At a Glance

What they wanted to do• Improveefficiencyofdeliveriesbygivingdispatchersbettervisibilityofcouriers’locations

What they did • ImplementedGoogleMapsAPIPremieracrossDHLSameDayandExpressSameDayservicesintheUK

What they accomplished• Enhancedcustomerservice• Increasedstaffmotivation• Improvedefficiency

“ It was easy to integrate into the business, not only from a technical point of view, but also from a human-resources point of view. Employees were already familiar with Google’s technology and it is very intuitive to use.” —Veena Bhatt, director of UK Same Day IT, DHL Express

BusinessDHLispartoftheworld’sleadinglogisticsgroup,DeutschePostDHL,with275,000employeesinmorethan220countriesandterritories.DHLprovidesinternationalexpress,airandoceanfreight,roadandrailtransportation,contractlogistics,andinternationalmailservices.

DHLExpress’SameDayserviceisavailablearoundtheclocktohandleshipmentsthatneedimmediatecollectionanddoor-to-doordeliverywithin24hours.IntheUK,DHLhandlesmorethan4,000deliveriesdailythrough31servicecentres.Thesecentresreceivecustomers’callsandarrangecollectionsanddeliveriesthroughdispatchers,whoplacejobswithapoolofcouriers.

ChallengeToimproveitsExpressSameDayserviceintheUK,DHLimplementedamobile-computingsystemtofullyutilisecourierroutesandgreatlyreducethecarbonfootprintofdeliveries.DHLusedGPStechnologytogivedispatchersaccurate,real-timevisibilityofcourierlocations.

“Wearealwaysonthelookoutforthelatesttechnologytocontinuallydeliverthebestserviceforourcustomersandemployees,”explainsVeenaBhatt,directorofUKSameDayITatDHLExpress.“DHLSameDayrequiredaplatformthatwouldenableourservicecentresandcustomerstotrackcouriersinrealtime.”

Thecompanyalsowantedabettermethodofdealingwithtrafficcongestion.“Dispatchersweretrackingtrafficinformationthroughanofflinemapandworkingoutwhichcouriersitmightaffect,”Bhattsays.“Wewantedtominimiselatedeliveriesbysupplyingourdispatchersandcourierswithaccurateinformationonlocaltrafficjams.”DHLneededamappingsolutiontointegratewithitsnewGPSmobile-computingsystem,onethatwaseasytouseandupdate.

DHL Same Day improves efficiency, increases dispatcher visibility with Google Maps API Premier

Case Study | Google Maps API Premier

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SolutionDHLSameDaychoseGoogleMapsAPIPremier,theweb-basedapplicationthatletscorporateusersbuildandintegratefullyinteractiveGoogleMapsonpublicandinternalwebsites.Thecouriers’GPScoordinatesarenowintegratedintoGoogleMapsanddisplayedonplasmascreensintheservicecentres.

“Google’sreputationissecondtonone.Iknewveryquicklythatitsmappingservicecouldn’tbebeaten.Itwaseasytointegrateintothebusiness,notonlyfromatechnicalpointofview,butalsofromahuman-resourcespointofview.EmployeeswerealreadyfamiliarwithGoogle’stechnologyanditisveryintuitivetouse.Wecanalsoeasilymakechangesinourback-endsystemthatautomaticallyupdatewithinGoogleMaps.Itissostraightforward.Thesupportwereceivedduringtheimplementationstagewasfantastic,andwecontinuetoreceiveit.”

Therolloutofthenewtechnologywasquickandeasy.All31servicecentreswereusingGoogleMapsAPIPremierwithintwomonths.

Benefits

Improved visibility of couriers’ journeysUsingGoogleMaps,dispatcherscaneitherfocusonparticularareasandcouriersorgetasummaryofallcourierjourneys,justbyusingthescrollbartozoominorout.TheycanalsouseGoogle’sStreetViewserviceformoredetailwith360-degree,street-levelimagery.GoogleMapsalsohasintegratedtrafficreporting.Adispatchercaninformcouriersofanytrafficissuesandadvisethemofalternativeroutes.“Ifthereiscongestion,wecannoweasilyputcontingencyplansinplace,reallocatingpackagestoalternativedrivers,orplanningroutesaroundthecongestedareas,”Bhattsays.

“GoogleMapsisflexible,easytouse,andhasbeenhugelymotivationaltoourdispatchers.Theirjobshavebeenmademucheasierbyhavingincreasedvisibilityofthecourier’slocations,”Bhattadds.“Wecannowcapturedataaboutjourneys,andanalyseittomakefurtherefficiencies.Forexample,wecanhighlightwastedjourneysandeducatedispatchersonhowtheycouldhavebeenprevented.”

“Ultimately,GoogleMapshasallowedthecompanytomeetandexceeditscustomerservicelevels.Byimprovingtheplanningprocess,andallowingdispatcherstopickuponissuesliketrafficandcourierbreakdownsearly,dispatcherscanlocateandassignthecouriermostsuitedtotakingoverthejob,”shesays.

Improved customer serviceCustomersalsobenefitfromtheGoogleMapsAPI.Theycannowtrackcouriersonlinethroughthemappingservice.TheGPSsystemisupdatedeveryminute,soboththedispatcherandthecustomeralwaysknowapackage’slocation.Withintegratedtrafficreporting,dispatcherscanamendtheestimatedarrivaltimeofapackageonline,sothecustomerisalwaysawareofanydelay.

Future benefitsDHLalsoisconsideringincorporatingringfencingintoGoogleMaps.Thiswillallowcourierstobeassignedtocertainareaswithina15-20mileradius.DHLwillsendacustomeranemailorSMSwhenthecourierisnearby.“Weexpectourcourierproductivitytorisebyatleast5percentinthenearfutureandtoachievesignificantimprovementsinefficiency,whichwillmakearealdifferencetoourbusiness,”Bhattconcludes.

About Google Maps API PremierByaddingGoogleMapstoitswebsite,abusinesscanhelpshoppersfindstoresorgeneratenewleads.CombiningcompanydatawithGoogleMapsprovidesrelevantinformationthatwillkeepcustomerscomingback.Evenonthebusiestofwebsites,GoogleMapsprovidesfast,relevantresultswithinafamiliar,easy-to-useinterface.

Formoreinformation,visitwww.google.co.uk/enterprise/maps

“ Ultimately, Google Maps has allowed the company as a whole to meet and exceed its customer service levels. By improving the planning process, and allowing dispatchers to pick up on issues like traffic and courier breakdowns early, dispatchers can locate and assign the courier most suited to taking over the job.” —Veena Bhatt, director of UK Same Day IT, DHL Express