D&L Case Study
D&L Contract Services offers over 10 years of experience in the drainage industry and are committed to providing a high standard of work for their customers. Since establishing, D&L’s services have expanded into carpentry and other multi-trade works including fencing and locksmith contract services.
D&L’s carefully chosen specialists ensure that the company constantly provide an excellent service carried out by their friendly and honest team. The local community is central to D&L’s core values. Many of D&L’s employees are local tradesman and they also have a traineeship scheme that allows young people to gain the qualifications needed to work with them within the drainage and carpentry industry.
The company carries out a range of work ranging from 4 hour emergency call outs and yearly maintenance jobs. D&L have a track record of meeting deadlines and providing client satisfaction on the quality of work. Clients include the London Borough of Harrow, Morrisons, various schools and numerous estate agents.
Where does Okappy fit in?
Prior to using Okappy, D&L used a traditional paperwork system to manage their jobs and contracts. They came to realise that this was costing them valuable time and started to look for alternative solutions.
“We used to work off paper. Every time we got a job through they were printed out and stuck on two big boards. There were dates and schedules for each of the different teams we had. We were running about 5 different contracts that way. With around 50 jobs a day, you can imagine the amount of paperwork we had coming through!” – Reena, D&L Contract Services
On an understanding that the future and growth of their business depends on customer and client satisfaction, D&L realised they needed to update their operatives.
Why did D&L choose Okappy?
D&L was recommended to Okappy by a friend of the company. They had looked into other PDA systems, however they worked out as too expensive and didn’t offer the kind of interface that would suit their needs.
“We found Okappy, and met Gerry who went through the system with us to get us set up. We more or less started using it the next day. We’ve been very impressed with the customer support provided by Okappy.” – Reena, D&L Contract Services
D&L were impressed by the support provided by Okappy to get them up and running with the software. They found it was very simple to use and took hardly any time at all to learn how to use.
How are D&L using Okappy to streamline their business?
“To be honest, for me in the office it has been such a life saver! Because not only are we getting tickets back every day from the operatives but we’re getting sent photos as well.” – Reena, D&L Contract Services
D&L use Okappy to add jobs and communicate with their employees when out on the job. The real time data updates have allowed them to receive confirmation of job completion straight away. They are no longer left waiting days for the paperwork. This has additionally helped speed up the payment process. With Okappy’s job management system D&L have no need for their old paperwork system.
“We’ve benefitted from the real time updates. Our director, Lee, is out on site a lot and so it’s extremely useful for him to have Okappy on his smartphone. When we are in client meetings we are able to look up jobs and answer their queries then and there in the meeting. Our process is a lot more streamlined. Everything is on there – we know when jobs are completed. It’s such a relief not having to ring round everyone trying to find out if jobs have been completed.” – Reena, D&L Contract Services
How much time has been saved through using Okappy?
“Time-wise, since using Okappy, you’re looking at a couple of hours saved everyday. With regards to the admin side; it has been such a massive improvement. I’m not chasing the operatives everyday to find out where the paperwork is or to see if they’ve lost it.” Reena, D&L Contract Services
How has Okappy benefitted their business?
Since using Okappy, D&L have saved at least two hours a day, previously spent sorting out paperwork. This extra time has meant that they have more time to focus on continuing to provide an excellent service to their clients. Having all of their information in one place has meant it is far easier to access particular information for certain jobs and payments. Okappy enabled D&L to improve upon their strong communication foundations which was vital for the company to continue to work efficiently and proactively.