How Tejo Distribution cut driver overtime by a third

Company Overview

Tejo Distribution runs 38 drivers on regional multi drop work. Routes were built from habit and local knowledge, and most drivers finished an hour or more over their planned day.

Challenge

• Routes reflected a customer base that had changed substantially since they were designed
• Overtime ran at around 11 hours per driver per week and was treated as unavoidable
• Two drivers came close to breaching driving hours limits in the same month
• Driver turnover was 26 percent a year, and exit conversations cited unpredictable finish times

Solution

• FerroRoute rebuilt every route against current drop locations, volumes and time windows
• Driving hours limits are treated as hard constraints, so a non compliant route cannot be issued
• Realistic service times per customer replaced the flat assumption the old routes used
• Routes are reviewed monthly against actual data instead of every few years

Results

• Overtime fell from around 11 hours per driver per week to seven
• Delivered volume held flat, so the saving was pure efficiency rather than lost work
• Driving hours near misses stopped entirely
• Driver turnover fell from 26 percent to 15 percent over the following year

Customer Testimonial

"The saving on overtime paid for this in five months, which is the number that got it approved. The number I actually care about is turnover. Drivers left because they never knew when they would get home. That was a planning failure and we could not see it."

Beatriz Almeida, Head of Transport, Tejo Distribution

Key Benefits

• Routes rebuilt against current customers and volumes
• Driving hours limits enforced as hard constraints
• Realistic service times per customer
• Monthly review against actual performance

Ferro & Sons Logistics rebuilt Tejo Distribution's routes around the business it has today, cutting overtime by a third and driver turnover by more than a third.