ByBox in-night distribution transforms Total Hygienes distribution process

A FIRM specialising in bathroom and toilet equipment for the disabled has seen its distribution process totally transformed thanks to supply chain specialists, ByBox.

Total Hygiene, which makes the unique Clos-o-Mat wash and dry toilet, is saving money and ensuring increased productivity after bringing in ByBox to manage its parts distribution. The company, which first made a WC specifically for disabled people more than 40 years ago, is unique in manufacturing the Clos-o-Mat and now has around 40,000 of the units installed across the UK.

Total Hygiene also supply a comprehensive range of fixed and height adjustable bathroom and toileting equipment for the less able and offers a nationwide, in-house technical team to install, commission and service the products.

With servicing and supply a key element of the business Total Hygiene realised the lack of control on parts ordering, delivery and tracking was a real problem.

Before ByBox Total Hygiene had no specific system for parts delivery or tracking. Engineers would schedule a meet-up to obtain the parts needed for their jobs. But these meet-ups would often take up to half a day and would not necessarily be in a convenient place for the engineers.

There was also no tracking of parts so engineers would run out of essential parts before the next scheduled meet-up.

And with re-orders taking as long as three weeks this meant delays in attending jobs.

Now Total Hygiene engineers order the parts they need for their next day’s work knowing they will be delivered by 8am the following morning into their nominated iBox.

Engineers get a text when their part is at their box to collect ensuring they only need to travel to the box if a part needs picking up.

This means the amount of stock on vehicles has been reduced by 25 per cent, saving Total Hygiene money on excess parts.

It also means engineers can order stock late if a specific problem crops up and they can complete more jobs because they parts they need are always to hand.

The whole process has helped maximise efficiency and productivity and limit waste.

Ian Tomlinson, Commercial Manager for Total Hygiene, said: "Our engineers are more productive, their first time fix rate is high and it has helped us reduce costs by limiting the amount of stock sitting on a van.

"ByBox has transformed our distribution process."