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CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS
OCTOBER 2016
15
CLOETE SAND AND STONE HAULS INTO DIGITAL ERA
Having used paper-based administration for
over 34 years, building materials supplier,
Cloete Sand and Stone, recently opted to
digitise its system and has appointed Strato
IT Group, which will implement StratoPOD,
a mobile business application that offers
customised, digital proof of delivery (POD).
The full fleet was expected to go live in
September this year.
Cassie Lessing, CEO of Strato IT Group,
says that the company is excited about the
implementation at Cloete Sand and Stone.
“This a great opportunity to showcase what
StratoPOD can offer within the building
materials industry. These companies face
tremendous administration challenges and
by digitising their process, they will benefit
on many levels.”
He says that StratoPOD will address sev-
eral operational challenges within Cloete
Sand and Stone. “There are large volumes
of administrative tasks such as data captur-
ing, document scanning, creation of delivery
packs which include PODs, loading slips and
daily schedules which are all paper-based.
These needed to be digitised with the aim to
reduce the administration burden.”
Wesley Cloete, managing director of
Cloete Sand and Stone, says the paper-based
system was making accurate management
difficult. “We needed an improved system
that provided us with real-time reports, easy
access to historic information, as well as
improved delivery processes, including live
reporting from our drivers when delivering
and also when loading at the quarry.”
He says that StratoPOD provides Cloete
Sand and Stone with a single, connected
system that will significantly reduce its ad-
ministrative burden and digitise the current
environment. “We will be able to dynamical-
ly reschedule and re-allocate goods in transit
with the correct documentation, which was
not possible with the paper-based system.”
Using StratoPOD, there will be overall
improvement of all operational efficiencies
based on the fact that the data will be cap-
tured at the source. There is also no need for
delivery packs to be created and no documents
will need to be scanned into the back-office
system. Strato IT Group’s Lessing says that
Cloete Sand and Stone will benefit immensely
from the StratoPOD application. “There will
be dramatically improved visibility of delivery
operations as these are automatically tracked
and the vehicle’s status is updated; a more ef-
ficient vehicle dispatching process will also be
implemented and they will have access to real
time reports and improved access to historic
data and drivers.”
b
StratoPOD will address several operational challenges for Cloete Sand and Stone.
CONSTRUCTION NEWS IN BRIEF
Wacker Neuson expands multi-
channel strategy
With its new e-store, Wacker Neuson
has expanded its multi-channel strategy
to offer better access to information,
products and services around the clock.
Since customers increasingly search not
only for information on the Internet, but
also want to make purchases, Wacker
Neuson will open up this opportunity
in the future through e-store. “Our top
priority is to satisfy our customers.
For this reason, our sales tools are
continuously adjusted to customer
needs. In order to meet these needs
in a more targeted manner and at the
same time to prepare ourselves better
for the future, we rely on a multi-
channel approach, which includes
digital business,” says Cem Peksaglam,
CEO of Wacker Neuson SE.
Caterpillar powers into portable
generator market
Caterpillar has entered the home and
outdoor power markets with the launch
of a new range of portable generators,
the RP Series. The manufacturing
giant says the new generators are
designed to provide reliable backup or
recreational power to residential users
and portable power to professional
contractors who need to power tools
and lights on the job. “This is about
providing a new customer base with
the right solutions for their home and
outdoor power needs that reflect the
reliability, rugged capabilities and
quality with which Cat products are
known,” says George Taylor, Caterpillar
vice-president of Marketing and Digital
Division.
Plunge for US construction
equipment exports
Exports of US-manufactured
construction equipment were down
24% for the first half of 2016,
compared to the same period a year
ago, according to the Association
of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM).
The association says that US$ 5,65
billion of construction equipment was
exported to global markets during the
first six months of the year. The only
region which saw an increase was
Europe, up 2%, to US$ 898 million.
Meanwhile, Canada – the US’s biggest
export market – dropped 23% to US$
2,4 billion. The biggest fall came from
South America, at 49%, to US$ 504
million. There were also falls in Africa
(43%), Australia/Oceania (30%), Asia
(28%) and Central America (7%).
b
most people don’t know is that the more
expensive products go through various
accreditation ratings. These accredita-
tions include things such as vibration
testing, moisture, humidity, dust and
drop testing.”
He argues that a cheap testing instrument
or piece of equipment is also more likely to
break quickly and requires frequent repairs.
It may also need to be replaced much faster
than a quality instrument as it might not be
robust to withstand industrial wear and
tear. “Cheaper breathalysers may also need
to be recalibrated more often than quality
machines and failure to recalibrate the
machine could also affect the reliability of
the readings, or even, its ability to operate
at all,” adds Evans.
b