Rexel electrifies daily transport planning with Paragon system

Electrical supplies specialist, Rexel UK, has implemented an advanced computer system for coordinating next day deliveries to contractors throughout North West England. With the technology developed by Paragon Software Systems, the company aims to reduce road miles and drive down operating costs through improvements in fleet usage and maximising vehicle loads.

"The Paragon software allows us to maximise the use of our fleet and drivers, ensuring that we utilise vehicle capacities and meet delivery time windows. With these efficiency improvements, we can reduce mileage, fuel usage and fleet operational costs," says Neil Murphy, Transport Analyst, Newey & Eyre, a division of Rexel UK.

Rexel UK currently runs 16 to 17 routes to provide up to 350 deliveries per day using its fleet of 3.5 and 7.5 tonne trucks. The routing and scheduling optimisation software completely automates the company's transport planning process and provides accurate routes, schedules and driver manifests whilst allowing operator intervention if required.

"Rexel UK takes pride in providing good customer service and Paragon helps us to achieve our delivery goals. The software automates our planning, producing accurate routes and schedules at the touch of a button," says Neil Murphy.

Neil Murphy comments on the successful use of the map-based software at the company's regional distribution centre (RDC) in Warrington and says that the company plans to use it for other operations in the UK.

"Paragon has proven extremely effective at our Warrington RDC. Following on from this success, we plan to roll out the software across the rest of the business and gain further efficiencies UK wide," he says.

Rexel UK is a business-to-business  distributor of electrical installation supplies. The company focuses on the industrial MRO (Maintenance Repair and Operations), safety and electrical markets. Rexel operates in 34 countries with 2,300 branches, a distribution network of more than 40 brands and 29,000 employees. Throughout the world, it is accelerating electrical advances in close collaboration with its customers and partners.