The Challenge
Culina Group, a food and drink logistics specialist, was established in 1994 and includes eight distinct business units, including familiar brands such as Culina Logistics, Great Bear, CML, IPS, Morgan McLernon, Robsons and Warrens.
The Group’s growth has been supported by organic expansion within its established markets in the chilled, ambient and FMCG sectors and through a series of strategic acquisitions.
With an extensive logistics network that now extends throughout the UK and Ireland, Culina Group processes approximately 2.2m orders annually, deploying a fleet of over 1,750 vehicles across sixty-five sites.
Prior to partnering with Microlise, Culina was using a number of different, pre-installed telematics systems across its fleet which were not aligned, making it difficult to gain useful intelligence and maximise benefit. Culina went to market in 2011 looking for an integrated, one-stop solution to support improved utilisation and improve safety metrics and driver behaviour.
Microlise was selected primarily because of the quality of its solutions, cost-competitiveness and positive customer feedback. According to Tom Middlemiss “There was a very good business fit between both companies and we got on well with the team. The Microlise product roadmap was also a critical factor as we needed a partner that was forward–looking and would support our continuing growth so we could add-on new solutions as required.”
The Approach
Culina initially deployed Microlise telematics and its Journey Management solution before adding the Safety Module, complete with forward and driver-facing cameras and incident analysis. Trailer Tracking and Temperature Monitoring have also been deployed across the fleet.
The Result
Following implementation, fleet visibility, efficiency, driver performance and safety metrics have all improved. According to Tom Middlemiss the gains are quantifiable, “In addition to improved fuel efficiency, Culina also has greater visibility of its business and has improved utilisation, reducing the number of vehicles it requires on the road.
“We’ve also seen a marked improvement in driver performance with weekly reports generating a healthy level of competitiveness. Better driver performance equates, not only to increased fuel efficiency but also to fewer road traffic incidents and accident investigations.
“Industry recognition such as securing the Microlise Driver Excellence award for having the highest proportion of drivers in the top 1,000, based on an analysis of all telematics data, also highlights that we are doing something right - for our team and for our customers.”