Peacock Bros helps Direct Freight improve its operations

Peacock Bros has worked with Direct Freight to enhance its logistics operations for more accurate deliveries, greater efficiency and improved connectivity with drivers.

Peacock Bros is one of the largest providers of supply chain offerings throughout Australia and New Zealand, and the project included deploying 1,400 mobile devices.

Direct Freight is a provider of road freight transport services in Australia, with a staff of roughly 2,500 people.

The carrier is at the forefront of technological capabilities in the Australian industry, dedicated to innovating and delivering high-quality customer service.

"At Direct Freight, we understand that the movement of goods is only the beginning of the process," says Stephen Catania, Commercial Director for Direct Freight.

"We give our customers the ability to access information on every shipment and have developed software that allows them to obtain information to initiate their own dispatch orders and trace their shipments online.

"We understand the need for continuous improvements to our technology and systems so that our staff have the capability to react to customer demands quickly."

Direct Freight worked with Peacock Bros to get better visibility of its goods throughout the supply chain and meet customer demand.

The company had previously relied on a fleet of mobile devices that was no longer suitable due to increased failure rates.

Further, the previous system used outdated communication methods, with drivers still needing to use legacy two-way radio technology when communicating on the road.

Direct Freight explored all the technology options available on the market and comfortably settled on deploying 1,400 Honeywell CT60 XP Handheld Computers.

The CT60 XP was the best choice for Direct Freight because of its rugged design, as this made it suitable for organisations needing anywhere, anytime connectivity and fast data capture for maximum uptime and productivity.

The company uses these devices to scan goods being loaded onto and off delivery trucks, as well as being signed on delivery at endpoints to make sure parcels needing to be tracked are done so accurately.

"Peacock Bros has a long working history with Direct Freight, having been technology partners for over 20 years," says Ryan McGrath, Group Managing Director, Peacock Bros.

"When their organisation required a mobility device upgrade, we undertook a thorough assessment of all solutions available to help develop a best-of-breed system to enhance driver operations as well as transport and logistics functions,"

The Honeywell CT60 XP is built on the Mobility Edge platform and features an integrated, scalable approach based on common software and hardware designed to protect migrating in the future without sacrificing enterprise security, reliability, performance or management features.

Direct Freight considered this an important component because of the scale of the device deployment, as it wanted to ensure its Android-based mobility investment would be future-proof.

The company also places importance on carefully managing sensitive customer data, which resulted in it selecting Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) specialists at SOTI to manage its fleet of mobile devices.

"Through a single, easy-to-use interface, SOTI's industry leading EMM solution, SOTI MobiControl, allows Direct Freight to have full control over its fleet of mobile devices while securing confidential company data; something that is particularly useful when a business' workforce is so mobile and always on the move," says Michael Dyson, APAC Sales Vice President, SOTI.

Peacock Bros' mobility solution also facilitates better driver operations for Direct Freight by providing enhanced GPS tracking and communication capabilities available through the Honeywell CT60 XP, allowing driver routing to be overhauled to improve delivery times.

In addition, because drivers now communicate with each other through VoIP on the mobile device, trucks no longer need costly two-way radios to be fitted and maintained, which offers significant cost savings for Direct Freight.

"Through our advanced unified mobility solution, we have full visibility of driver activity and can reroute them in real-time to avoid accidents or delays," Catania adds.

"On the road communications and management is key to ensuring driver safety, as well as the fast and accurate delivery of goods to customers. All of which are primary goals for our business."