Costa optimise Express expansion fleet efficiency with Tracker

Friday, July 12, 2013 - 08:58
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COFFEE: Costa run 2,700 UK vending machines

Costa Express are optimising efficiency even further in their huge UK expansion by wheeling out Tracker telematics solutions across their entire fleet.

Currently, 60 of the gourmet coffee company’s vehicles are fitted with Tracker Fleet, with a further ten battery-powered Tracker Fleet units used for rental vehicles.

However, after Tracker’s work proved successful in their four-year Express expansion from 800 to 2,700 nationwide vending machines, the technology is being added to the entire fleet.

The move comes after Costa Express realised the need to ensure their engineers are visible, allowing the best-placed staff to attend service calls for their machines.

Tracker’s telematics system identifies mobile and stationary vehicles, allowing managers to use engineers more efficiently rather than just choosing the nearest.

The level of data available through Tracker also helps the business manage the Brand Excellence Advisors.

This means they can ensure such advisors meet KPIs and make site visits within the agreed 30-day cycle by monitoring the geographical location of each vehicle.

Matthew McGrath, Helpline Advisor Project Support for Costa Express, said: “Once we realised how quickly the business was growing, we knew we needed Tracker’s telematics expertise.

“With the units from Tracker we can quickly identify the location of our field-based teams.

“This helps our engineers attend sites to ensure that the machines are trading to our high standards.

“The telematics data means we can accurately say where our engineer or Brand Excellence Advisor is.

“This allows us to prioritise visits and calls, ensuring a seamless level of service across our growing network.

“Tracker’s team offer us the support we need to tailor the system to our business, reacting quickly and resolving any issues to ensure we’re always getting the best out of the telematics units.

“We’ve also had excellent training, allowing us to get to grips with the system and stay in control of our fleet.

“This partnership with Tracker is essential to ensure we can sustain and manage the growth of Costa Express.

“We will also be looking at a European option, working with Tracker to boost our expansion capabilities.”

Tracker’s cutting-edge fleet telematics solutions incorporate unique features, such as patented Transient Voltage Detection technology.

This detects electrical noise to more accurately determine when an engine is running and eliminating false ‘idling’ readings – a concern prevalent in many alternative offerings.

It also examines driver performance – a growing trend in fleet monitoring – and facilitates a reporting suite, customisable for each individual customer.

Tracker also offer battery-powered modules to ensure assets which have no built-in power supply, such as mobile units and trailers, can be monitored.

Stephen Doran, Managing Director of Tracker, said: “The flexibility of our fleet telematics solution means Costa Express benefit from a tailor made system.

“The business is already benefiting from the level of data we can provide, allowing Costa Express to manage its fleet more effectively and boost the efficiency across the UK network.

“This is vital at a time of such rapid growth and we look forward to working closely with the team as the network continues to expand.”

Costa Express are a gourmet coffee vending solution, owned and rebranded by the Whitbread group following the acquisition of Coffee Nation.

Image courtesy of Thomas.B.P., with thanks.

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