Dorking, UK, 09 April 2009

Dams International, the UK’s leading independent office furniture manufacturer, is saving GBP 750,000 per year since implementing an innovative transport optimisation system from Paragon Software Systems. With Paragon, Dams International has been able to radically improve the management of its drivers and fitters and its 140 strong delivery fleet resulting in greater productivity and efficiency.

“Paragon Multi Depot saves the company £750,000 per year through a range of operational benefits that enable us to make more deliveries and provide greater service with our available resources,” says Gary Grindlay, Supply Chain Director, Dams International. “We have gone from five manual planning clerks who would take all day to plan to one Paragon planner who takes about an hour to produce our daily schedules. Before Paragon we made about eight deliveries per vehicle per day, whereas now we are doing 10 or more and we are aiming to extend this to about 12 each day.”

“There are several reasons for these improvements. We can optimise vehicle loads by inputting weights and cubic measurements for each product and this ensures that vehicles are working to capacity. In addition we can plan appropriate delivery and installation times. This helps with Time and Motion management as we can quickly identify fitters who need additional training to bring them up to speed,” he continues.

Dams International operates six sites to provide UK-wide coverage and Paragon allows the company to assign deliveries from the nearest depot. This gives greater flexibility and ensures that vehicles and staff are kept busy.

“The system gives us much greater visibility via its Multi Depot feature. The software automatically adjusts depot boundaries each day depending on live order volumes to ensure that our vehicles and fitters are fully occupied,” adds Gary Grindlay.
Gary Grindlay says that Paragon was the best fit for the company.
“Paragon was the obvious choice for our operation as it gives us the planning reliability and business benefits we need to streamline our nationwide delivery operation. I have been in the logistics sector for more than 30 years and have seen the benefits the software can bring to other organisations. Paragon is ahead of the game because the company concentrates on transport planning and optimisation and this shows in the quality of the software,” he says.

Dams International Ltd is one of the top four office furniture companies in the UK with approximately six per cent of the UK market share. The company recently celebrated 40 years in business supplying not only the UK but the world with office and contract furniture. The company’s product range includes desks, storage, seating, screens and tables. The company also provides furniture for small and home offices as well as for contract services.

Editorial enquiries please call Robert Peel +44 (0)1666 823306.
Please FAX any colour sep. requests to fax no 01666 824668
READER ENQUIRIES Jane Geary, Paragon Software Systems, +44 (0)1306 732600
Email: j.geary@paragonrouting.com