Descartes Systems Group, a global on-demand software-as-a-service (SaaS) logistics solutions provider, has contracted to roll out its routing, dispatch and intelligent automated vehicle locator (AVL) services at AmeriGas, the largest retail propane marketer within the United States. AmeriGas says that following its successful implementation of other Descartes solutions, it now is targeting additional operational savings and productivity improvements to help manage a segment of its national propane delivery operations of more than 3,000 vehicles.
By combining route planning and delivery visibility between dispatchers and the field, Descartes says its intelligent AVL service extends the traditional route planning process and provides real-time delivery status, which helps improve customer responsiveness through real-time status updates, forward predictability and enhanced exception alerting. According to Descartes, this information allows AmeriGas to reduce the need to track delivery schedules and identify potential service issues through exception reporting.
“Our organization is focused on improving customer service and operational efficiency, as well as reducing our impact on the environment,” says Eugene V. N. Bissell, chief executive officer of AmeriGas, based in Valley Forge, Pa. “With the extension of the Descartes solution to include intelligent AVL with routing and dispatch, we can modify our routes dynamically as changes occur during the day to optimize our performance and enhance our responsiveness to customers.”
AmeriGas says Descartes Routing, Dispatch and intelligent AVL solutions are an integral part of its current delivery technology strategy. The Route Planning, Dispatch and AVL offering is hosted by Descartes, which it says results in reduced implementation costs and shortened time-to-implementation to help AmeriGas impact its bottom line quickly.
“Our solutions don’t cost, they pay,” says Adam Moore, senior vice president of Descartes, based in Waterloo, Ontario. “Our customers have realized benefits and cost savings quickly, allowing them to focus on other areas of their business. We also help our customers leverage existing technology investments and extend their business processes further. This is the case with Amerigas, with a planned integration to an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution, to help them extend their end-to-end delivery management operations.”
