Wednesday, May 20, 2020 – The Austrian building material and tile dealer C. Bergmann KG has switched its tour planning at its headquarters in Traun to the integrated transport control center and telematics system opheo, thereby significantly improving customer service and efficiency.
Changing proven workflows usually meets with resistance from employees. The power of habit is strong and people are rarely truly open to new processes and solutions. The workforce of the Austrian building materials dealer C. Bergmann at the central location in Traun is an exception here. When the integrated transport control center and telematics system opheo was introduced here in February 2019, important suggestions for improvement and ideas came from the ranks of the employees.
Fully Digitized
For example, the three foremen in the warehouse immediately recognized the opportunities that digitized dispatch would bring them. After all, the main tasks of the foremen include controlling the twelve forklift drivers who are responsible for picking up to 80 tours every day. “opheo not only makes the tour plans transparent, but also the arrival times of the trucks in the warehouse,” explains Diplom-Ingenieurin (FH) Margit Oberbramberger, who heads the Organizational Development and IT department at C. Bergmann.
The transparency is the result of the consistent digitization of all processes between order receipt and delivery. At C. Bergmann KG, customer orders for delivery and supplier orders for collection are continuously transferred from the ERP system to opheo and compiled in the dispatch cockpit into optimized tours with up to 18 unloading points. These are sent via mobile radio to the driver terminals of the type TomTom Telematics PRO 8375 installed in the truck and processed by the driver. Not only the four own vehicles, but also 17 vehicles from transport companies were equipped with the compact on-board computers and the telematics app opheo Mobile installed on them, which plays a central role in the overall solution. The drivers receive order data and delivery addresses via opheo and can use the integrated truck navigation to guide them to the next destination. Every reached shipment status is documented at the touch of a button and, like the current position data, transmitted to the headquarters.
More Space Thanks to ETA
With this information, opheo can calculate the arrival time at the customer, the estimated end of the tour and the time of return of each driver for each shipment. At C. Bergmann, not only the dispatchers benefit from this, but also the foremen, because an ETA monitor that is visible from afar has been installed in the warehouse office, which shows the order and the ETA arrival times (Estimated Time of Arrival) of the trucks that will be arriving soon, calculated by opheo. In addition to the ETA monitor, the foremen have insight into the planned tours, which they can call up on the PC.
If further tours are planned for the current day, the goods can be provided precisely when they are needed, which minimizes the waiting times of the trucks in the warehouse. “In addition, we gain valuable space in the staging area, as only the building materials required at short notice for loading are now stored there,” emphasizes Rainer Baumschlager, who is responsible for the fleet and transport logistics at C. Bergmann KG. In the past, the order pickers lacked clarity about the priority with which the orders planned for the respective day should be treated. It happened that some tours were already provided in the morning, which were not loaded until the afternoon.
SMS is Ahead
The sales staff were also enthusiastic about opheo from the start, because with the help of opheo, customers are now informed about upcoming deliveries. The message is sent automatically as soon as the truck falls below a certain distance to the destination. “This gives us a real competitive advantage,” says Margit Oberbramberger, who conducted a customer survey in the run-up to the IT project. “The timely notification about an hour before delivery is particularly appreciated by our construction site customers, who can optimally allocate their personnel and create space based on our information,” explains the Diplom-Ingenieurin.
opheo also offers the option of an e-mail notification, but C. Bergmann has deliberately opted for the SMS transmission path. “This is because an SMS is not as easily overlooked in the hectic construction site routine as an e-mail,” knows Rainer Baumschlager, who shares his office with the dispatcher and is therefore aware of the current delivery status at all times.
Easier Lateral Entry
Until the go-live of opheo, the dispatcher worked as a driver and had no office experience to date. The quick and problem-free switch from truck control to the desk is thanks to the easily understandable structure of the opheo dispatch cockpit, which makes lateral entry much easier. He is supported by graphic operating aids.
Currently, work is being done on maximum transparency for the automatic cost allocation. This plays a major role in so-called mixed tours, when goods from the various business areas for building materials, structural and civil engineering as well as tiles are transported on one route. To date, the allocation was still done manually with the help of a report form filled out by the driver. The system-supported automatic cost allocation represents a clear simplification of work and more cost truth than the drivers’ estimates.
Further Locations
Conclusion: After eight months of practical use, the integrated transport control center and telematics system opheo has proven itself at the headquarters of C. Bergmann KG in Traun. In addition to the service quality, efficiency, transparency and employee satisfaction have been noticeably improved. There are plans to introduce the solution in the larger locations.
Background: C. Bergmann KG
Bergmann is one of the largest and most traditional building materials dealers in Austria. The family business, founded in 1860 by Carl Borromäus Bergmann, is active in the building materials, tile, glass and door wholesale trade as well as in concrete and glass production. At the seven locations in Traun, Linz, Salzburg, Graz, Villach, Rankweil and Brunn/Geb., around 300 employees generate annual sales of more than EUR 100 million.
More information at www.c‑bergmann.at
