Mzansigo – On-demand and scheduled moving and furniture delivery platform

Case Study Summary:

Mzansigo South Africa is a fast-growing moving company in South Africa that connects individual customers and stores needing to move large items with owners of big trucks. The furniture delivery service is operated by two individuals – a driver and a moving assistant.

The concept of starting a moving company began when the founder of Mzansigo, Thinus, needed to move his furniture from a one-bedroom apartment to a new flat 10 km away within less than two days.

Although the task seemed uncomplicated at first, all did not go as planned. It turned out that coming across a reliable mover on short notice is surprisingly tricky.

Mzansigo offers the opportunity to move, donate and dispose of large items at reasonable prices and strives to make a pleasant and streamlined experience for their customers. Bookings are made online, and the drivers use the GSMtasks app to accept tasks with load details attached. Clients can easily track the team via the HTML link sent to their phones. Moving made easy with the help of mobile fleet management software.

Using an online booking service for collecting orders eases the burden on administrative workers, yet these requests still need to be composed of tasks with all the relevant information and subsequently forwarded to the workers.

Primarily, this was the principal reason Mzansigo decided to utilize GSMtasks’s mobile fleet management and route optimization software. GSMtasks are thrilled at the level of improved effectiveness to Mzansigo that using the mobile fleet software has made.

Tasks with corresponding client information are sent to GSMtasks using an API. These tasks are then manually forwarded to the correct drivers by office staff. GSMtasks also offers the possibility to automatically assign tasks to the closest driver, as the app also functions as a GPS positioning system; where the location of each worker can be viewed on a map in real-time.

Tasks are sent to the driver’s phone or tablet, where they can open the GSMtasks app and view the client information with the instructions of each job. The app automatically displays the fastest route to the client on the map; so, drivers don’t have to worry about finding the way even if they are not familiar with the neighborhood.

Customer satisfaction is a top priority

Word-of-mouth advertising is one of the most credible forms of advertising. Having one happy client can lead to hundreds of new ones coming your way should they make a positive recommendation about service when they have had a good experience. So, what can one do to ensure that potential brand ambassadors feel confident enough to recommend their business?

Mzansigo is one such brand that has taken a giant step forward to trigger word-of-mouth by using a mobile fleet management solution.

One great functionality that GSMtasks has is sending notifications to clients about an upcoming service or order arrival time; giving customers a chance to plan their day and cancel the appointment, e.g. when the time is not suitable.

GSMtasks automatically sends an SMS to the customer when the driver changes his/her status in the app to “Transit.” The SMS includes the estimated arrival time and an HTML tracking link so the customer can view on the map where precisely is the driver’s location.

A notification is also sent out when the task fails or the arrival time changes. Updates like these may not seem like a big deal, yet the truth is that customers prefer regular updates and appreciate the company’s efforts to go above and beyond the call of duty. Customers who receive excellent service today will ensure their friends receive the same service tomorrow.

Furthermore, keeping in touch with clients during transit will help companies manage their working time more efficiently plus reduce costs and resources. The GSMtasks app notifies the driver if a customer cancels the order or service, so they can move on to another task without becoming a deadhead task.

Digitization leads to automation

Offering a trustworthy service is dependent on several things, one instance, for example, is the way a company manages its documents. Storing correct data records are imperative, and companies should ask themselves:

·    is everything in order?

·    should a complaint arise, how would a company check its records?

·    is there enough data to support both customer and worker inquire?

After starting to use GSMtasks, Mzansigo was able to send digital confirmation sheets on their clients’ e-mails after each task’s completion. The document includes all the relevant information about the service, the client’s signature and attached photos, the price, the worker’s information, and all the times each status update occurred. A copy of the delivery sheet is sent and saved to Mzansigo’s database where it can be easily located and downloaded if need be.

Storing company data records ensures that all the parties have identical records and later complaints or misunderstandings in delivering the service can be remedied relatively easily.

Route Optimization Algorithm and Big DataThe automatic work command interface for Mzansigo was made utilizing the GSMtasks API, which is a RESTful web service for developers to programmatically interact with GSMtasks data, real-time delivery, and task management, and route optimization functionalities.

API provides a fast and accurate information transfer for larger data volumes and low data entry load. GSMtasks provides developers with simple and straightforward instructions for using the API and the team is ready to help clients with any problems that might occur regarding the installation.

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