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Slot Machine Firm hits Efficiency Jackpot
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Premier Automatic Machines is a successful independent games machine supplier.
Established 15 years ago, the Tamworth-based business rents and maintains a wide range of slot machines for the pub industry in Staffordshire and the surrounding area.
The company supplies around 2,000 pieces of equipment each year to brewery chains - ranging from fruit machines and pool tables to juke boxes and video machines.
The industry moves at a fast pace, with breweries requiring speedy repairs and a regular rotation of machines to maintain customer loyalty, interest and spend.
Premier Automatic Machines employees a 10-strong team of specialist engineers to meet these demands. Two dedicated service engineers swap machines over on a 12-13 week cycle, while eight repairs engineers keep all products in prime working order.
With the team on the road 364 days of the year, the company was keen to find a way to improve the management of its fleet, drive up productivity and hone customer service.
They found the solution with a Navman Vehicle Tracking system.
Information at a glance
Premier Automatic Machines purchased its system four months ago from Competitive Tracking in Stafford, and was immediately impressed with its convenience and ease of use.
Office-based staff can now see the exact location of the engineering team in real time, via their PC screens. The set-up is proving a great time saver.
Andy Green, General Manager for Premier Automatic Machines explained: "It's much easier to keep track of our vehicles now. For one thing, we don't have to keep phoning our engineers to get location updates, which has taken away a lot of hassle.
"The system is also a useful way of keeping customers in the loop. Our receptionist Louise always has the
tracking window running in the background on her computer screen. That way, if a customer rings up asking where one of our engineers is, Louise can give them an instant answer. It shows we're on the
ball."
With calls coming in all the time from pubs across a seventy-mile radius, the team must be ready to respond at a moment's notice. Navman is proving an important ally, allowing Andy to quickly determine the location of each team member, and assign the closest engineer to a new job.
"We can be even quicker off the mark these days," he revealed. "I can see who is closest to a job and what their current status is, so that we get someone to the customer as soon as possible. Again, it's all about providing a more professional, reactive service. It's good business sense, pure and
simple."
Helping with the paperwork
Navman's ability to compile instant activity reports for each vehicle is proving a huge help to Andy and his team - reducing the administrative headache and providing valuable back-up in the event of a customer query.
Reports can be produced daily, weekly, or monthly, and cover a wide range of parameters, from time spent on each job, to miles covered and speed travelled.
Andy revealed: "Although we don't provide this data to our customers as a matter of course, it's nice to have it in reserve, in case a customer has a query or needs
reassurance".
"The reporting system has also proved to be a much easier way of keeping track of private mileage. Our engineers are free to use their vehicles for personal use, but are required to reimburse the company for those private miles. We can now do these sums more easily and accurately, which has saved a lot of time and hassle for
everyone."
Looking to the future
Premier Automatic Machines has been so impressed with its first foray into vehicle tracking technology, it is now preparing ambitious plans to expand the system over the next year.
Working with its dealer, Competitive Tracking, the company aims to provide Navman to all its engineers via a suite of handheld Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs).
This groundbreaking set up will ultimately allow the company to send a wealth of information to staff in the field, from detailed job briefs to traffic updates. Engineers will even be able to access satellite navigation via their PDAs. In turn, they will be able to transmit key information back to the office computer system, such as a customer's electronic signature on job completion.
"When you start to look at what this technology is capable of delivering, it's fair to say that we've really only dipped our toe in the water so far," said Andy. "However, we're looking to really exploit the possibilities in the future. We've got an exciting 12 months
ahead."
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