Descartes Systems Group, the global leader in uniting logistics-intensive businesses in commerce, announced that the U.K.’s leading kitchen retailer, Wren Kitchens, is using Descartes’ dynamic appointment scheduling, route planning and optimisation solution to improve surveyor productivity allowing them to complete 56% more customer appointments and significantly reduce its overall ‘cost per appointment’, which has saved the company £2million annually. The solution has dramatically improved the productivity of Wren’s surveyors, who typically visit a customer’s home to provide estimates for kitchen or bedroom renovation projects.

“As the business expanded, we outgrew our legacy in-house system. We wanted a more robust tool with the ability to book appointments with 2-hour time slots and optimize who, where and when a surveyor visits to carry out customer estimates,” said Lee Holmes, Transport and Logistics Director at Wren Kitchens. “With Descartes, now when a customer books an appointment, the comprehensive solution works in the background to automatically optimise surveyor schedules and travel routes to appointments. This enables us to increase the number of appointments per day in an area, which not only lowers mileage and fuel consumption but also drives down the cost per appointment. Working with Descartes, we’ve saved 13% on annual fuel costs, which equates to approximately 354,000 fewer miles driven.”

Descartes’ routing solution is part of its cloud-based last mile delivery solution suite, which helps distribution-intensive companies improve operational efficiency and customer experience. It supports dynamic delivery requirements, including same-day delivery, by offering flexible, efficient and cost-effective time windows and delivery options. Using advanced optimisation technology, the solution reduces the distance driven per delivery to maximize delivery capacity and optimize the productivity of mobile resources. With an integrated GPS-based mobile application, the solution coordinates drivers, dispatchers and call centers to ensure routes are executed according to plan and exceptions are handled efficiently. Electronic proof of delivery (ePOD) captures delivery details and streamlines the delivery process, and self-service customer engagement allows customers to track orders in real-time. Additionally, the solution improves delivery sustainability through increased route productivity, which lowers CO2 emissions per delivery, drives fuel savings and eliminates paper manifests and documents.

“We’re pleased that our routing solution is helping Wren achieve even higher standards of customer service excellence and exceptional productivity gains, which are driving compelling bottom line benefits,” said Gary Taylor, VP Sales, EMEA, Descartes said, “For companies with service-driven vehicle fleets, like Wren, efficient routing is critical in overcoming the challenges associated with rising customer demands and labor shortages. Descartes’ route planning and execution solutions help companies of all sizes in diverse industries transform operational performance and heighten the customer experience.”