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Customer Story:
The Cress Company
Challenge
The Cress Company's route planning was heavily dependent on a small number of key individuals, creating operational vulnerability and limiting the team's ability to scale.
Manual planning processes were time-consuming and inconsistent, making it difficult to maintain efficiency as order volumes grew.
Approach
Access MaxOptra was implemented to automate route planning and remove single-person dependencies.
The system's configurability allowed it to be tailored to The Cress Company's specific routing requirements, and the Access MaxOptra team provided strong ongoing support throughout the implementation.
Results
- Planning efficiency improved significantly, with the team able to plan routes faster and more consistently.
- Single-person dependencies were eliminated, reducing operational risk.
- The business gained confidence in its logistics operations and a scalable platform to support continued growth - describing Access MaxOptra as 'a game-changer' for route planning and logistics efficiency.
About The Cress Company
Based in Dunfermline, Fife, The Cress Company distributes ambient and chilled speciality, artisan foods across the UK using their own fleet of 40+ dual temperature (ambient/chilled) vehicles. They are proud to supply over 3,000 customers, including delis, cafés, farm shops, garden centres, butchers, fishmongers, bars and hotels.
The company started in 2004 with a small lock up and a second-hand van working with five or six Scottish fine food manufacturers who were looking for better distribution throughout Scotland. As the business, grew, they opened additional depots in Leighton Buzzard, Maltby, Telford and Bristol and now offer national distribution.
The Cress Company are proud to work with hundreds of fine food manufacturers distributing thousands of different products. They are members of the Guild of Fine Foods and Farma and are keen to support both independent manufacturers and retailers. They pride themselves on looking after their customers and ensuring they listen and adapt to their needs.
The challenge
Prior to Access MaxOptra, The Cress Company were using a couple of other routing and planning providers. However, there were multiple issues with the systems, and the required support to fix these was not easily offered.
As a result, roughly 50% of the planning process had to be done manually. A considerable amount of time was spent manually planning and reworking routes, often requiring two people to spend 4 hours a day on the process.
In addition, The Cress Company were often dealing with single-person dependencies due to the complexity of their current solutions. This posed particular challenges when these individuals were on annual leave, further complicating the process.
The solution
The Cress Company found they were constantly on the lookout for better options, attending demos for different systems every couple of months. But they struggled to find the right solution for their needs.
After an introductory email from Access MaxOptra, The Cress Company were sceptical that Access MaxOptra could offer anything different. However, after a demonstration and a free trial period, The Cress Company were impressed.
Any issues they had with previous systems were addressed, and any specific needs The Cress Company required could be accommodated with the Access MaxOptra system.
The results
By his own admission The Cress Company’s Managing Director, Joe Wall, is not easily impressed. However, when it comes to Access MaxOptra he is a huge fan.
“Access MaxOptra has been a game-changer for us. The system’s configurability, combined with excellent support from the Access MaxOptra team, has significantly improved our route planning and overall logistics efficiency. The cost savings and increased confidence in our operations are invaluable. We look forward to continuing our journey with Access MaxOptra as an essential partner in our growth.”
Joe Wall
Managing Director, The Cress Company
The Cress Company have quickly managed to get the very most out of the system thanks to Access MaxOptra’s excellent onboarding process and “phenomenal” support.
And because Access MaxOptra does the hard work for The Cress Company, they now boast 5 employees who are capable of managing the process when necessary. This has resulted in no more single-person dependencies and no disruptions due to holidays or sickness absences.
Joe is also delighted by his staff’s uptake of the system. At first, there were questions as to whether the system could route better than individuals’ knowledge. However, his team quickly saw that Access MaxOptra produced the best possible routes, and was incredibly user-friendly to boot, meaning his team have the utmost confidence in the solution.
The future for The Cress Company
With Access MaxOptra successfully implemented, The Cress Company is positioned for a future of increased efficiency and customer satisfaction. The company plans to leverage data-driven insights to continually optimise operations and stay ahead of industry trends.
As they look ahead, Cress Company envisions using Access MaxOptra as a key tool for growth, exploring features like the Driver App for orders and returns, integrating tracking with Samsara, and transitioning to volume metric constraints for greater precision.
Access MaxOptra has not only reduced planning time but has also resulted in tangible cost savings, with the potential for further enhancements. The Cress Company remains committed to using Access MaxOptra as a foundational element in their logistics strategy, ensuring they continue to meet and exceed customer expectations.
“Witnessing The Cress Company’s success through our route optimisation solution is inspiring. Their ability to reduce dependencies, improve delivery times, and enhance customer satisfaction exemplifies the transformative impact of our solutions. We are proud to support forward-thinking companies like The Cress Company, driving efficiency and growth in the logistics industry.”
Sanjay Gandhi
Managing Director, Access MaxOptra
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