Fleets can prepare now for an Olympic challenge on the roads, says Trimble

Fleet solutions provider Trimble is calling for companies to prepare now to minimise the anticipated disruption to London’s roads on the first day of the working week after the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.

Monday, July 30, 2012 is anticipated to be one of the most congested days London has ever seen with tens of thousands of people descending on London for both the Olympics and Paralympics,

For fleets operating around the Olympic route network, the increased volume of traffic on the roads is likely to have a significant impact on scheduling and deliveries.

Already, Transport for London (TfL) has made a number of suggestions aimed at alleviating some of the pressure on businesses, including staggering working hours, temporarily relocating employees and conducting early morning or late night deliveries.

Andrew Yeoman, managing director of Trimble Fleet Solutions, says that service and delivery businesses can help mitigate the anticipated road congestion by taking an adaptable approach.

“The suggestions put forward by TfL will certainly help out on the roads but may cause some irregular requirements on behalf of consumers,” he said.

“Businesses will need to demonstrate greater flexibility over the Games themselves and can start to put plans in place now to respond to their customers’ more challenging needs.

“Good customer service is key for success in any business and a crucial factor in repeat custom. The Olympics are really going to test companies’ abilities to meet customer demands but they can factor these complexities in by potentially offering early and late delivery slots, providing accurate arrival times, while meeting the customer’s expectation.”

Yeoman continues: “A recent survey of 2,000 adults we commissioned showed that customer service is a key differentiator and retailers and service providers can’t afford to leave their customers disappointed.

“Telematics technology can enable companies to not only plan their capacity and schedules better but also ensure they are on track to meet those planned commitments, keeping customers informed along the way by using the latest work management solutions.”