Client Spotlight – Lake Country Co-op, Prince Albert SK.
North Star Systems is a hardware and software developer in Saskatchewan, Canada that manufactures tools to support business operations and logistics. Our Live Dispatch software is an innovative solution enabling clients to fully manage orders from initial order intake, to task assignment, to fulfillment. Businesses that use Live Dispatch are currently managing thousands customers across Western Canada.
In our most recent Client Spotlight we chatted with Bruce Franson, the Petroleum Manager at Lake Country Co-op, in Prince Albert. Bruce shared how his business utilizes our dispatching and order management system and the impact it’s had on their operations.
Lake Country Co-op
The CO-OP® brand is used by a network of retail co-operative associations across Western Canada that own and operate Co-op Agro Centres, Food Stores, Gas Bars/Convenience Stores, Home Centres, Pharmacies and more.
Lake Country Co-op serves its community with a broad range of products and services. The petroleum division has a focus on serving the agricultural and industrial sectors. The Prince Albert operation includes four delivery trucks and three full-time drivers that service roughly 1500 fuel tanks in North East Saskatchewan. Lake Country’s trading area stretches from Shellbrook to Wakaw and reaches as far north as La Ronge.
North Star System has been working with Lake Country Co-op for several years. Our relationship started with Lake Country utilizing Tattle Systems. After the success of our flagship product, the partnership has grown to include Live Dispatch as well.
When asked what he likes about the Live Dispatch, Bruce was quick to answer,
“It’s made things a lot more efficient.”
They used to manage orders through text messages, and phone calls back and forth with drivers to the office. Having the desktop version of Live Dispatch in the office and on the app for drivers in the field has provided clarity for everyone in the organization. Bruce also commented that the onboarding process was done in person, the platform is simple to use, and customer support is just a phone call away if they have issues. All these factors led to complete driver buy-in in less than two weeks.
Utilizing Live Dispatch has significantly impacted Lake Country’s daily operations. Bruce described that there have been several noteworthy benefits since switching to the platform, but when asked who in the organization benefits the most from Live Dispatch, he said, “The drivers would be lost without it.” He continues to explain at the end of each day, they used to plan routes for each driver for the next morning. This would sometimes lead to headaches trying to get their trucks loaded in preparation. Now they can easily plan 2-3 days in advance. This has empowered drivers to take control of their routes and has taken the guesswork out of the job.
Bruce has found additional efficiencies by utilizing the Auto-fill feature that can be accessed by using Live Dispatch and Tattle Systems together. This powerful feature takes efficiencies to the next level by automatically creating an order in the Live Dispatch when a Tattle triggers the low-level alert on a monitored asset.
If you would like to know more about how North Star Systems can help your business, reach out to our team today!
