Al Khayyat Investments (the AKI Group) has achieved annual savings of more than $1 million by using Paragon’s routing and scheduling software to transform its in-house transport operation. The company has dramatically improved productivity and reduced costs since investing in the transport planning solution by better managing its vehicles and drivers that operate across the UAE. By increasing average deliveries per vehicle by 164%, the AKI Group has been able to lower the average cost per delivery by 65% and reduce fleet size by 38%.

“Changes in the economy of the UAE are forcing supply chain operations in the region to get more focused on cost savings and improved productivity,” explains Gary Grindlay, Group Head of Logistics at the AKI Group. “We are bringing together the best technology solutions available to address these challenges, with Paragon’s routing and scheduling software now a crucial part of our commitment to operational excellence.”

The AKI Group processes around 25,000 orders a month, typically equating to 12,500 deliveries each month to up to 5,500 customer sites across the UAE. The company recognised that manually planning such a large multi-drop delivery operation was resulting in inefficiencies, so selected Paragon’s routing and scheduling software to enhance the performance. The solution also includes Street Level Mapping and Average Road Speed Data to achieve even higher levels of route accuracy, as well as Route Execution to provide real-time visibility of the operation.

Having implemented Paragon’s routing and scheduling software, the AKI Group saw significant operational improvements across a number of essential transport KPIs. In particular, the company has been able to reduce the size of its fleet from 84 to 52 commercial vehicles, while average deliveries per vehicle increased from 4.7 to 12.4. The solution is also enabling the AKI Group to better manage delivery volume peaks, which see around 45% of orders being placed in the last four days of the month.

The transport operation provides delivery services on behalf of a diverse range of business units including retail, consumer and healthcare. Within the UAE there are strict regulations governing commercial vehicle usage for food, non-food and pharmaceutical loads, so the AKI Group operates a mixed delivery fleet with a number of multi-temperature, compartmentalised bodies. The transport team uses Paragon’s routing and scheduling software to automatically factor in vehicle restrictions when planning deliveries, so it can maximise capacity while achieving regulatory compliance 

Since the adoption of the advanced routing and scheduling software, the AKI Group has consolidated its planning resource into a centralised planning function. The team is responsible for managing all deliveries, monitoring the transport in real-time and analysing planned versus actual performance to target continuous improvement. 

“By integrating our planning, transport management and supply chain systems we are leading the way in the region and ensuring we are best positioned for pressures such as fluctuations in the economy and rising wages. In partnership with Paragon, we have already achieved significant value, maximising the return on our investment, and we expect further gains moving forward,” adds Grindlay.

William Salter, Managing Director of Paragon Software Systems commented: “While transport operators in the Middle East are faced with some unique challenges, our experience of working with organisations across the globe positions us well to help customers in this region improve efficiency. The savings we have helped the AKI Group achieve are a great example of the combined force of Paragon’s advanced routing software and the knowledge and expertise of our support team.”

Paragon Software Systems

About the Author: John Loughran