Moores Furniture Group, a leading manufacturer of kitchens and bathrooms in the UK, is using Paragon’s routing and scheduling software to increase delivery capacity, better control driver hours and streamline transport planning. The software solution is helping to optimise the performance of its furniture delivery fleet in line with the growth strategy of the business and to meet the changing supply chain needs of its diverse customer base.
Moores operates its commercial vehicles from its central manufacturing in Wetherby, West Yorkshire, along with three regional depots in Motherwell, Gloucester and Luton. The transport planning team uses Paragon Multi Depot to manage the delivery of kitchen and bathroom products to as many as 400 customer locations nationwide. This includes construction sites for many of the UK’s largest house builders, as well as independent retailers, builders’ merchants and large DIY stores.
The Paragon routing and scheduling software has been interfaced with Moores’ back-office system to replace paper-based, manual planning. A two-person team creates weekly schedules for the transport operation, which are also used to communicate made-to-order manufacturing requirements to the factory. The planning incorporates additional orders from the company’s 48-hour replacement service that housebuilders are increasingly using to avoid delays and make the most of onsite fitters.
Drivers are provided with transport manifests, listing all drops for both one-and two-day delivery schedules, including the company’s wagon and drag operation for long distance requirements. Partners, responsible for coordinating off-loading teams at customer sites, also receive weekly and daily updates with a breakdown of loads, expected arrival times and driver contact details.
Paragon has helped Moores speed up the planning process, creating schedules that are both accurate and achievable in terms of journey and arrival times. This has enabled the company to reduce its office-based resource from a team of four transport planners to just two. Meanwhile, the system is being used by the customer service teams to enhance communications, including providing the ability to send out SMS alerts to retail customers about their forthcoming deliveries.
Steve Robinson, Distribution Manager at Moores Furniture Group commented: “The quality of our craftsmanship and our service is very important to us. The introduction of improvements such as fixed-day deliveries and 48-hour product replacement ensures we are continuously improving our service, but it also means that our transport operation is increasingly complex. We would not have been able to enhance our offering without Paragon’s routing and scheduling software. It enables us to create highly accurate transport plans, more quickly and efficiently, helping to improve service levels, while reducing mileage and expanding our transport capacity.”
William Salter, Managing Director of Paragon Software Systems said: “Paragon has enabled Moores Furniture Group to efficiently plan an ever more complex transport operation, balancing the availability of the products they manufacture with the increasing demands of their customers. By continuously refining and improving the functionality of our technology, we can support our clients as their transport operations evolve to meet client expectations and maintain competitive advantage.”
