New Plymouth-based Freight & Bulk Transport Holdings (FBT) is a medium-sized rural transport operator which services farmers and other commercial operators across a wide geographic area. With over 30 bulk and spreader trucks the company's operations range from spreading and fertiliser blending to quarry work and bulk haulage.

FBT wanted to automate its largely manual paper-based procedures but it was frustrated by the limitations of a legacy DOS-based system. The company looked for a sales and stock management system that could be fully integrated with an accounting system to provide a real-time view of the business, but the search was fruitless. Some systems came close, but were cost prohibitive. Most others could not cope with the transactional complexities of rural transport.

Undeterred, FBT decided to develop its own system, combining its knowledge of rural transport with a technology partner skilled in the development of transport industry software solutions. From what first started as an idea and a blank slate, OrderMaster was born.

Complexity demands flexibility
The big issue for FBT was flexibility. The company needed a system to cope with complex operations and varied customer transactions.

“We had to take into account all the variable aspects of the FBT operation and the myriad of supply chain relationships, which in some cases see up to seven parties tied to a single transaction,” says FBT general manager Andrew Croad. In a typical job, FBT would initiate and manage job quotation, invoicing and related consignment information.

The information is commonly shared between a number of parties, including the fertiliser merchant, landowner, sharemilker and spreader. Split invoicing (where one party pays for haulage and the other for fertiliser and/or spreading) is also common, bringing additional complexity to the invoicing process.

Stock management was another pressing issue. FBT needed to control consignment stock and required a system that could monitor stock levels, their movement and location. Core sales information had to seamlessly update inventory information requirements, subsequently making redundant physical stock-takes, and providing a single window into the business.

“There were so many iterations on a theme, so we needed to have the inbuilt flexibility,” says Croad. “No available system enabled us to do what we needed to.”

Though grappling with some unique factors, FBT’s objectives were universal to business. The goal was to develop a future-proof system that would reduce costs and promote best practices to help grow the business.

Laying the foundations
The first step in OrderMaster’s development involved documenting FBT’s business processes, starting with a job and the typical attributes attached to it, from initiation to completion. This groundwork provided FBT with the opportunity to review its business processes and, ultimately, create the operations framework to identify new efficiencies and opportunities to grow revenues long term.

Taking FBT’s new operations framework and using the core functionality of Fujitsus’ Master series of Transport software solutions, Fujitsu developed a range of modules for OrderMaster. These included inventory, quotes, orders, job entry, dispatch, job confirmation and invoicing. A file transfer system also enabled core information captured in OrderMaster to be posted directly into FBT’s financial system.

Windows-based, OrderMaster provides FBT with the ability to harness a mobile data solution that sends job details and messages directly to the driver fleet via mobile data terminals.

Results – mastering rural transport
OrderMaster has redefined the way FBT manages its sales operation, providing immediate efficiencies and a platform for growth not before achievable.

“FBT has delivered significant return on investment,” says Croad. “Almost immediately we have been able to redeploy staff, reduce credit processing, and introduce a number of efficiencies into revenue capture and management of sales activity.”

By eliminating manual paper-based processes, FBT can process invoices faster, more accurately and better support a real-time sales operation. “During busy times we can generate up to 2,000 invoices a day. We have effectively replaced a stack of paper, which sometimes took days, weeks even, to process,” says Croad. “What’s more, we’ve increased accuracy and have the invoice in the post the next day, which has improved cash flow. And, all this with less staff.”

A key strength of OrderMaster is its job planning functionality. This is particularly powerful for a transport operator with customers spread across a wide geographic area, says Croad. “OrderMaster enables FBT to allocate vehicles to a time period, improving vehicle scheduling, capacity utilisation and customer satisfaction. You don’t want empty vehicles unnecessarily travelling big distances because you don’t have the information to keep an eye on them.”

Stock loss has also all but been eliminated, as OrderMaster’s all-in-one offering means nothing is lost in translation between separate sales and stock systems.

“Fujitsu has proven to be a reliable business partner, demonstrating great commitment to the ongoing development of OrderMaster. We now have a product that FBT can confidently say will allow us to grow our business and accommodate change as our customer requirements change.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION//

FUJITSU NEW ZEALAND
+64 9 921 8093
www.fujitsu.co.nz