GetSwift Appoints Stan Pierre-Louis as Non-Executive, Independent Chair

GetSwift Appoints Stan Pierre-Louis as Non-Executive, Independent Chair

  • Brings Extensive Commercial and Governance Experience

 Photo from  VentureBeat  Photo: VentureBeat

GetSwift Limited (ASX: GSW) (‘GetSwift’ or the ‘Company’), a leading provider of SaaS logistics technology, today announced the appointment of Stanley Pierre-Louis to the GetSwift Board of Directors as Non-Executive, Independent Chair. Mr. Pierre-Louis brings over 23 years of experience leading, advising and governing private and public companies with a particular focus on technology and intellectual property issues.

“I am honoured to join GetSwift’s Board of Directors as Non-Executive, Independent Chair. GetSwift has grown to become a sizable organization with offices in the North America, Europe and Australia over the last three years and is an exciting public company with a world class executive team,” Mr. Pierre-Louis said. “The market opportunity for its business units is large and growing with significant runway. I look forward to working with Bane, Joel and the rest of the Board to focus on growing the top line aggressively, while maintaining best-in-class corporate governance practices and creating significant long-term value for all shareholders.”

Bane Hunter, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director said, “Stan is in a league of his own. He has tremendous commercial and governance experience particularly in the technology and digital arenas. His counsel and commercial experience will be a strong addition to the Board. We are thrilled to add such an accomplished professional to the lead a majority independent Board. We look forward to working together to continue growing GetSwift over the coming years for the benefit of all shareholders.”

Mr. Pierre-Louis currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) based in Washington, D.C. ESA is dedicated to serving the business and public affairs needs of companies that publish computer and video games for the Internet, personal computers, consoles, and handheld devices. He previously served as Senior Vice President and General Counsel of ESA. Prior to joining ESA, Mr. Pierre-Louis served as Senior Vice President and Associate General Counsel for Intellectual Property at Viacom. Mr. Pierre-Louis has served on governing boards and advisory councils for non-profit organisations and educational institutions.

Once Mr. Pierre-Louis’s appointments take effect the Board will continue to have a majority of independent directors.

The GetSwift App ‘Changed The Game’ For the Drivers At Billiard Factory

The GetSwift App ‘Changed The Game’ For the Drivers At Billiard Factory

Live tracking and proof of delivery have elevated customer service at the game-room furnishings retail company.

 

Billiard Factory IT Director Ken Santoro says GetSwift was the “final piece” to help them perfect delivery.

About a year ago, Billiard Factory, which delivers game-room furniture from 10 stores across Texas, Nevada, and Florida, was running on manual. Prior to starting a delivery, drivers would have to make phone calls to customers to let them know when their deliveries were scheduled to arrive. After the delivery, drivers would have to jot down any problems (like a scratch on a pool table) on a paper receipt that would sit in a truck all day and not be seen be a dispatcher until the following day.

All this manual work led to all sorts of potential for mistakes—before and after delivery. Some drivers would occasionally forget to call (meaning they could show up unannounced with a pool table in-hand) and others weren’t very comfortable talking on the phone. After a delivery, Billiard Factory had very little immediate visibility of any problems or customer complaints.

But Billiard Factory has now conquered these problems with GetSwift’s driver and customer apps. Before a job, a text message gets automatically sent to customers giving them a live tracking link and an ETA, allowing them to plan their day around the delivery. After the job is complete, drivers are automatically asked to fill out proof of delivery in the GetSwift app—with room for photos, a signature, and notes. This data is immediately seen by dispatch.

“Now, we get instantaneous feedback not only with notes but with pictures,” Ken Santoro, the IT Director at Billiard Factory, said. “We can take action on those issues before the driver gets down the street.”

“We get back to the customer before they even have a chance to call us or write a bad review,”  Santoro said.

The big benefits of the app: Visibility and Automation

 Driver Patrick Disney on the GetSwift app

Driver Patrick Disney on the GetSwift app

For one of Billiard Factory’s most senior installers, Patrick Disney, and his colleagues, the app has been a game-changer. Now, with the click of a button saying he is on his way, the customers he serves get a live ETA. He also clicks when he’s at the job (to let dispatch know) and when it’s completed. If you’re counting, that’s only three times that he interacts with the app during an entire delivery.

“It’s a very simple process. I can’t really complain about the little bit that I have to do,” Disney said.

But the biggest benefit he’s seen is how much the automated alerts and live tracking help customers plan their day.

Disney told the story of a customer with a beach house an hour-and-a-half from Houston, where she was at the time. “By getting her that automatically-sent GetSwift text, she was able to drop a few things, head out to the beach early, and meet us at almost the exact same time that we arrived,” he said.

“They love knowing where the drivers are at,” Santoro added. Since using the app, “customer satisfaction is way up.”

While it doesn’t happen often, something can go awry –like a driver makes a mistake or a foosball table arrives damaged—customers end up happy because the problem is immediately addressed.

“While we can see some customers are disappointed that the product came in damaged or there was a scratch, a driver will still get a 5-star review. A lot of that has to do with the driver’s know-how but a lot has to do with transparency,” Santoro said.

Using GetSwift To Elevate Their Game

Now that they have so much more transparency into their delivery operation, Santoro sees endless possibilities.

First, sales reps—who also have access to the GetSwift data—can manage all their sales cycles more effectively. The day after delivery, they can make follow-up calls armed with the photos and notes from the day before. Second, Billiard Factory can start turning installation data into business intelligence: When they know exactly how long each piece of furniture takes to install, they can plan accordingly.

Most importantly, GetSwift has helped Santoro with his #1 IT initiative: wowing customers.

“GetSwift brings transparency to our deliveries and takes our game to the next level. It’s the final piece when it comes to perfecting delivery and wowing our customers,” Santoro said.

To learn more about how GetSwift’s smart delivery platform can elevate your business, Get in touch with us.

 

Hey! How One Text Message Can Improve Your Customer’s Day

Why SMS Alerts are key to any delivery experience.

Some delivery businesses we work with at GetSwift have their doubts about SMS Alerts. One common worry is: “If I send SMS alerts, will I bother my customers?”

In a word: No. Predictable delivery is not just a convenient, nice thing to have anymore—it’s expected. Your customer is building how they spend their day, night, or, in the case of large delivery like a couch or a refrigerator, their week around this delivery. Text messages are a great way for customers to manage their time, interact with your brand, and even get prompted to contact your team if they need to change the delivery time.

Text alerts have also become common courtesy. Remember the days of sitting on your couch wondering when your Chinese takeout will arrive and having no idea if you can take a shower or walk the dog—or not? Those days are long gone.

The best part? Automated SMS alerts can be set up in minutes on GetSwift. You can learn how easy that is on our support page.

As you set up SMS alerts, here are some awesome things you do to add a flourish to your messages:

First, you can automatically personalize each SMS Alert just by adding a field for the customer’s name and the driver’s name when you set up your alerts. You can also choose to add links to a Live Tracking Map, Live ETA, or a feedback form.

Second, you can add your own branding. Write the message in your tone of voice and choose the name of the sender that pops up on your customer’s phone.

Third, you can choose which events will trigger an SMS alert. Here are the events that could trigger an alert: New Job Started, Task Accepted by Handler, Delivery En Route, Delivery Completed, and Delivery Cancelled. Choose all 5 or just one.

In sum, giving customers an accurate prediction of when their delivery will arrive is a must-have for delivery businesses, and SMS alerts a great way to do it. With GetSwift, you can customize those messages to your needs so that your customers are kept informed, at ease, and, most importantly, excited about your products and their delivery.

For a guide to setting up SMS alerts, head to our support page. To learn how GetSwift can help you conquer the chaos of delivery, get in touch.

Delivery Biz Pro (A GetSwift Company) Services New Zealand’s Eketahuna Country Meats

Delivery Biz Pro (DBP), a unit of GetSwift, Inc. (GetSwift) and global farm-to-table SaaS provider, which offers software to facilitate delivery between farms and providers of fresh produce to homes and businesses, is pleased to welcome New Zealand’s Eketahuna Country Meats to its platform.

Eketahuna Country Meats is a family-owned and operated online service specializing in sustainably-raised beef, lamb, and pork, along with fresh glass-bottled milk, to customers in New Zealand. This is the latest in a series of relationships DBP has developed recently and underscores its flexibility to help companies across the globe.

“We have been able to expand product volume while improving speed and range of delivery,” said Steve Olds, Founder of Eketahuna Country Meats. “For perishable items like fresh meat and milk, it’s critical to reach our customers in a timely, accurate fashion and DBP has simplified the process dramatically.”

While Eketahuna previously offered milk at some Wellington markets, DBP is helping the company bring back the tradition of fresh, full-cream milk delivered straight to home doorsteps in glass bottles.

Judd Payne, Vice President at GetSwift, added “It’s great to see a company like Eketahuna joining the local farm-to-table movement. Their commitment to quality and transparency in producing meats and dairy is absolutely refreshing…the words ‘commercialized’ and ‘processed’ are far removed from this farm.”

Eketahuna prides itself in offering meats and milk from animals raised entirely free of hormones, antibiotics, GMOs and farmed with minimal pesticide use. The company started eight years ago, initially selling beef and lamb from its own 300-acre farm and has since made partnerships with a small number of family farms.

About Delivery Biz Pro

Delivery Biz Pro (“DBP”), a unit of GetSwift, Inc., is a SaaS service division offering global customers a subscription-based cloud service for businesses with recurring product orders, particularly within the produce, meal kit, dairy, farm-to-table, water, home and commercial delivery sectors. The DBP platform brings together four key components that allow recurring delivery industry sectors to employ the best methodology for their logistics fulfillment. DBP’s system helps deliver over 2.5 million products, including local, organic food, to over 600,000 families on a monthly basis. For more information, please visit DBP here.

GetSwift Appoints Terrance White to Board as Non-Executive Director

  • Brings Over 40 Years of Commercial and Growth Experience

GetSwift Limited (ASX: GSW) (‘GetSwift’ or the ‘Company’), a leading provider of SaaS logistics technology, today announced the appointment of Terrance White to the GetSwift Board of Directors. Mr. White brings over 40 years of experience directing, advising and investing in private and public companies from early-stage tech start-ups to the Fortune 250, with extensive experience in international business development, sales management, and marketing.

“I am excited to join GetSwift’s Board of Directors at this time of significant growth and expansion for the Company. GetSwift has built a world class senior executive team that from a leadership, strategy, product, technology, and operations standpoint that is second to none. Their recent acquisition of two complimentary SaaS platforms and their integration to meet customer needs in the last mile and workforce management demonstrates a unique ability to execute rapidly the lessons their business intelligence data is giving them,” Mr. White said. “I look forward to drawing on my experiences scaling organizations – particularly revenue teams – to help GetSwift scale while growing the top line.”

Bane Hunter, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director said, “Terry is an outstanding global executive with a wealth of experience particularly in the North American markets. His insight, advice, networks and experience will be most welcome. We are delighted to add such an accomplished director to the Board and to the Company. We look forward to working with him in the boardroom to create long-term shareholder value.”

Mr. White previously served for 30 years in successful leadership roles for NYSE publicly listed Genuine Parts Company (GPC). His last 11 years at Genuine Parts were as President of its Rayloc Division. He was previously GPC’s Vice President of Sales and Executive Vice President of NAPA, one of the world’s best-known brands. Over his career, he has been involved as an advisor, investor and/or board member for several technology firms including NanoLumens, Interpoint Partners, DIS, and Gauge Insights. Engaged in the Atlanta community through numerous memberships and affiliations, he serves on the Board of Trustees of Oglethorpe University and the Children’s Healthcare Research Trust and is an active member of the Atlanta Rotary Club.

Consistent with the Company’s focus on revenues and scaling the business to meet global demand, the Company intends to shortly appoint a new Independent Non-Executive Chair with strong growth and governance experience. Importantly, once all appointments take effect, the Board will continue to have a majority of independent directors.