Aggregates specialist uses telematics fleet control to bring costs down

Town and Country Haulage, the transport arm of Town and Country Aggregates has reduced fuel bills and cut maintenance costs since installing routeMASTER telematics fleet control from AGM.

Town and Country operate a mix of HGVs, including tippers and curtainsiders, for regional deliveries of aggregates throughout Cheshire and the northwest. A typical round-trip averages 4 hours and orders are processed on a “next- day” basis.

“We installed the systems about a year ago” says Director Chris Morten, “and within a short while we could see the benefits. We wanted to get a tighter control on harsh acceleration, braking and cornering to see if we could reduce wear and tear on the fleet. Naturally this was aimed at keeping maintenance costs down. I can’t put an exact figure on it, but there’s no question, the system has certainly made a difference. Moreover, we have cut down on unnecessary idling and eliminated unnecessary and “unscheduled journeys.” All of which”, says Chris have increased efficiency and helped to maintain a more profitable operation.

Town and Country Haulage has also benefited from routeMaster’s vehicle tracking module which is fitted to all 10 vehicles in the fleet.

“This has been a great help” adds Chris. “Time was when we simply didn’t know where any given vehicle was at any given time, so we had to try and get through on the phone and of course it wasn’t very reliable. Now, we can keep a watchful eye on the fleet, which is useful when adding new jobs, as we can instantly select the most suitable vehicle and let the driver know his instructions.”

Meanwhile, Town and Country Aggregates Online, as part of the family run business, offers a wide range of high quality decorative aggregates for a variety of gardening and landscaping applications. The company also provides a range of seasonal winter products including coal, smokeless fuel and rocksalt.

“We run a busy operation” concludes Chris Morten, “and this system takes away a lot of the hassle. It’s easy to use and if ever we have a problem or query, the team at AGM usually sort it remotely. Good value and in my view, a major plus for any transport operation.”

routeMASTER is a cloud-based modular toolset, created by AGM Telematics of Corby, which comprises three components: Planner, Dispatch and Tracking. Each module can be used individually or together to provide an end-to-end logistics back office solution:

The entire routeMASTER platform is built on the latest Here™ premium mapping platform with maps updated automatically every quarter and all software updates are free for the life of the system.