Wren Kitchens teams up with Webfleet to boost fuel efficiency

Wren Kitchens' fleet has extended its miles-per-gallon efficiency by nearly 8% since installing fleet management solution Webfleet with Paragon routing and scheduling software.

The Lincolnshire-based retailer now runs Webfleet, which is Bridgestone's fleet management solution, in 154 trucks delivering kitchen units to customers across the UK, and a further 98 vans servicing the 108 Wren showrooms.

Lee Thompson-Halls, Wren national fleet manager, said: "The introduction of a single fleet management platform was a priority for us and Webfleet offered the seamless integration with Paragon that we needed.

“We can now despatch jobs, confirm ETAs and compare planned versus actual scheduling from the one Webfleet interface.”

The kitchen company has found that the accurate fuel consumption data, truck-specific navigation and driver performance insights have led to average fleet fuel economy across vans and trucks increasing from 13mpg to 14mpg.

Webfleet’s OptiDrive 360, which profiles drivers based on incidents such as harsh braking, sharp cornering or speeding, has also helped the Wren team improve road safety standards, with successful drivers celebrated at the annual Wren Driver of the Year event.

Thompson-Halls added: "Our vehicles travel an average of 150 miles a day, so a 1% mpg improvement quickly adds up to significant bottom line savings, as well as helping us meet our demanding sustainability goals."

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With many of the vans used by multiple employees, Webfleet’s Driver ID is proving invaluable in identifying which employees are driving which vehicle – and how much time they spend on the road, on-site or with customers – via individual RFID cards

To support Wren’s planned transition to electric vans, the company is now using Webfleet’s EV management toolkit to forecast TCO savings by simplifying comparisons between internal combustion vehicle running costs and real-world EV performance.

It is also helping the company plan for their charging infrastructure needs by confirming where their vehicles spend most time, their typical mileage and dwell times.

Beverley Wise, Webfleet regional director for Bridgestone Mobility Solutions, said: "We’ve built our brand on helping customers cut fuel and CO2, in line with the Bridgestone E8 Commitment, so it’s great to see such a prestigious household name putting its trust in Webfleet to deliver on efficiency, safety and sustainability."

Telematics specialists and Webfleet partner MG Fleet advised on both solution and installation. Neil Gittins, MG Fleet operations d, added: "As specialists in system integration, we knew we could create a robust and reliable solution to Wren’s needs. Webfleet allowed us to integrate in a highly customer-centric way with Paragon, giving Wren convenience, ease of use and efficiency.”