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As a fleet owner, your day-to-day costs can quickly add up. What you don’t know is there are further hidden, expensive...
Read moreDPD is Europe's second largest postal group, with over 15,000 staff operating 10,000+ vehicles across 84 countries – delivering more than 260 million parcels every year.
DPD Ireland was founded in 1986 and quickly grew from 10 depots to 35, becoming the country's largest dedicated parcel delivery service.
In recent years, DPD Ireland continued its expansion, doubling the size of its Athlone logistics hub and trebling solution capacity from 7,000 to 21,000 parcels per hour. Further investments in sorter technology and real-time track and trace have cemented the company's position as the leading innovator in the parcel delivery industry.
The challenge
Shortly after joining the company, DPD Ireland's Motor Insurance Administrator, Jamie Donoghue, knew a change was needed:
Our previous system was ok, but it wasn't reaching the standards we needed it to reach.
The key areas for improvement were transparency and reliability. With hundreds of drivers deployed at any given time, small inefficiencies can quickly add up to a significant dent in productivity and profitability. Jamie and his team needed fast and easy-to-access insight into potentially unsafe and uneconomical driver behaviours such as idling, speeding and harsh driving.
At the same time, DPD needed reliable location information as close to real-time as possible to assist with proof of delivery and to locate and reroute drivers to extra parcel collections that arise throughout the working day.
Hardware and communication issues also played a part in the search for a new telematics solution. Unfortunately, problems with wiring caused the previous provider's system to disconnect, making it difficult to track vehicles in the field. On top of this, contracts would often expire without warning, leaving depot managers searching for dashcam footage that was no longer accessible.
The solution
DPD went into the market and quickly homed in on two or three providers they believed could offer the required support.
After a short trial of the Verizon Connect solution, a decision was made to implement the system throughout the Irish operation. User-friendly dashboards, mobile applications and dedicated customer services were all primary drivers for taking the decision.
It's a very user-friendly system, and the fact it can be used via mobile makes life easy. And it's not just the system, but the customer service is also very good. Any issues in early implementation were resolved within 24 hours.
Jamie and his team also felt that Verizon Connect could offer tools to boost safety, security and accuracy above that of other providers.
From an insurance point of view, the alerts from the system are very useful, and from a security point of view, the tracking is accurate. So, we felt it was the right solution for us – and we still do.
The result
Since rolling out the Verizon Connect solution, DPD has seen improvements in communication and efficiency across its Irish fleet. With accurate location information available in near-real time, depot managers can better locate and reroute drivers, reducing unnecessary mileage and time behind the wheel.
The Verizon Connect solution has also helped to reduce accident investigation and resolution time and offer support against liability. With alerts as soon as a collision or near miss occurs, office staff can quickly review footage in the cloud, downloading videos as required.
After a recent incident on a narrow road, depot managers watched the event back, clearly determining that the driver could not avoid the collision and proving that the third party was at fault.
Driver behaviour has also improved as a result of implementing the new system. With automated reporting and accurate data gathered on multiple metrics, from speeding and idling to late braking and harsh cornering, DPD can coach and incentivise improved performance, saving money as a result.
We have looked into driving behaviour, and this has improved massively, which of course, saves money on fuel.
Depot managers also use geofences to help spot and eradicate unauthorised use by placing virtual perimeters around vehicles when drivers are not scheduled to work.
With a view to the future, DPD Ireland has already begun the process of adding driver-facing cameras to support in the event of break-ins and theft. Verizon Connect is also assisting with the fleet's ongoing transition from traditional fuels to electric vehicles.
Since we started rollout, we have about 700 vehicles with the system. The more vehicles we have kitted out, the better it is for us and the more security we have.
