Mobile SolutionsGrafton is able to offer its clients an easy and cost-efficient way to manage and order van stock and materials for use on housing repair contracts.
Customers include housing associations, local councils with housing stock and commercial contractors.
The Solution
As operatives use stock from their vans, they send an update on the PDA, which has all the stock items preloaded, and the system automatically sends a replenishment order to Grafton.
Benefits to Customers
This service removes the need for customers to manage their own building materials supplies, saving the cost of running their own warehouse. It minimises off-job time for operatives, gives fast replenishment of van stock, and offers just in time ordering to improve cash flow. Less manual intervention in turn reduces the incidence of human error.
Existing Success
Using the 1st Touch system, Vale of Aylesbury Housing Trust operatives use PDAs to notify Buildbase of stock used on each job and to place orders for additional parts. Large items are delivered direct to the customer, while Buildbase picks all other replacement parts ready for collection when the operative next visits the merchant. VAHT receives details of stock used against each job and operative on a weekly basis. The no-stock decision means that VAHT has reduced its stock commitment from £400,000 to £60,000 per year as well as eliminating warehousing costs such as rent, administrative charges, breakages and shrinkage. Furthermore, mobile working has resulted in VAHT rationalising its supply chain and reducing its business overheads by £150,000 each year.