Customer satisfaction pushed to the limit for Belgatrans

It was on a particularly rainy day—though not lacking in warmth—that we met the members of the Belgatrans team in the city of Metz! Belgatrans is a major company in the region, specializing in express and tailor-made transport. Greeting us were: Léa Congi, Transport and Logistics Operations apprentice and Dashdoc project manager, Katia Hamouche, Sales and Marketing Manager, and Amir Ladjadj, Transport and Logistics Reference. We were able to discuss the implementation of the Dashdoc TMS at Belgatrans and how it changed their work. 

Introduction to the Belgatrans group 

How was the company founded?

It was in 2005 that Mohamed Belgacem founded his transport company in Champagne-Ardenne. The central Metz agency opened afterwards, which is where we went. 

Since then, the group has supported more than 3,000 clients in their various issues, whether they concern transport or logistics.

Even though the Belgatrans group has grown, the guiding principle that has accompanied the employees since the first year has not changed. Each service must be successfully completed and strive for tailor-made solutions to honor deadlines, brand image and trustworthy relationships between suppliers and clients.

What does Belgatrans do and what sets it apart?

Belgatrans has been dedicated to express and custom transport for over 18 years now. Transport managers respond as quickly as possible to requests with the appropriate vehicle, and drivers arrive as soon as possible at loading and unloading points.

Belgatrans in numbers

Today, the company represents:

• About thirty employees, including drivers

• 1065 express transports per month and 430 regular transports per month (which can amount to nearly 18,000 transports per year! Although the months vary from one to another)

• 23 vehicles in service and 13 drivers

• About fifty partners

What challenges did Belgatrans face before adopting Dashdoc?

Customer experience priorities and scattered information

Express transport requires a very high level of responsiveness to clients: there is constant pressure on response time to the client and thetime of execution of the transport. The areas for improvement were therefore as follows:

• Ensure the most satisfying customer experience possible: improve responsiveness, guarantee flawless tracking

• Reduce the number of tools used (papers, disconnected tools, etc.) as they are too time-consuming

• Centralize information on the same platform and provide customized visibility to your client/supplier

• Secure and make data reliable

• Achieve a zero-paper policy: no longer having to manage so many physical documents, both for economic, ecological, and organizational reasons

• Improve the invoicing process, which can quickly become time-consuming.

With rigor, precision, and a committed project manager in the person of Léa, the objectives have been achieved today and have established new routines within the company. Digitalization remains a constant goal, maximizing process automation to avoid wasting time.

What solutions has Dashdoc brought to these problems?

Before/after Dashdoc implementation

Creating transports and obtaining the schedule

Before integrating the Dashdoc TMS, the operations managers mainly used Excel to build the daily schedule and get an overview of all transports.

Today, even though Excel hasn't disappeared from practical tools and allows for many adjustments when unexpected changes occur, the Dashdoc schedule provides a real-time tracking and offers a comprehensive overview of transports, past, ongoing, and completed.

Waybills and administrative management

Waybills were filled out by hand, as is still the case in most transport companies.Booklets would pile up along with various other transport documents in archive rooms.

Today, drivers no longer write out their waybills but instead fill in the required fields directly in the Dashdoc driver app. Information is relayed to operations almost instantly thanks to the connection with the TMS.

Fewer chances of loss, errors, and no storage space needed for generated paper: it’s a winning bet for Belgatrans, relieving them of an administrative burden.

Transport tracking

Previously, operations managers would send on average 2 emails or more per transport, which amounted to over 2,990 emails per month: to confirm loading and unloading with the consignment note associated with the client. 

Today, there is no longer any need to write an email to track transport operations because statuses are automatically updated and it is possible to track the status of a transport in real-time, particularly with a dedicated client portal.

Of course, there are specific cases such as transports with delays or disputes, which require greater attention and more extensive communication between the driver, operator, and other involved parties.

The reduction in calls and emails brings increased efficiency and comfort for transport managers, who can focus on new incoming requests.

Customer Relations

Customer follow-up, and therefore the relationship of trust between client and carrier, has been strengthened.

After adopting Dashdoc and completing the transition period, the feedback on customer service has been very positive. Examples of customer quotes received between May and June 2023 after a satisfaction survey conducted by Belgatrans:

Invoicing

The Belgatrans group previously used another software and could invoice transports within one week, without delay. Now, with the Dashdoc TMS, that time is shorter. The connection between Dashdoc and their new invoicing tool allows Belgatrans to invoice in two to three days.

A word about the team’s buy-in to the Dashdoc project?

The team did not show any resistance because Léa was keen to reassure everyone, both the drivers using the app and the operators using the TMS.

In one week, the app had been downloaded, tested, and adopted.