General All Purpose Plastic

GAP in the market

The Navman Wireless tracking system is helping General All Purpose Plastics Ltd (GAP) stand clear of the competition, ensuring fast and accurate delivery to all its customers.

As one of the UK’s leading suppliers of plastic building products, it is important that GAP stays ahead of the pack by offering a service that is second to none. After incorporating the Navman Wireless tracking solution into all its vehicles the company is now able to pin-point exactly where each and every delivery is, with a locating system that provides up to the minute information.

It is this accuracy that has helped ensure that GAP remains one of the top suppliers to house builders, contractors and architects. With over 300 staff across nine depots and 36 vehicles, there is a lot to keep track of, which is why the Navman Wireless tracking tool is an invaluable part of the company. As Mick Skinner, GAP’s Manager, explains: “It is so straightforward and easy to use, I would recommend it to anyone.”

Customer Relations

At General All Purpose Plastics, providing the best possible customer service was the main reason for implementing the Navman Wireless service. Now, with Navman’s vehicle tracking system incorporated into every vehicle in its fleet of 36 delivery lorries, GAP has improved the level of customer service it can offer considerably. When dealing with clients who are reliant on the arrival of products for the completion of their building projects, it is important that deliveries arrive on time.

With real-time tracking for each vehicle, the staff back at base can provide far more accurate ETAs to customers. Because of this level of service, customers are seeing far less downtime on their jobs, something that has worked in GAP’s favour. Mick Skinner, a manager of GAP, explains: “The Navman Wireless tracking system is an additional tool to our service - in fact our sales people now use it to sell GAP to prospective customers. Having it indicates our commitment to a high quality service.”

Proof of Delivery

And being able to provide more accurate delivery details is not the only thing that Navman’s tracking solution has brought to the company. As well as proving its worth to customers, thanks to a reliable and swift delivery service, GAP can also back this service up with proof of deliveries based on the accurate readings from the on-board Navman tracking.

Efficient and Effective

Because the team back at base always knows where all the vehicles are, a considerable amount of time can be saved on pick ups and deliveries. If a call comes in for an urgent delivery, the team can always locate the closest vehicle, ensuring that goods can be collected and dispatched in the fastest possible time.

Being able to locate the closest vehicle, without having to ring each driver to find out his whereabouts, makes it far easier to run an efficient service to support the needs of the clients. “All the internal sales team have the system so they can give clients instant answers about last minute deliveries or pick ups, rather than having to ring round all the drivers and then get back to customers,” explains Mr Skinner. But as well as saving time, Navman’s vehicle tracking system has also saved money for General All Purpose Plastics.

Dispatching the nearest vehicle means saving on fuel costs because the tracking system also ensures that drivers take the most direct route, guided by the on-screen information. So for both GAP and its customers, the service has proved to be a winning system.

Ease of Use

Being able to keep track of all the vans across the nine different depots was of great importance to GAP. But implementing a service that the whole sales team had to use meant that it had to be straightforward to operate. Luckily, the Navman Wireless vehicle tracking system has already proved itself popular with the team. Says Mick Skinner: “We looked at a number of different systems, but the Navman service won hands down for ease-of-use.”