Improved Driver Engagement - Retail Own Fleet, Avonmouth

“We use Connected2 for all our contract driver requirements. It’s a great platform that's really easy to use and adds a huge amount of value to my transport operation. We now have a pool of contractors that operate at the same level as my own drivers - ready and available whenever we need them. The platform is also really easy to use, and helps to streamline my internal contractor management processes - it also saves me money too.” - Transport Manager, Avonmouth

Site Study - Avonmouth:

With over 500 stores nationally the transport operation needs to be flexible and be able to react to the ever-changing needs of the business on a day to day basis. The transport operations work to RDC trunk runs in the evenings and store deliveries throughout the day.  

Driver compliance, health and safety and clear communication are all essential attributes for the drivers to adhere to and maintain. A rigorous assessment and induction process is therefore mandatory for all - which requires significant investment by the company to ensure contract drivers meet the required standard.   

Historically maintaining the required fulfilment levels on the weekend runs from their Avonmouth site have been the most challenging. While occasionally requiring contractor support throughout the week, its the weekend shifts they need the most flex driver support on.

Building an assessed pool of drivers with Connected2:

The transport team wanted to build up a pool of assessed and inducted contract drivers who wanted to do the weekend shifts and could be allocated as and when they needed them. A close working relationship with all their drivers helps to maintain high standards and meet the high fulfilment levels. Therefore they also wanted this pool of drivers to understand and adhere to their operational procedures to maintain the service levels they are able to achieve with their employed drivers. 

The transport team was able to clearly specify exactly what they were looking for when posting out assessments to our prechecked and vetted community of drivers. As the applications came in the transport team were able to review the detailed driver profile, picking the best drivers to in invite to an assessment.

“Assessments and inductions are essential, we can’t cut any corners on this - being able to post out assessment slots onto the platform worked really well for me - I could see the driver applications coming in, review their profiles and then pick the ones that I wanted to bring in.” - Driver Trainer

The Result:

The Transport operation now has a pool of contract drivers they treat as their own, posting shifts on to the platform as and when needed. They now use the Connected2 platform to book 100% of their contract driver requirement. 

The planning teams log into the platform as they allocate their own drivers to runs, sending out all the excess requirements to the pool of assessed verified drivers. As the applications come in the drivers are allocated into work, all via the platform, all within a few clicks.

“The platform is really easy to use, I have my templates set up for the shifts I need - when I know what runs I need filling, it takes me a few clicks to send the shifts out - its great - plus it saves me loads of time having to ring round a load of agencies trying to find drivers.” - Planner

Drivers submit their hours and any receipts through the platform, ready for approval. With everything in one place, the timesheets are verified against the digicard and signed off. Once all the timesheets are approved then an internal PO can be raised and entered straight into the platform. Once a week has been signed off, it’s stored in the platform, capturing each and every step was taken at an individual shift level - enabling us to provide detailed reports as and when required.

“Checking and approving all the drivers hours on the platform saves me loads of time. I log in on a Sunday afternoon and all the drivers hours and any expenses for the week are there, ready for me to review. I can click into them and see every action performed, by who and when - saves me loads of time chasing around for information. Once I’m happy, I raise the PO internally and add it to the platform to sign off the week.” - Transport Supervisor

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