BigChange technology drives Acumen Service Improvements

Posted on 16 January 2019 by Martin Port

Acumen, the provider of industrial site services and waste management solutions, has deployed the latest mobile workforce technology to streamline and expand its business.

The system combines CRM, Job Scheduling and Mobile Apps used by back-office personnel, drivers and field operatives connected in real-time to cloud-based operational management software; all part of a 5 in 1 solution from Leeds-based BigChange.

With headquarters close to the landmark Ferrybridge Power Station next to the A1M in Yorkshire, Acumen currently employs 90 staff and operates a mixed fleet of vans and HGVs including tankers and roll-on roll-off trucks. First established in 1994 and still privately owned, the company offers a range of waste management, site clean-up and associated environmental products and services.

Acumen has embarked on an ambitious growth plan to double the size of the business in 5 years. The business is very diverse and the company realised it needed to completely transform its IT with a modern, future-proof system that could handle the very varied operational needs.

Kris Sutton, Acumen’s Finance Director comments:

“We had a multitude of different systems operating in silos with stand-alone systems for waste management, vehicle tracking and CRM that were all disconnected. We realised our wish for an all-encompassing system that could do everything and handle the complexity of our business was a tall order,”

Leon Kirk, Acumen’s Group Managing Director explains:

“Initially we looked at BigChange just as a works management tool to get rid of paper reporting but it soon became evident that it offered a lot more and crucially the software could be easily customised. That was a revelation as we had not found anything else that came close to meeting our group-wide needs. Now we see BigChange as central to our growth as we are no longer constrained by any IT system,”

Acumen operates from 7 locations and provides services throughout the UK. The company operates liquid and solid waste treatment and recycling solutions, contracted total waste management services and industrial cleaning services. Acumen is a well- respected specialist working closely with the Blue-Chip industrial clients and regulators such as the Environment Agency.

Acumen has pioneered the use of new technology in the hazardous waste and recycling industry. Innovations include AcuBin and HazBox services that ensure hazardous waste disposal remains compliant and ClearWater, a water recycling system that uses harmless micro-organisms to clean contaminated water from grounds drainage or washdown areas.

BigChange mobile apps are used for everything from electronic consignment notes, job-sheets, time-sheets and expenses, health and safety, defects reports to job quotes and invoicing. Drivers clip their tablets into dashboard cradles when on the move and service operatives access the apps using their mobiles phones. The data is real-time synchronised with the centralised BigChange cloud system giving management visibility of the operation across all divisions and locations.

Kirk Says:

“BigChange gives us a single overarching system to provide complete and real-time management visibility. We can drill down from a high level business performance reports down to the details of individual jobs. BigChange has really revolutionised our operations and the cost is no more than our previous system but it does a lot more and has already replaced 5 separate systems.”

BigChange Cleans Up With an All-In-One System for CleanSafe

Posted on 1 December 2018 by Martin Port

Emergency clean-up company CleanSafe has transformed its business with an end-to-end management system from BigChange.

The cloud-based system combines back office management, customer service and accounting functions with live fleet monitoring and the latest mobile working technology. CleanSafe field technicians have been equipped with rugged Samsung tablets running JobWatch; the BigChange system that provides apps for paperless mobile working.

Armed with JobWatch, 70 CleanSafe field technicians provide a 24/7 emergency cleaning and restoration service with a 2 hour response time. CleanSafe operates nationally from headquarters in Surrey with regional offices in Cannock, Manchester and Livingston. CleanSafe is part of the SafeGroup, who also operate waste management, pest control and Legionella prevention reactive and planned services.

CleanSafe has implemented BigChange as a complete management solution, handling the entire business process from customer call to invoicing. Calls are handled within a CRM application which in turn links a job scheduler and route planner, with allocated jobs being posted to the appropriate field resource. Jobs are listed on the technician’s tablet that provide navigation to site and apps for safety, job management and reporting; eliminating all paperwork.

Caroline Bigg, Finance Director, CleanSafe, comments:

“With BigChange we are completely paperless and that provides big benefits in efficiency and productivity.”

“We are a reactive business and the system helps considerably; our technicians no longer need to report to the office and during the day we can dynamically reschedule to optimise the mobile operation and improve response times.”

All CleanSafe vans are fitted with BigChange satellite tracking that not only provides real time location to keep customer services up to date on each job, but also allows driver monitoring to encourage safer driving.

Bigg explains:

“BigChange provides a wealth of data that we simply didn’t have before and that means we can closely monitor and improve our performance across the board.”

“BigChange is a true end to end solution with everything completely integrated and that is tremendously beneficial as it means we can work fast and efficiently; no more paper, no more data entry, fewer customer queries and quicker invoicing.”

Bigg adds:

“We reckon BigChange saves up to two hours a day that we previously spent trying to sort out the day’s work and administration. All in all that probably equates to an extra job a day for a number of our operatives. Annually that equates to over a million pounds of extra income.”

Previously with their paper-based system it used to take CleanSafe up to a week to raise invoices. Now with real time and accurate reporting from technicians at the end of a job, invoices can be raised within 24 hours.

Steve Broughton, CleanSafe’s Managing Director, says:

“The combination of tracking data, customer signature capture and before and after photographs mean that we have irrefutable evidence of every job completed. With the paperless, real time reporting we can invoice immediately and customers know what they will be invoiced. So from my perspective the biggest benefit of BigChange is simply that it allows us to invoice correctly and quickly and that means we get paid on time. It’s good for business”

Broughton adds:

“Large corporates typically spend hundreds of thousands of pounds developing their own IT systems to meet their business needs. What BigChange has done is built that system but for everyone. And it’s accessible and adaptable for different businesses. For SME’s this is fantastic as we can compete on a completely level planning field. We know that we can meet all of the business needs – from service delivery to compliance – with one affordable system.”

Sherwoods Builds a Business Case for a BigChange One-Stop Management System

Posted on 20 November 2018 by Martin Port

Sherwoods, the FM building services company, has assisted its business with a 5 in 1 mobile management system from BigChange.

Sherwoods’ field service engineers are equipped with the latest ruggedised tablets running a completely paper-free system. The mobiles are live connected to the cloud hosting a complete management solution from BigChange that covers everything from CRM to routing, purchasing, job scheduling, certification and invoicing.

Founded in 1970, with a 48 year history and still family owned, Sherwoods provides a genuine one-stop-shop range of services and has grown to become one of the fastest growing sustainable FM building services providers, covering all of the South West UK. The company has grown organically with successful apprenticeships underpinning growth.

Kevin Sherwood, Managing Director of Sherwoods, comments:

“We invest in people as our primary focus, our people are everything. They are central to our success and our future. Many of our key people started with us as apprentices, with 2 of these apprentices now Directors and owners.”

“By coincidence it was the BBC show The Apprentice that increased our interest in BigChange when we read one of the show’s winners set up a new business utilising BigChange. We also discovered that the Marketing Manager at BigChange also starred on the show.”

Sherwoods has long been an early adopter of technology with vehicle tracking first employed back in 2003, and digital service management software and PDAs employed across all operations since 2007.

Sherwood explains:

“When we saw BigChange for the first time we realised that the JobWatch apps could really help us make a positive difference, and assist our mission to become the FM Building services partner and employer of choice across the UK Southwest region.”

“The BigChange team understood logistics and why real time, open, accessible, transparent and visible information is vital to us continuously improving communication, managing compliance and risk, and delivering the best service experience possible for everyone involved throughout the life of a job.”

Sherwoods has a 35-strong team of mobile field engineers, residing across the region and working from home providing comprehensive coverage across the UK South West region, including Hampshire, Bristol, South Wales and Cornwall and all postcodes in between. Services include Compliance, PPM, Project, planned & reactive maintenance 24-7 365 days a year.

Being a true one-stop-shop, the Sherwoods’ multi-skilled, in-house directly employed team of 50 take care of everything from a permanently manned Opsdesk, roofing, electrical, plumbing, drainage, gas, oil, LPG, HVAC and all exterior and interior building fabric. ‘Roof to Drains and everything in between’

Sherwoods’ mobile field engineers use JobWatch for everything from timesheets, jobsheets, signature capture and certification – with photographs. JobWatch is used 100% of the time to provide an evidential record of all works, with GDPR compliant, real time data, always available online.

Sherwood added:

“We really like the fact that with JobWatch we write our own workflows and customise it for everything we do. It is a flexible system and being a cloud service, it allows us to grow in line with our sustainability agenda without being burdened by IT capability or capacity.”

“The apps and tracking are only one part of what BigChange provides; it is a complete end-to-end solution. BigChange like to call it a 5 in 1 system but it is actually a lot more than that. For us it provides a seamless solution between our office, field, client and suppliers, that is used all the way from initial customer enquiry through all communication to resource management, procurement, service delivery, KPI reporting and invoicing.”

With conservative plans to double the business turnover by 2022, Sherwoods work with private and public organisations, with a diversity of clients and sectors that include local, regional, national and international brands.

Sherwood states:

“Our company values are to be adaptable, fun, honest and committed; we live and breathe these values. Those are values we see in BigChange as well, and it makes for a good partnership.”

“The team at BigChange are open and transparent and they want their clients to talk to each other to improve each business and their product. JobWatch facilitates our mission and vision and shows our values providing data that is open and accessible. We share GDPR compliant data with our clients; nothing hidden, we are completely transparent, building trust which is also completely central to everything we do, and always will be.”

BigChange All-in-One Management System Delivers Improved Service for D-tox

Posted on 14 November 2018 by Martin Port

Portable sanitation providers D-tox have rolled out a real-time mobile and office management system to eliminate paperwork and boost productivity.

The 5 in 1 system from BigChange incorporates mobile apps running on rugged tablets and vehicle tracking, live connected to back office software for job scheduling, CRM, invoicing and management reporting.

Entirely cloud-based and seamlessly integrated, the solution from BigChange has replaced three separate systems and added new levels of automation for the business.

Established for 25 years, D-tox provides portable toilet and welfare facility products and services, with tankered liquid waste collection and non-potable water delivery. Servicing construction sites, outdoor festivals, shows and events, the West Midlands based company operates a fleet of effluent tankers and smaller vehicles for servicing, delivering and collecting portable units.

Christian Heritage, Managing Director of D-tox, comments:

“We realised several years back that we wanted to move to electronic POD’s and remove the need for paper notes, after a couple of years searching for a suitable system we found Big Change and have been actively using the system since then.”

BigChange integrates with Inspire, the hire management system used for invoicing equipment hire jobs. However BigChange handles the complete business process with call details entered into the system for job scheduling, routing with optimised allocation to vehicles and drivers.

Heritage explains:

“The good thing about BigChange is that it ticks more boxes that anything else on the market. What we really want is a single system to do everything, simply and seamlessly. And that’s what BigChange does,”

“With our hire system unable to handle jobs such as tank empties, BigChange was easily configured to manage all non-hire jobs including the invoicing.”

D-Tox drivers receive their daily jobs on their Samsung tablets running JobWatch; the BigChange mobile worker solution. Providing Google Maps navigation to site, electronic job sheets and time sheets, a JobWatch workflow takes the driver through steps that include risk assessment, photo capture and POD with customer signature sign off.

Heritage added:

“BigChange is a great management tool. By giving us instant access to all the information we need, when we need it, it greatly reduces our response time for customer queries. Any system that helps raise our levels of customer service is a great bonus.”

“We can instantly see any unallocated or incomplete jobs and crucially invoicing is linked directly to the work so as soon a job is complete we can invoice. Ultimately this means jobs cannot be invoiced unless they have been completed.”

Heritage continued:

“There are several aspects of the system that we are still looking to utilise more and these include the customer portals and job collaboration. When we have implemented these parts fully we hope to allow our customers to view their booked in jobs and PODs online. The collaboration tool will be a great asset as it allows other companies using BigChange to work with us when they want us to service units on their behalf.”

Heritage colcludes:

“We are impressed with BigChange, they seem to be constantly innovating and when we ask for things they listen and get on with developing the system. Like many family owned and operated business D-tox pride ourselves on our service levels and BigChange has really helped us improve in this area.”

BigChange Passes the Big Test as Eurofins Transforms Logistics

Posted on 8 November 2018 by Martin Port

Eurofins, the international analytical testing company, is employing the latest mobile and cloud technology to transform its logistics operation.

The company has begun rolling out a 5 in 1 system from BigChange that integrates mobile and back office apps to provide live operational control of a fleet of 50 Eurofins vans that collect food and water samples from clients across the UK.

Called JobWatch, the BigChange system automates processes with digital workflows that replace traditional paperwork. Eurofins has invested in the complete end-to-end solution combining vehicle tracking and mobile apps, connected to back office CRM, routing and job scheduling.

Chris Evans, Head of Logistics Food & Water at Eurofins, comments:

“Eurofins is an acquisitive company and expanding fast in the UK and internationally. That creates real challenges for management when looking to integrate different operations with their legacy IT and varying procedures,”

“Introducing BigChange technology company-wide is very important as it will allow us to centralise our fleet operations as well as standardising working practices across all regions.”

Eurofins a respected world leader in bioanalytical testing with a global network of 250 laboratories across 40 countries. BigChange is being introduced initially within the Food and Water division that tests mainly potable water and products from food manufacturers.

Evans added:

“Eurofins became aware of BigChange following the acquisition of Exova in 2016, who had successfully implemented JobWatch. With the growing business we faced a real challenge to get everyone working as a team and it quickly became clear that BigChange provided the solution. It will provide one system for all allowing for centralised planning and national coordination.”

Eurofins is equipping its 50 drivers with rugged Samsung tablets that replace traditional paper trip sheets. On arrival at customer sites or collection points, drivers use the tablets to enter details of samples being collected. Collection and handling requirements vary and are very critical, for example should a sample be transported in the ambient or chilled compartment of the van.

Evans continued:

“Digital workflows have been set up in JobWatch to ensure the correct procedures are followed and that is vital when dealing with food products and water.”

Eurofins will use BigChange back office functions, such as CRM, job scheduling and routing, to manage everything from order to collection and customer service. The fleet is also being fitted with BigChange vehicle tracking which not only provides live monitoring of the fleet but useful driver performance monitoring.

FSH Builds a Smarter Future with BigChange Mobile Workforce Technology

Posted on 18 October 2018 by Martin Port

FSH, the one-stop construction company servicing the north of England, has transformed its business with a 5 in 1 management system from BigChange.

Operating as a cloud service linked to mobile apps used by workers onsite, the solution provides FSH with real time operational information for improving efficiency, productivity and service.

Employing 132 mobile tradesmen and 65 office staff, the Castleford headquartered company has regional offices in Hull, Liverpool and Newcastle-upon-Tyne. FSH specialises in insurance-related work, typically repairing flood or fire damaged properties. A new construction arm handing reactive maintenance work is also driving expansion in sectors such as social housing and education.

With a fleet of 132 BigChange equipped vehicles providing live data for managing operations, tradesmen are being equipped with rugged Samsung tablets running JobWatch. Mobile apps completely replace paperwork with live data reporting and the devices capture useful time and location stamped photographs, as well as customer signatures.

Matthew Cappleman, Managing Director of FSH, comments:

“We work mainly for the UK’s biggest insurance firms and providing a consistent high quality rebuild and refurbishment service is absolutely vital,”

“The monitoring and reporting of our work on site is however just as important and that’s where BigChange comes in. It gives real-time visibility of every job and provides an audit trail of all work. That means we can not only manage work better and improve customer service, but we can also provide insurers with immediate job updates and evidence of work done.”

Operationally JobWatch is used from job start to completion with tradesmen receiving jobs scheduled by BigChange. The devices are used for daily vehicle checks and on departure the tablets are clipped in dashboard cradles to provide navigation to the job location. On arrival, JobWatch ensures the tradesman completes a risk assessment and captures photographs showing the current state of the work site – with photographs repeated at the end of the day.

Cappleman added:

“BigChange really does expedite everything as our tradesman can go straight to the job and put in a full, productive 8 hour day. The system also ensures good work discipline and good practice as the tradesmen are in effect self-managing their work, backed up with their reports and photographs. With JobWatch there is no more sitting around and managers no longer need to go onsite to check the work. Everyone wins.”

With the entire fleet tracked, FSH has an instant view of all vehicle locations. This allows tradesmen working on reactive maintenance to be dynamically re-scheduled to urgent jobs, gives customer services valuable insight into any delays arriving onsite and also helps in the quick retrieval of stolen vans. However according to FSH, it’s the logged data that is of particular value.

Matthew Cappleman continued:

“BigChange logs vehicle movements so we’ve always got evidence of arrival and departure times should queries arise. The data helps us check timesheets, monitor unauthorised mileage and spot poor driving. With weekly driver performance reports we have seen an all-around improvement in driving and not only is that good for staff safety on the road but ultimately it means less vehicle wear and tear and better fuel consumption.”

Stuart Welburn, Finance Director at FSH agrees that BigChange has had a positive impact, added:

“Certainly BigChange has been good for business and we estimate efficiency gains of 2 or 3 percent. However, we anticipate it will improve our profitability not only through better utilisation of our resources, but by generally improving our services to continually improve our reputation and win more business.”

BigChange Provides Complete Business Solutions with a 5 in 1 Mobile Management System

Posted on 9 October 2018 by Martin Port

Complete Business Solutions, one of the UK’s leading providers of business supplies and services, has transformed its delivery operations with a 5-in-1 cloud-based management and mobile working system from BigChange.

The Wakefield-headquartered company, which has 20 branches nationwide and operates a fleet of 150 vehicles, is equipping its drivers, installers and technical service engineers with mobile devices running a series of apps to completely replace paperwork.

The mobile apps are part of JobWatch, the multi-award winning innovation from Leeds-based BigChange. The first phase of implementation includes electronic proof of delivery (POD) with a sign-on-glass app that connects in real time to Complete Business Solutions’ accounts system, part of their own ERP system called Horizon. This integration means that customers now receive an immediate confirmation of delivery and allows invoices to be raised straight away.

Through JobWatch, deliveries are planned and scheduled, with drivers receiving their delivery schedule on their smartphones. Vehicles are also equipped with BigChange satellite trackers giving customer services a live view of vehicle locations and expected delivery times; information that will soon be provided to customers through text or email ETA alerts.

Chris Newman, Group Operations Director at Complete Business Solutions, comments:

“BigChange really has made a big change to our business”

Newman added:

“We now have a seamless, paperless system all the way from order to invoice. By receiving electronic PODs we have immediate and accurate information and we’ve eliminated the subsequent data entry – something that was proving to be a huge burden as the business grew.”

The company is also using JobWatch apps for vehicle checks by drivers, allowing instant electronic reporting for improved compliance management and in the case of defects, easier maintenance scheduling. Electronic worksheets have been developed for use by installers that will include time and location stamped photographs of installations, and also worksheets and test reports for mobile engineers servicing office equipment.

Complete Business Solutions is a unique business offering virtually everything a business needs to operate, from one single supplier, from chairs to photocopiers, to vending machines and paper clips, as well as company stationery and print. Complete has 16 in house specialist divisions with real expertise in each one, and end to end control.

Newman continued:

“We don’t just deliver the last mile, our drivers go the last inch, to the right place on the right floor, and that’s why we run our own fleet and employ our own drivers.”

“With such a wide mix of products and services our logistics are challenging, particularly as we operate 20 branches and 16 specialist divisions and we are continually acquiring new businesses. It’s not a challenge others want to take on but we’ve built the business based on what people want. The appeal of one single supplier for everything they need at the right quality and the right price and it is proving to be a winner.”

Newman concludes:

“The introduction of BigChange provides us an excellent and unrestricted IT platform so that we can continue to expand without being restrained by our IT and resources. The management information provided by BigChange is also proving to be a real asset and we have all sorts of useful data we didn’t have before. It’s allowing us to analyse deliveries per van, driver performance, optimisation of routes and stock holding as well as helping us meet our ISO environmental targets.”

BigChange Delivers 20% Productivity Gain for Housing Units Home Deliveries

Posted on 12 September 2018 by Martin Port

Housing Units, the award-winning home furnishings retailer, has implemented state-of-the-art mobile technology to improve its expanding home delivery operation.

The 5 in 1 system from BigChange provides mobile apps that connect to customer services to provide real-time visibility of delivery and installation operations.

The two-man delivery crews are equipped with rugged Samsung tablets running BigChange JobWatch mobile apps that are used for vehicle inspections, navigation and live reporting on job status with supporting photographs. Entirely cloud-based, the BigChange solution is used by Housing Units customer service operatives to monitor over 300 deliveries a week.

Housing Units celebrated 70 years in business last year and has bucked the trend with steady expansion and a successful business model that has been recognised through awards including the UK’s No 1 department store and retailer of the year. Headquartered in Oldham with an extensive store nearby, the company has just completed a £5m expansion of the store and distribution centre.

Housing Units sends optimised delivery routes to the BigChange job scheduler for access by drivers on login into their tablets. After completing a vehicle check using JobWatch, the device is clipped into a vehicle cradle to provide navigation to each delivery and then used again on arrival for risk assessment and job completion with a customer signature on screen.

With each delivery and installation, photographs are captured to provide a record of the completed job showing the location and condition of goods delivered. Special templates have been created in JobWatch for items that are prone to damage in transit – such as bathroom ceramics – that customers are asked to sign off as delivered undamaged.

Claire Wild, Distribution Administration Manager, Housing Units, Commented:

“BigChange really has made a big change to our customer service operation. Customers get text alerts reminding them of their agreed delivery time and with the tracking we can immediately contact them if we get delayed. Then we have a complete insight into the progress of every delivery job as it happens.”

Claire added:

“Crucially, the system provides undisputable evidence that the driver turned up at the agreed time and departed with all goods in place and undamaged. This is really important and it has led to a reduction in calls to customer services, allowing cases to be closed much quicker and has all but eliminated false claims.”

Deliveries take on average 18 minutes and Housing Units are using tracking data to compare schedules against actual journey and stop off times. Geofencing is also used to alert the office if vehicles are ‘off route’ and in danger of running late. JobWatch is also useful for contacting drivers with a messaging facility ensuring communication even when out of phone reception.

Claire continued:

“The customer services team rave about BigChange. It really has made their job easier as they are always fully informed on delivery activity and at each delivery location they can even click a button to access StreetView to see the situation outside the customers’ home. Handling customer calls is much easier and should disputes arise, they have all the information they need at their fingertips.”

Karl Shackley, Operations and Distribution Manager, commented:

“BigChange has certainly had a big impact on our business. As well as the gains in customer services, it has eliminated all sorts of paperwork improving efficiency. We reckon the productivity of the delivery operation has been increased by 20 per cent.”

GAP transforms business with a BigChange to mobile operations

Posted on 4 September 2018 by Martin Port

GAP Hire Solutions has equipped 400 of its drivers with tablets as the first part of the roll out of a 5-in-1 management solution from BigChange.

Called JobWatch, the cloud-based system incorporates a range of mobile apps with live tracking and job scheduling. It also links in real time to GAP’s back office systems, such as their central hiredesk, CRM and financial system.

Mark Emery, GAP’s Systems Development Manager, commented:

“The BigChange solution is transforming the way we work by eliminating lots of cumbersome paper forms. The live data feeds to our central systems will result in significant benefits to the business by providing complete management visibility of our operations across the entire depot network.”

“This visibility means that for the first time we will be able to manage the entire business nationally, allowing for example, the sharing of plant and equipment between depots. We foresee JobWatch providing significant improvements in utilisation, efficiency and customer service.”

The mobile apps include electronic signature capture with proof of delivery (POD) and proof of collection (POC) records automatically uploaded onto GAP’s Smart Office system. This eliminates calls to depots as all information will be available for everyone immediately online. Ultimately GAP’s customers will have the ability to access records of their hires themselves.

The first phase of implementation sees 400 delivery drivers equipped with Samsung tablets and later GAP will extend the system to 200 customer service fitters. Delivery and collection jobs are sent directly to tablets that sit in dashboard cradles and can be quickly detached for signature capture, taking photographs and even completing vehicle checks.

Emery added:

“This new technology is going to make life a lot easier for staff and customers alike.”

“It will provide immediate and clear evidence detailing when our drivers turn up on site. An electronic signature will provide proof that equipment was delivered or collected – when and where.”

The devices have in-built data messaging and satellite navigation that automatically routes vehicles to their destination. GAP’s customer services will be able to see the exact location of every vehicle in real time to keep customers informed of ETAs and work with the driver to ensure the correct drop-off location.

The devices can be used to take time stamped and georeferenced photographs. This photo capture is also useful to provide evidence of arrival onsite and to record damage to plant. “In addition to the environmental benefits of reducing paper with JobWatch, we will be able to bill hires more quickly and with less invoice queries. If a charge is questioned we’ll be able to answer the question immediately as the data will be online,” Emery added.

Martin Port, CEO, BigChange commented:

“We are delighted to be working with GAP and looking forward to help them drive BigChange.”

Silentnight and BigChange are Logistics Awards Finalists, thanks to 400,000 litre fuel saving

Posted on 2 July 2018 by Martin Port

The UK’s leading bed manufacturer Silentnight has saved more than 400,000 litres of fuel in the last five years, cutting CO2 emissions by over 1,000,000 kilos as part of its sustainability drive.

The leading manufacturer identified an opportunity to enhance its delivery experience for both the independent retailer and the home-delivery customer and implemented the BigChange Transport and Delivery Management technology in 2013, before upgrading to the latest version in July last year. The move has now seen the business named as a finalist for a Technology and Innovation award at the prestigious Logistic Awards 2018.

From its state-of-the art factory in Barnoldswick, the Silentnight Group manufacturers over 500,000 beds per year and delivers direct to consumers, via a network of independent stores and through some of the UK’s leading furniture retailers.

The BigChange platform offers an all in one system combining back office delivery planning, a proof of delivery app for drivers, defect management and real time tracking, alongside paperless delivery which ties into the company’s wider sustainability agenda.

Robert Livingstone, Operations Director at Silentnight said:

“Our aim is to not only deliver the best night’s sleep for our trade and home delivery customers with market leading products, it’s also about ensuring we lead the market with our delivery service.

Robert Continued:

“The BigChange technology has ticked so many boxes for us; it’s driving tangible savings, transforming customer service and is a key part of our sustainability drive.”

Silentnight has prevented a staggering 105 million plastic bottles from going into oceans and landfill in just one year, after launching its Eco Comfort mattress manufactured from 150 plastic bottles. It has also pledged to support the Marine Conservation Society as part of its drive towards a greener planet.

The Logistic Awards is an annual celebration of excellence in the logistics and supply chain sectors, recognising the most impressive achievements throughout the industry over the past 12 months. The winners of the 2018 awards will be announced at the awards ceremony on Thursday 20 September at the Swan, Shakepeare’s Globe, London.