How the Garandeau Group digitalises its transportation processes with Samsara

Standout Benefits

• Digitisation of the entire delivery process

• 100 hours saved annually on the management of drivers data 

• Better real-time fleet management

A family success story serving the construction industry for 150 years

Established more than a century and a half ago in Cherves-Richemont near Cognac, the Garandeau Group plays an important role in the Charente economy, having worked on major projects such as the Chaban-Delmas bridge and the Simone Veil bridge. Today, with more than 680 employees, the group is also present in Charente Maritime, Vienne, Haute Vienne, Gironde and Dordogne.

A leading supplier to the regional construction industry, the Garandeau Group has three core businesses: quarrying and the production of natural and recycled aggregates; prefabricated and ready-mix concrete; and building materials trading through a network of 19 stores located close to construction sites. 

For all its operations, the Garandeau Group relies on a fleet of 250 delivery trucks adapted to its different activities (tippers, flatbeds, mixers, pumps, tankers). 

Transforming to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow

In 2019, the Garandeau Group launched VOLTE (Virage Organisationnel Liant Toute l’Entreprise), a major corporate project aimed at preparing the company's future for the next 15 years by modernising its tools and reorganising its processes. 

‘The main aim of this project, which involves the entire company and its ecosystem, is to equip us with a state-of-the-art information system that is sufficiently scalable to meet the current and future challenges facing our businesses,’ comments Tanguy Chauviere Le Drian, Managing Director of the Garandeau Group. ‘Telematics, which gives us the vital visibility we need to manage our day-to-day operations, is one of the strategic tools underpinning such an information system, and we decided to challenge the solution we had been using until then.

Following an invitation to tender issued to the main solution providers, the Samsara platform was chosen by the Garandeau Group for its superiority over the competition in several key areas. “Our choice was guided by the richness of Samsara's functional scope, its latest-generation technology and the agility it provides. The ability of its platform to interface with our other solutions was also a determining factor”, explains Tanguy Chauviere Le Drian.

The functional scope of the deployment was carried out in three phases. Initially focused on operations, it was extended in a second phase to the management of social data, and then to prevention and safety, with the installation of on-board cameras throughout the fleet. 

Connected operations and on-board cameras

With Samsara’s connected platform, the Garandeau Group optimised fleet operations by leveraging real-time geolocation and comprehensive visibility of vehicle movement, together with detailed reporting to drive continuous operational efficiency improvements. 

Samsara’s platform also brought significant gains in the management of drivers data.. Previously manual, driver card data transfer is now fully automated with Samsara, saving time and preventing data loss. “Samsara offers real convenience for operators and prep teams with its ergonomic, user-friendly design,” says Tanguy Chauviere Le Drian. “In total, we estimate that Samsara saves us 100  hours a year by automating the management of social data”.

Finally, the deployment of Samsara on-board cameras has enabled the Garandeau Group to support its policy of protecting drivers and preventing accidents. “On-board cameras help both to clear drivers in the event of an accident that is not their fault and to encourage more responsible driving”, comments Tanguy Chauviere Le Drian.

Going paperless

“As part of our VOLTE project, we are going to digitalise the entire customer relationship, in particular the entire administrative part of the delivery process, which will be managed from start to finish using the Samsara Connected Operations Platform. Our drivers will also be equipped with the Samsara application on their smartphones. We're expecting very significant gains from this digitisation strategy, particularly in terms of productivity and the quality of data-driven management,” emphasises Tanguy Chauviere Le Drian.

The Garandeau Group also anticipates cost savings thanks to the digitisation of processes via Samsara. For example, the dematerialisation of delivery notes alone will generate savings of €20,000 a year on printing costs.  

“Our partnership with Samsara is a long-term one, thanks to tools that are constantly evolving and that regularly offer us new functions, but also thanks to their genuine availability and great responsiveness whenever we need them.”