Autocare Drives Business to the Next Level with Rugged Panasonic TOUGHBOOK Tablets

Autocare found it increasingly difficult to efficiently capture and share important real-time customer data and job management updates, as drivers of the Autocare fleet of vehicle transporters were relying on older mobile devices operating on a slow and unreliable 2G network.

This system saw these employees using paper forms and documents, a key contributor to errors that impacted on customer satisfaction. In order to increase productivity levels across the company’s 330-strong vehicle fleet and reduce costs related to system failures and errors, Autocare made the decision to invest in a rugged Android tablet device with a built-in scanner to replace legacy hardware.

Mark Povah, National IT and Systems Manager, Autocare said: “We needed to act quickly to upgrade our technology to stay competitive and ensure we were giving the best customer service possible. The TOUGHBOOK was the only solution that could deliver a truly rugged system that was also easy for our drivers to use and could withstand the different environments we operate in. Most importantly, our increased agility and productivity has helped us better service our customers.”

The partnership initially commenced on a trial basis, with Autocare testing four of the tablets. After an overwhelmingly positive response among users and tangible benefits being seen instantly, the company has invested in 330 x TOUGHBOOK tablets across the business operating on a 4G network.

Device usage in the business has soared - increasing from below 45% with the previous solution to 97% with the TOUGHBOOK.

The total cost of ownership has also been dramatically reduced compared to the previous solution as less time and investment is spent on repairing and replacing devices. Productivity and accuracy has increased now that drivers are not waiting for load information, and vehicle movements and TMS updates are rapidly processed automatically. Driver communication has also been streamlined, with less need for emails, phone calls and SMS.