Collecting… a thing of the past (or it should be!)

Why do mobile engineers still collect materials?

As one famous quote goes, “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got”.

Andy that’s pretty much the case in the mobile engineer sector.  With huge investment going into IT systems, training engineers, and organising supply chains, the simple fixes are often overlooked resulting in the same age-old problem of huge amounts of wasted time, fuel and resources in mobile engineer teams.

We collect… because we always have done!

In the past two decades, the mobile engineer sector has been driven by an engineer in a van, doing jobs, sourcing the materials and going to get them.  In the 2000s, this was perfectly acceptable.  Client’s expected it, and there wasn’t the pace, technology or reason to look at doing things differently.

For the unusual time when someone did try getting materials delivered, it was fraught with problems such as parcels going missing on sites, damaged materials, and the huge frustration if something was delivered wrong.  So we defaulted back to collecting materials.

However, after the GFC, it was acknowledged that if direct-to-site delivery could work, it would transform engineer productivity, especially with the maintenance going from planned, to more proactive maintenance.

At this point, RLT Onsite was working with some major relamping contractors (yes, relamping!) who then need reliable direct to site delivery for proactive maintenance across the UK.  We set out to eliminate the problems associated with direct to site delivery and the result was huge.

Their teams could go from job to job across the UK, completing much more work than before, with no need to cram their vans with lamps, and the ability to plan work effectively knowing that their materials would not hinder the ability to complete the job.

Let’s deliver… because it boosts productivity and reduces costs!

It’s proven that reliable, direct-to-site delivery, with zero distribution costs, boosts engineer productivity and reduces service delivery costs.  With our innovative approach, we have the experience and tools to bring to ensure that engineers minimise wasted time.  Not only that, but engineers find it easier as well as planning teams, through bespoke reporting and automated updates, so they feel in control of their materials delivery.

Ultimately, the end result is less admin, less wasted time, more control, happier engineers and better service delivery to your client.

Collecting materials should be a last resort.

When approaching new prospects, we often hear many excuses around why materials still need collecting.  The reality is, they are a cover for just wanting to continue doing things the same way:

• Do you need to collect for every job? The majority of jobs an engineer does will either need quoting, or the parts aren’t readily available from local branches.
• Do parcels go missing with your sites? Many companies have tried to copy the simplyonsite system but failed to do so.  With the simplyonsite system, we send out 1000s of parcels that are easily found on sites through the innovative communication and dispatch system we have.
• Is it expensive?  With zero distribution costs, even for timed deliveries, and no minimum order charges, you can guarantee that the cost base is both predictable and scaleable.

The reality is, collecting materials should be an absolute last resort, whereas it is currently the first port of call.  Just one visit to collect materials (if they are even available) is costing every engineer on average one hour of their time.

A daily visit is costing £4,000 per year per engineer.

There’s too much to lose

With continued growth, RLT Onsite is saving FM providers with large mobile engineer teams huge amounts of cost.

Join the revolution.

There’s too much to lose if you don’t.