DeLea Sod Farms Improves Driver Safety, Operational Efficiency and Customer Experience
“IntelliShift is easy to use, and the support staff is terrific. If we have an issue, I shoot an email and usually get a call back within ten minutes, sometimes even less. Support is Grade A.” – John Conover, Account Manager, DeLea Sod Farms
New York-based DeLea Sod Farms is a fourth-generation family business. It operates across the tri-state area and serves a diverse customer base, supplying materials for projects ranging from residential landscapes to large commercial settings – including professional athletic fields, golf courses and parks, as well as stocking home improvement retailers.
On any given day, the company runs 25-30 sod delivery trucks, plus vehicles for farm pickups and dump trucks for delivering materials like topsoil, sand and gravel. With a demanding daily schedule, keeping drivers safe while maintaining high marks for on-time deliveries and top-quality product is critical to success.
Before adopting IntelliShift, DeLea Sod Farms Account Manager John Conover lacked the end-to-end operational visibility needed to ensure driver safety and optimize workflows. Deploying IntelliShift’s dual-facing, in-cab video and telematics with real-time GPS tracking was the solution.
Challenges
- Lack of visibility into on-the-road driver behavior made it impossible to ensure safe practices or accurately respond to driving complaints received from motorists
- Faced with rising insurance premiums and a coming mandate by its insurance provider to deploy dual-facing, in-cab video
- A demanding delivery schedule and perishable product required excessive communication between drivers, dispatch and sales
Goals
- Gain video evidence to provide context for safety incidents, either proving exoneration or giving the insight needed for effective driver coaching
- Improve driver safety and performance while lowering insurance costs
- Eliminate the need for constant phone status checks with drivers, optimize route efficiency and on-time delivery
Results
- Reduce insurance premiums:
- 13% lower liability costs
- 10% lower comprehensive cost
- 75% of driving complaints exonerated
- 12-15 hours per week saved tracking delivery schedules
