SmartRoutes > Case Studies > Optimizing eCommerce Delivery with SmartRoutes: A Case Study on Ridgeway Farm

Optimizing eCommerce Delivery with SmartRoutes: A Case Study on Ridgeway Farm

Technology Category

Analytics & Modeling - Real Time Analytics
Functional Applications - Fleet Management Systems (FMS)

Applicable Industries

Agriculture
Transportation

Applicable Functions

Logistics & Transportation
Procurement

Use Cases

Last Mile Delivery
Time Sensitive Networking

Services

System Integration
Testing & Certification

About The Customer

Ridgeway Farm is a family-owned business located in Wicklow, Ireland, that specializes in the production and sale of premium quality Wagyu beef. Their customers range from butchers and restaurants to households across Ireland. The farm operates an online store hosted on the popular eCommerce platform WooCommerce. As the business expanded, they faced challenges in managing their delivery operations, particularly in planning and organizing delivery routes, optimizing their growing fleet's efficiency, and communicating delivery timelines to customers. They sought an integrated solution that would streamline these processes, allowing them to focus on their core business while also improving customer service.

The Challenge

Ridgeway Farm, a premium quality Wagyu beef producer in Wicklow, Ireland, was facing challenges with their delivery route planning as their business grew. The farm sells its products to a wide range of customers including butchers, restaurants, and households across Ireland through their WooCommerce-hosted website. As their business expanded, the team found themselves spending more time planning and organizing delivery routes. The increasing fleet size made manual route planning more difficult and less efficient. They also had to communicate with customers more frequently to provide delivery timelines. The farm was looking for an integrated solution that would link to their online shop to efficiently plan delivery schedules, optimize delivery routes, and communicate delivery timelines to customers. This would not only save time and reduce costs but also improve customer services.

The Solution

SmartRoutes provided an integrated solution to Ridgeway Farm's delivery challenges. The solution involved a custom API that automatically transferred orders from the farm's online store, complete with name, address, order quantity, and customer requests, directly into the SmartRoutes Delivery Route Planner. Once a pre-defined order window closed, these orders were used to create optimized routes for their fleet. The routes were planned and sent to drivers the night before dispatch, saving them time when arriving on site to begin their day's work. The WooCommerce integration with the delivery route planner saved businesses hours in manual planning and data input. SmartRoutes pulled all the relevant order information from the online store at a specified time and automatically created a route based on the customers' addresses and order volumes. The Live Routes Dashboard gave the sales team at Ridgeway a real-time insight into where drivers were located on a route, and accurately indicated what time they could expect delivery.

Operational Impact

The implementation of SmartRoutes at Ridgeway Farm led to significant improvements in operational efficiency and customer service. Drivers reported spending less time on roadside routing and eliminated the need for unsuitable navigation apps. The robust route navigation provided by SmartRoutes removed the burden of decision-making regarding the most suitable routes, making their journeys smoother and more efficient. The automatic address validation process integrated into SmartRoutes reduced the time spent searching for individual addresses. Furthermore, drivers spent less time reaching out to customers and office staff concerning delays and missed deliveries. The solution provided predictability in driver schedules, ensuring they knew when they would finish their routes and effectively distributing the workload among the team, resulting in happier and more efficient drivers.

Quantitative Benefit