Based in Mobile, Alabama, Hall’s Wholesale Florist is a leading supplier of fresh floral arrangements, flowers and supplies to local florists, event and wedding planners. Hall’s Wholesale has reliably served local businesses in the Mobile Gulf Coast since 1920. Operations Manager Andy Givens explains Hall’s day-to-day operation: “We source fresh flowers from all over the world – South America, Holland, Asia – and distribute them to local businesses within a hundred mile radius of our central office. Our trucks take routes north into Alabama, west into Mississippi and eastward into Florida. We expanded Hall’s operations by now picking up our products using our own refrigerated trucks, and expect to add more trucks to that process.”
As Hall’s Wholesale expanded the numbers of trucks and covered a wider geography of customers and suppliers, Andy’s idea for a fleet management solution came from the need to train drivers to be efficient during their daily drives while staying safe during the route. “Seeing how my drivers run their routes. Are they speeding? Are they using the best methods to get around town? Do they know where they’re going? It’s more about managing the people and helping them do better.” Andy’s search for a fleet solution began online. “I was looking for GPSs, so I could know where my trucks were and what they’re doing. I was looking for dashcams for security purposes. Whether it’s making sure my drivers are okay, or protecting ourselves and our people in the event of an accident.”
A simple solution
FleetUp’s flexibility was a main selling point for Hall’s. “I didn’t need a lot of the options that a lot of people were offering, and a lot of companies were trying to sell me stuff that I didn’t need.” “FleetUp offers a tremendous amount of options, but keeps it simple.’ For Hall’s, FleetUp’s fleet management capabilities and AI Dashcams provided an ideal way to keep track of their vehicles and ensure that their drivers stay safe. A secondary benefit was the ability to use driver data for coaching and training purposes. This is especially important as Hall’s brings on new drivers to help handle seasonal business surges.
“We can see where the drivers are going, and if they’re using the most efficient routes.”Andy Givens
Operations Manager / Buyer, Hall’s Theodore Wholesale Florist, Inc.
Operational efficiency, training, and security benefits
Hall’s deployed FleetUp’s GPS devices and AI Dashcams to their fleet, and immediately noticed a difference in driver behavior – along with a 96% decrease in speeding. “I set a speed limit, and checked a couple weeks later, and [drivers] had surpassed that speed 50 or 60 times. I installed the cameras that Wednesday, and on Friday they had surpassed that speed twice. So they became safer drivers just by having a camera in the truck.”
“FleetUp’s AI Dashcam is smart technology. It knows how to identify sharp turns or quick braking and things like that. And we’ve had people in accidents before, and you take the AI Dashcam footage to an insurance company and go, ‘my guy was doing everything he was supposed to do, it’s not our fault.’ It’s a simple insurance policy basically taking care of our people.” FleetUp’s GPS tracking capabilities help train drivers to be more efficient in their deliveries and pickups. This enhances Hall’s customer-service capabilities. “We can see where the drivers are going, and if they’re using the most efficient routes. And I have a station set up for my sales people that when a customer says ‘Hey, can you let me know where your driver is?’ We can check and say, ‘he’s in Biloxi, you’re in Gulfport, it’s going to be another 30 minutes’, as opposed to having the driver stop and call us.” This gets rid of distracting phone calls to drivers about location and arrival times. Keeping drivers focused on the road is yet another safety measure to prevent accidents.
“We can look at the new driver’s route and train them. I got one driver to be more efficient within a week because we showed him what he was doing wrong. It was a good tool that we saw the benefits from right there.”Andy Givens
Operations Manager / Buyer, Hall’s Theodore Wholesale Florist, Inc.
Flexible options allow for growth
Andy liked the flexibility of FleetUp’s contract model. “You had a 12 month contract. And everybody else required two and three year contracts.” FleetUp’s products help Hall’s as they expand their fleet and increase their range from home base. “We’re moving farther and farther out. We’re looking at driving down to Miami to pick up our own flowers, instead of using as many outside trucking companies. That’s a nine to eleven-hour drive one way, so we’re going to need to know where our trucks and drivers are at all times, and that they’re safe.” Andy foresees continuing to improve company operations through the use of FleetUp. “We can look at the new driver’s route and train them, ‘Okay, here’s where you could have done better, this is the better trip route to go.’ I got one driver to be more efficient within a week because we showed him what he was doing wrong. It was a good tool that we saw the benefits from right there.”
Andy recommended FleetUp to one of Hall’s own suppliers. “They have farms in Mexico and bring products back and forth across the border. We were discussing issues about the security of their drivers, preventing theft and tracking the trucks. I’d recommend FleetUp to any supplier,” said Andy. “It’s a good product for keeping track of the trucks and drivers. When I know the truck’s location at all times, then I know when it will arrive at its destination.”
“The AI Dashcam is a simple insurance policy basically taking care of our people.”Andy Givens
Operations Manager / Buyer, Hall’s Theodore Wholesale Florist, Inc.
