Doka Norge AS delivers sustainable and environmentally efficient formwork solutions to a wide range of industrial customers. With its three branches in Asker, Bergen, and Trondheim, the company can supply customers and construction sites across Norway.
"Having control of the flow of goods both in and out of our locations, along with the status of deliveries to customers, is extremely important to us. Traffic planning is a core operation we need to have the best possible overview of," says Stein Høymyr, Operation Manager at Doka Norge.
Real-Time Updated Delivery Calendar
Project managers at Doka Norge AS create several dozen delivery orders per day. They organize the dispatch of products and coordinate between the pickers in the warehouse, and the transport bookings.
Here, Doka Norge AS uses a full suite of Swipload modules, with a setup specially tailored to their specific operational needs.
"The core functionality is to create freight orders with all necessary information about the delivery, which we easily share with the carrier we want to use. The carrier coordinator can receive a notification by SMS or email, and gets a digital overview of the deliveries they are to perform for us”, says Høymyr.
For Doka, all freight orders created in Swipload are viewed in a mutually shared delivery calendar between the company and the carrier.
“This shared calendar between us and the Carrier is a powerful way of interacting. It reduces friction and manual time consumption as our team gets shared access to an updated real-time picture of our operation. The personnel preparing the deliveries always know which products need to be put out and prepared for transport. At the same time, the carrier always knows what to do. In addition, we can keep internal communication between our departments and with the carrier organized closely connected to the freight orders, as Swipload supports messaging", Høymyr explains.
Increased Deviations Control
Transport planning and booking is often characterized by "changes". Customers suddenly need an extra wall element or more or less formwork equipment.
These changes affect the contents of the freight order.
"Things change all the time, for natural reasons. We must be able to communicate these changes to our carrier as efficiently as possible. With Swipload we can update and change the contents of the freight order right up until a delivery is signed as 'loaded' by the carrier”
Signatures for 'loaded' and 'delivered' happen seamlessly through Swipload's digital POD and signing solution. The signing is available to the specific driver assigned to a freight order.
On the POD, the carrier can also register any deviations related to a freight order - as soon as they occur.
"Common deviations can be damage, missed deliveries, cancellations, or extra time spent waiting to unload. With Swipload, we now capture and describe deviations immediately. This is very valuable to us. Firstly, we can complete the total billing of the delivery faster. Secondly, we get fresh and accurate control over what has happened, and what should be the final billing basis for the delivery. This gives us increased control and traceability”
According to Høymyr, the company can now invoice for customer deliveries within a week of delivery.
“We complete the total billing basis for a delivery faster than before. This is very valuable to us”
Staying Ahead
Digitalization is often seen as a 'buzzword,' something many talk about without the benefits being easy to identify.
Stein Høymyr is clear about the benefits the company gains from using Swipload.
"First and foremost, we get a tailored digital arena where the entire organization can communicate and share information with each other. This makes the workday easier, smoother, and characterized by fewer manual processes," he explains.
"For example, we no longer need to use email or call the carrier if changes occur. We can update this directly in the freight order they received. All parties can thus free uptime to focus on what matters in everyday life, namely delivering a good product to customers”
“Salespeople also no longer need to call project managers in the office to find out the status of deliveries. They now find this directly in Swipload, where they can search for 'their' deliveries based on project numbers or customer names”
“Our warehouse and department personnel also no longer need to physically go into our reception to look at the screen to see the updated day's work list. This is now available to them on their mobile phones. This saves time and makes their day easier”
Høymyr emphasizes the importance of having communication and the database gathered in one place.
"Through Swipload, everything is created, logged, and archived in one and the same solution. This makes all parts of the freight operation traceable, making it easier to identify any errors or omissions. Overall, we now work faster, with easier access to shared information for the entire team, with tracking and statuses of all outgoing and incoming deliveries, in one common system. Speed and simplicity is what we like!”
The Carrier: - Surprisingly Simple
Espen Transport AS is the regular in-house carrier for Doka Norge AS in Asker. The company is very satisfied with the experience of using Swipload in everyday life.
"I was positive when Doka informed us about the new system they wanted to implement, but my father was perhaps somewhat more skeptical," says Ole-Aleksander Svendsen at Espen Transport. "Firstly, the solution and system are incredibly easy for us as a carrier to use. You don't need to be a computer genius to get this done; it's as simple as reading the online newspaper," he says.
As an in-house carrier, Espen Transport is set up with the 'agreement functionality' in Swipload. This means customization.
"We have had the setup tailored to the needs we have in everyday life. For example, we don't need to accept freight orders from Doka. We are also set up with the ability to report time spent and costs on a delivery as soon as we have signed a load as delivered. This report we send back becomes the basis for the billing and payment to us”
Foundation For Further Sales Growth
Previously, an invoice from Espen Transport could reach Doka Norge AS a month after delivery.
"This is a standard way of doing things. You invoice once a month. The challenge with this, which we now don't have to think about, is especially deviations and, of course, whether we have included everything that should be on the invoice”
“In addition, creating these invoices was a job that often took away spare time from our weekend. Now we only need to focus on reporting time spent and any deviations via 'the pod' available to us when signing a load as Delivered. That's all we need to do, and the billing document comes to us automatically”
"As a company, we are committed to taking advantage of the opportunities that new digital technology offers us. Through Swipload, we can further streamline our operation and as a result offer our customers an even better product. The solution from Swipload now gives us a solid foundation to grow on in the coming years”, says Høymyr.
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