A bit about Lola’s Cupcakes
Lola’s Cupcakes is a leading London-based bakery founded in 2006, delivering a range of cupcakes and brownies to private and business clients across London. They have been using GSM Tasks’ software to manage up to 10,000 deliveries per month, and as a company, made over 40,000 cupcakes last year alone.
Their network of 40-50 drivers required a solution that was easy to implement, accommodating to last-minute changes, and simple to use for both driving and office staff; an accessible customer interface was also a priority.
Delivering a virtual logistics solution
In many ways, the client’s needs were pretty straightforward, on hearing the business case from the owner we understood that our product was a perfect fit. The main goal for the client was to notify his customers in real-time of their order’s movement; from the bakery to the shop, the shop to the customer, throughout the entire delivery at every step.
GSM Tasks offered them a notification system that will trigger an email and text message from each event along the delivery’s journey, from the minute the driver starts driving to the arrival at the customer’s desired pick-up location as well as all other points in between.
The business of delivery tracking laid bare
The whole delivery system is stored on the customer’s database, sent to GSM Tasks software through API. Each driver downloads the GSM Tasks app onto their smartphone which acts as a portal and GPS positioning and tracking tool, negating the need for expensive additional hardware and facilitating seamless switching or registering of drivers onto the system.
A simple mobile app with location permissions gives the driver all the delivery jobs assigned to them and works out the most effective route and schedule based on customers’ needs and real-time mapping and traffic information. Drivers can see this information in map view, as well as job lists.
Each and every step of the delivery is logged by the app, and at each point, the driver can send the customer notifications, call the customer, and set a status for both the customer and the office to see.
The status of the order is color-coded to signify whether the delivery is in transit, delivered or failed, the office staff can see the status of all their deliveries and drivers on the map, they’re also able to see at a glance how smoothly the deliveries are running. Customers will also get a simple HTML tracking code link by SMS that allows them to track the delivery in real-time on a map in any basic web browser.
Reduce costs, be transparent, and exceed customer expectations
It has been proven that our software reduces driving time by an average of 6%, and this also translates to cost. A more efficient delivery reduces mileage, which in turn saves on fuel, but the real advantage for small businesses is that they are able to reduce delivery times and fit in more deliveries over the day, a perfect recipe for growth.
Customers that order food wants to know where their order is, our solution allows clients to keep their customers in the loop at every stage, even when things go wrong. A real-time system lets the distribution team know if there will be a significant delay almost as immediately as the delays might occur, giving the company the opportunity to intercept and offer the customer a resolution – may be before they even become aware of a problem.
The next step for GSM Tasks and Lola’s Cupcakes
GSM Tasks 2.0 will soon be live, there will be subtle changes to the interface to make the dashboard more customer-friendly. The optimisation system is due to be updated to include cargo load management and distribution of deliveries amongst drivers. This will have untold benefits for clients such as Lola’s Cupcakes who are based in a busy metropolis with ever-changing traffic network conditions.
Plans to add more languages to the already extensive options will allow clients like Lola’s Cupcakes to take on drivers who may not speak the native language of the country in which the business is based, currently, there is a range of languages in use on the app, meaning that a multilingual workforce can work together whilst barely noticing other members of the team may speak another language – this is particularly useful when working with temporary workers at short notice, opening up many more options.
Data as a money-saving by-product of our software
Operating up to 50 drivers across London, seven days a week, 365 days a year using our system will inevitably gather a significant amount of valuable data. After a sustained amount of time, the client will be able to use said data to learn more about the area of the business that requires tweaking, the areas that are performing well, and the changes that ought to be made for optimum operational efficiency.
Knowing how long the average driver takes to make a certain delivery will help the company set the bar for expected delivery times, make sure there are no individuals spending too long on certain tasks, and make changes to the logistical flow for an overall better customer experience.
