James Hall & Co has launched Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) to help improve delivery communications to retailers.

The North of England Spar wholesaler said the new PDAs would give its drivers more detailed delivery information such as best parking destinations at each store.

The PDAs will also allow drivers to see a delivery risk assessment before arriving at stores, and with a link to GPS, retailers will receive a message to their store or smartphone 15 minutes before arrival.

The arrival time will also be updated every minute via GPS, making it more convenient and accurate for retailers than calling customer services. James Hall & Co has 70 vehicles and makes 3,800 deliveries per week.

Mark Clayden, James Hall & Co’s transport manager, said: “Our retailers clearly asked us for better communication on drivers’ arrival times, and for drivers to be better informed of their stores’ requirements.

“We want to provide the best possible delivery experience for our retailers, so we have listened to their requests and responded with this innovative PDA.

“The PDA will also allow us to improve the management of transit media collections, and to monitor what our drivers are picking up. We’re very confident that this roll-out will significantly improve the logistics of delivering goods both for our drivers and our retailers,” he added.