Client Services Director, tells us more: “It has
always been our approach to work closely with our customers to
customise their systems to their specific need. It’s the freedom not
to be constrained by technology that many of our customers value.
“Spencer is visionary in his approach, and his input, along with
feedback from our other customers, are helping us to make
continual improvements in functionality and meet market needs.”
Advances such as map-based planning to visualise routes, see
mileages and cost estimates have helped drive further efficiencies
at Langdons. Providing track-and-trace capability to customers on
their mobile devices through realtime tracking – and displaying
KPIs on dashboards to communicate realtime performance – are
just some of the ways in which the company is delivering value
through its systems.
NowadaysNagel Langdons operate nine of their own depots (two at
Bridgwater, and one each at Barnsley, Dover, Motherwell, Liverpool,
Luton, Peterborough and Redditch) plus partner sites in Ireland, as
well as direct access to more than 130 Nagel Group sites in Europe.
Whilst Mandata systems are playing a crucial role, they are only
part of the story, as Dixon goes on to explain: “Mandata gives our
staff the tools they need to make good decisions with realtime,
accurate information at their disposal. The systems do lots of funky
stuff in the background and save us a lot of valuable time, which
in turn enables our staff to concentrate on delivering the personal,
proactive and consistent quality service our customers have come
to rely on and expect from us.
“Having a good TMS with realtime information at your fingertips is
vital. OurMandata TMS has changed our business, by enabling us to
grow and offer unrivalled service by reacting quickly to customer’s
needs.”
To recognise the company’s achievement, at the CV ShowMandata
presented the team from Nagel Langdons who processed the ten
millionth job with the Mandata Pioneer Award – as pictured left.
Is your Transport Management
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