GreenThumb

Franchise flourishes with vehicle tracking

Ten years ago, husband-and-wife Hamish and Katherine Mackay along with their son Mark spotted an opportunity to open a franchise with the biggest lawn treatment company in the UK. Soon after, the family established GreenThumb Falkirk just outside Livingston, West Lothian.

A decade on and their GreenThumb franchise is a thriving concern, with 16 staff members tending to more than 5,000 lawns throughout Scotland every year.

The right technology, the right supplier

Capitalising on its success, the business was given a significant boost six years ago when it discovered the benefits of Navman Wireless’s vehicle tracking system.

To ensure they were choosing the right provider though, GreenThumb first trialled the system alongside a rival platform but found Navman Wireless offered superior quality and reliability and was the most user-friendly of the two.

As a consequence, once the leases on both systems expired, GreenThumb chose Navman Wireless as its preferred supplier and now has all 9 of its vehicles tracked by the company.

For the Mackays, the technology’s initial pull factor lay in its ability to significantly reduce the firm's fleet insurance premium but they soon found an array of other benefits which considerably improved fleet efficiency and customer service.

“The system’s time sheet reporting function has proved incredibly useful for us,” says Hamish.

“Our drivers are paid on an hourly basis and used to be responsible for completing their own timesheets but this facility allowed us to spare them the hassle.”

The sheer level of visibility that vehicle tracking provided also had a positive effect on the firm’s outgoings explains Hamish:

“Because the system’s timesheet reports are much more accurate than our previous method, we immediately started saving money on inaccurate staff payments.”

Improving customer service with vehicle tracking

With thousands of customers, many of whom are located in hard-to-reach rural areas, time and timing is absolutely critical for GreenThumb Falkirk. To this end, vehicle tracking’s ability to pinpoint driver and customer locations has revolutionised its operation.

“At the click of a button we can see exactly where our drivers need to be and give them precise directions there,” says Hamish.

Furthermore, the technology has proved invaluable for general accountability:

“To suit our customers’ busy schedules, we provide many with lawn treatment services while they’re at work or out and about,” says Hamish.

“The vehicle tracking system from Navman Wireless records comprehensive data of all our journeys – from what time we arrived to how long we were on site.

“Having this information is a real help should a customer need to find out whether we’ve visited or if we need to confirm details of previous jobs.”

Peace of mind

In a similar vein, having access to this data has also allowed GreenThumb to determine whether vehicles have been where they shouldn’t be.

“This gives us real peace of mind,” explains Hamish, “Should a vehicle be stolen or used out of hours without authorisation, we are able to use this data and take appropriate action.”

Concluding, Hamish added: “Navman Wireless has proved extremely effective, its ease of use and the level of control it has given us over our fleet has been invaluable.”