How YYC Local Wipes Used Circuit for Teams to Improve Its Local Delivery Process
Leading up to Canada’s first COVID-19 lockdown, there was a growing demand for sanitization products, especially for alcohol hand sanitizer wipes. Morgan Keane, the founder of YYC Local Wipes, started making her own after she couldn’t find any for her immunocompromised relatives who needed them the most.
Through simple word of mouth, people within Keane’s community began asking if she could make wipes for them. Very quickly, a locally grown business was born.
The timing was serendipitous. Due to COVID-19, Morgan had been laid off from her job as a geologist. So, when she grew her homemade wipes into a fully-operational business, she knew she wanted to employ local people similarly affected by the COVID-19 crisis as demand for her sanitizer wipes increased.
Now, YYC Local Wipes handles roughly 800 residential orders within the local community and 30 corporate customers across Canada.
YYC Local Wipes uses two drivers to deliver wipes directly to their local customers. When YYC Local Wipes first started making deliveries, Morgan’s two drivers were doing 7-8 hours of physical driving per delivery day. Morgan knew she needed a route optimization tool to plan more efficient routes for her and her team’s benefit.
Over a few weeks, Morgan tried around eight different route planning tools but knew she found the right one when she came upon Circuit Route Planner.
Not using Circuit for Teams? If you manage a team of drivers and want a simple, cost-effective way to keep track of them (while making their routes more efficient), sign up for a free trial of Circuit for Teams.
How YYC Local Wipes Uses Circuit for Teams to Optimize Its Route Planning and Delivery Process
Darnell Franco is an engineer who uses an agile framework to improve processes and deliver a better product. When Darnell started working with YYC Local Wipes (during his evenings and weekends off from his day job), route planning was one of the responsibilities he took over.
Darnell uses the Circuit for Teams mobile app that you can download for iOS and Android devices. With the Circuit for Teams Premium subscription, Darnell can optimize an unlimited number of routes and stops to make the fastest route possible for his delivery drivers.
When Darnell is planning routes, he adds the stops into Circuit for Teams. Circuit uses the same auto-complete technology like Google Maps, which means as you’re typing in a stop, Circuit will suggest the most likely address based on your current location. For Darnell, this makes manual entry quick and easy.
Circuit is really easy to use. The route optimization software is great. And I like how versatile the app is. It’s easy to add last-minute stops and re-optimize your route on the go.
When Darnell adds stops to Circuit for Teams, he takes the data out of YYC Local Wipe’s eCommerce platform, including order details and the customer’s contact info.
I put the customer’s order details and email address in the notes section next to their stop. That way, the driver knows what the customer is getting. And once the driver has completed delivery, they can quickly message the customer and let them know their product has arrived.
To increase his team’s efficiency, Darnell doesn’t add a starting point or ending point to the route.
That’s what’s so great about Circuit.I build the route out in the app and then let the driver log in and, based on their location, assign a starting point and ending point. This makes the route more optimized and easier on the driver.
Darnell breaks down the time saved by using Circuit for Teams into three categories.
- Building the route: This includes adding addresses to the Circuit for Teams app, along with the customer’s order details and contact information.
- Optimizing the route: After the addresses are added, Circuit for Teams will optimize the stops into the fastest route possible.
- Completing the deliveries: Once the route is optimized, Darnell’s drivers can log into the Circuit for Teams app and start making their deliveries.
In terms of just building the route, I can safely say we save around one hour per delivery day.When it comes to optimizing the route, it’s hard to put a number on how much time is saved, but it’s extremely significant. Without Circuit’s route optimization software, we’d be playing a guessing game when trying to build the fastest route. Plus, with Circuit for Teams, we can make it so drivers get home by a certain time. Before Circuit, there was no way to know how long a delivery would take, which meant longer than anticipated delivery days for our team and later arrival times for our customers.
Finally, Circuit for Teams also makes it easier for Darnell’s drivers to complete their deliveries because all the information they need can be found in the Circuit app. Plus, Circuit works in tandem with any driver’s preferred route navigation software, such as Google Maps, Apple Maps, and Waze.
YYC Local Wipes: Going Forward
With Circuit for Teams, there are three different plans that offer features such as spreadsheet import, route monitoring, and proof of delivery.
With Circuit for Teams, Darnell can format his stops in a spreadsheet (including order details and customer contact info) and quickly import all of that information into Circuit, saving him even more time when route planning.
From there, his drivers can log into the Circuit for Teams app, get their route, and start making deliveries.
As YYC Local Wipes keeps growing its business and optimizing its processes, Darnell plans to upgrade to Circuit for Teams to create new efficiencies for him and the team.
Not using Circuit for Teams? If you manage a team of drivers and want a simple, cost-effective way to keep track of them (while making their routes more efficient), sign up for a free trial of Circuit for Teams.
