Wise Systems

Donaghy Sales, a growing beverage distribution company, faced significant challenges in their route scheduling operations. The team, led by Operations Analyst Stephen Saldate, manually managed routes and relied on retrospective analysis to make decisions and future plans. This approach often led to inefficiencies and reactive problem-solving. The management team frequently found themselves asking, 'What went wrong last time, and how can we prevent these problems for the next time?' Recognizing the need for a more proactive and efficient solution, Donaghy Sales sought to implement a digital transformation strategy that would leverage machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) to automate and optimize their last-mile planning. The goal was to move away from legacy software and adopt a modern, cloud-based solution that could support their current and future operations.

Prior to working with Wise Systems, Scout Distribution routed statically, building fixed route plans around their forecasted orders. They used their ERP system to do some light routing, but wanted more comprehensive automation. The system would assign drivers to accounts and incoming orders, but still required manual routing and navigating to each stop. Without a streamlined process for data collection and dispatching, the team knew their original approach wasn’t sustainable or scalable for rapid business growth. The team needed to adopt a technology platform that would collect and accommodate all of its fleet data in order to quickly scale with the expanding business.

In 2020, Fond du Lac Cold Storage (FDL) decided to replace their legacy routing platform, Roadnet, to improve customer service, differentiate their business, simplify the routing process, and reduce daily time spent planning routes. With a fleet of temperature-controlled trucks, they sought a cloud-based platform that provided power and ease of use while supporting their customer service commitment. The transition to Wise Systems happened at the beginning of the pandemic, necessitating an entirely remote onboarding and training process for all roles.