Cornish dairy business A E Rodda finds Paragon systems the cream of the crop

Cornwall, England-based A E Rodda has selected Paragon’s Single Depot and Fleet Controller route optimization software systems to schedule deliveries of its Cornish clotted cream and milk products to outlets throughout southwestern England.
Every day, the 120-year-old family-run business makes enough clotted cream to outweigh eight rugby teams. Currently optimizing routes for 12 vehicles, when fully implemented the system will be expanded to include a total fleet of 18 vehicles.
Before implementing Paragon’s software, Rodda evaluated a number of systems.
“From the first meeting it was clear that Paragon offered better route reliability compared to other systems,” said Kurt Sigrist, finance director at Rodda.
After putting the Paragon system through its paces for one week using test data, Rodda saw the savings that could be realized.
“At first, some of the drivers were apprehensive,” said Barry Wilkinson, transport logistics manager at Rodda. “But having the solution doesn’t affect their jobs; it’s just fine-tuning the transport operations.”
Paragon’s standard system enables the user to calculate efficient and practical transport schedules for vehicles based at a single depot. Running on a Windows platform, Paragon’s transport optimization system holds details of customer addresses, delivery quantities, time windows, vehicle sizes, driver shift details, and other parameters. Using an algorithm designed for optimizing road-based transport operations, Paragon’s software uses digital mapping to calculate the most effective delivery and collection sequences with accurate journey times, allocating loads to appropriate vehicles and drivers while maximizing productivity.
Paragon Fleet Controller, which links the fleet’s in-cab vehicle tracking with the Paragon-produced routes, enables real-time vehicle activity to be tracked automatically against the planned routes and schedules. This gives transport managers real-time visibility into how the day’s plan is progressing, allowing them to respond quickly to problems or delays. It also provides an accurate picture of transport and service performance, enabling fleet managers to spot hidden inefficiencies.
Go to www.paragonrouting.com/uk for more details.