NABEK, a company specialized in the distribution of construction materials among other things, uses the PTV xServer for its transport planning. The experience so far has been very positive—but of course, there’s always room for improvement, which is why NABEK and PTV continue to look ahead.
The partnership between logistics service provider NABEK (part of the PAX Group) and PTV dates back to the early 2000s, when NABEK first implemented the Intertour planning software—now evolved into SmarTour. Since then, both the software and the collaboration have matured.
“With PTV, we have a solid partner with a strong long-term vision,” says Frank Baudet, Development & Innovation Manager at NABEK. Thijs Postma, who is involved in market development within the PAX Group, adds:
“There’s room in the partnership to experiment. Whether it’s our own ideas or those coming from our clients, PTV is always willing to listen, think along, and innovate.”
It works both ways, explains Postma: NABEK also acts as a sounding board for PTV.
“We regularly provide feedback. Our route planning is technically quite complex, so the software needs to be spot-on. We push it to the limit—100% reliability is a must. If something’s not working as expected, we take it to PTV, and they handle it well. That’s how this constructive partnership leads to optimal results.”
To illustrate how far NABEK has come, Baudet recalls how route planning was done around 15 years ago.
“Where everything is now integrated in one system, back then it was all paper-based. The planner could be dealing with up to 400 sheets of paper in a single day. Clearly not ideal, or efficient. That’s when PTV came into the picture, and we started automating step by step.”
Especially in the early days, the progress was huge.
“What used to take a full day now gets done in just a few hours, thanks to automation—a major leap forward. Since then, we’ve been continuously fine-tuning the system. Customer expectations are constantly rising. In fact, what was once considered exceptional is now simply the norm. As a logistics service provider, you have to keep up—and that process never really ends.”
Beyond customer expectations, other developments are pushing NABEK to further automate.
“We’re seeing a gradual shift toward smaller shipments and increased delivery frequency,” says Postma. “To respond, we bundle goods from various customers to reduce the number of drops and kilometers driven. Plus, we often deliver directly to construction sites.”
This makes the process more complex—and more time-sensitive.
“Timeframes are getting shorter,” Baudet notes. “And without smart ICT solutions, it’s simply not doable.”
NABEK has opted for fully web-based software.
“This ensures strong performance and lets us take advantage of PTV’s server capacity,” explains Baudet. “It also guarantees we’re always running the latest software versions. We’ve deliberately placed certain responsibilities with PTV so we can focus on our core business.”
The software NABEK uses allows for highly accurate delivery time predictions.
“This gives us great oversight for each day and helps us keep customers fully informed,” says Baudet.
Constant updates ensure the planning stays realistic and up to date.
“Accurate delivery time predictions are vital to us. At a glance, we can see whether we’re on track. Sharing the estimated time of arrival with our customers is now expected—it’s become standard service, and we’re happy to provide it.”
Because the system is directly connected to the drivers’ onboard computers, there’s far less need to call them during the day.
The combination of TomTom navigation and the PTV xServer provides a highly reliable view of the operation.
“When delays occur, we can inform customers right away and adjust the planning accordingly.”
Being proactive rather than reactive is a major advantage, say Baudet and Postma.
“It helps us stay ahead of potential problems,” says Baudet.
But there’s always room for improvement. That’s why NABEK and PTV keep working on refinements.
Postma: “Take address data, for instance. When customers send us an order, the address isn’t always complete or accurate. That can lead to delays—navigation might send the driver to the wrong spot because the address format was incorrect.”
PTV’s geocoding component helps solve this issue.
“It checks addresses for accuracy and offers suggestions where needed. The correct coordinates are then used for route calculation and passed on to the drivers. This also allows us to check whether the delivery location is actually accessible.”
NABEK is continuously improving its delivery time forecasts.
“It’s already very accurate,” says Baudet, “but there’s always room for more precision. We’re always working toward the perfect balance between input and output.”
Big data is fascinating, but it needs to be used effectively.
“What does it really take to make the ultimate prediction? I think it’s about identifying the most impactful variables and putting those to work. For instance, how long does an average stop take in relation to the drop size? How can we best factor that into the predictions? And how do we incorporate real-time data, like traffic jams, into our calculations?”
“With PTV, their xServer, and our TomTom navigation, we’ve got all the right tools to power our control tower and keep the planning under control.”
Clearly, Baudet and Postma aren’t done yet.
“There’s still plenty of potential,” says Postma. “And we want to make the most of it in the near future.”
Baudet adds: “There’s still so much we can do within the software. We already calculate CO₂ emissions for every trip. That lets us give customers valuable insights and work together toward greener logistics.”
“In short, we’ve already achieved a lot within our company and in our partnership with PTV. But we’re not done. We keep challenging ourselves to go further—there’s still more to gain from the tools we already have.”
