McDonalds logistics partner Keystone Distribution UK has broken new ground in becoming the first to implement Paragon’s innovative ITIS-based road speed data for transport optimisation.
The addition of reliable road speed data to Paragon’s routing and scheduling software has enabled Keystone to improve the accuracy of its daily transport planning. This new feature of the Paragon system automatically calibrates routes and reduces time consuming data set-up.
Keystone Distribution supplies the entire UK network of McDonalds restaurants with all its products from food to packaging and cleaning materials, making around 200,000 deliveries per year. The company uses Paragon’s routing and scheduling software to produce core schedules and daily plans as well as for strategic planning of new routes. For Keystone, the incorporation of ITIS road speeds has improved results and removed the need to manually manage road adjustment regions within the plan.
“We were delighted when Paragon approached us to test its new ITIS road speed map functionality. This has removed discrepancies between plans and what was actually happening out on the road. The ITIS information is incredibly accurate whether for long haul or city driving and we have seen a huge improvement in our delivery performance by using it to automatically calibrate our plans. This in turn has improved our service levels and made our drivers happier as we can now give them true timings for each leg of their journey. It has truly exceeded our expectations,” said Peter Holdsworth, Head of Scheduling, Keystone Distribution.
Holdsworth highlights that by using ITIS data, plans will always be accurate as the information is regularly updated. This will allow Keystone to further develop the system to incorporate dynamic scheduling, with variable plans that allow for greater flexibility of the delivery fleet.
Keystone Distribution collates and processes orders from hundreds of outlets every day with the aim of delivering 100% availability with first-class quality assurance. The company distributes over 1 million cases of frozen, chilled and ambient product each week throughout the UK, including the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, from its three distribution centres in Hemel Hempstead, Heywood and Basingstoke.
