Developed in partnership with a private developer and led by Tractor Outdoor’s national operations manager Troy Niddrie, the system – dubbed ‘Protractor’ – integrates the media owner’s production and operations departments.
Explains Niddrie, “In the field of out of home (OOH), production is an extremely admin intensive job.
“Important information and updates need to be continuously communicated to various stakeholders such as clients and suppliers. It is extremely important that there are no oversights or dropped balls in this feedback loop, as it can lead to major issues in production roll-out.”
Niddrie explains that this process was previously handled manually and was extremely laborious and time-consuming, while normal human error would, on occasion, lead to production delays.
“We engaged the developer to custom-develop a platform for us that would allow us to circumvent these hurdles, ensuring a consistency in all of our operations so that we could deliver a high quality of service to our customers.”
Ben Harris, managing director at Tractor Outdoor, says that OOH and digital out of home (DOOH) production have a specific process flow that needs to be adhered to, for a job to be completed on time. “ProTractor has essentially automated and simplified those steps, acting as a central information centre for all job details, as well as a communication tool."
The system offers a full record of each media site. At the click of a button, it can generate a production quote, job card or proof of flighting and mail it to the relevant parties, updating stakeholders on the job progress in real-time.
It can also capture site data on fightings or when site maintenance is done, allowing the user to receive immediate feedback.
Harris explains that the key benefit is the assurance to the business that all processes have been duly followed and that nothing will 'slip through the cracks'. For customers, they have the peace of mind that comes with knowing exactly where their job is in the system. “There is no need for them to follow up telephonically or via email on the status of a job – they can simply log in to see exactly where a job is at any given time," he explains.
In conclusion, Harris comments: “We consider every one of our customers to be a partner. By remaining truly client-centric we can better serve their needs; designing our processes and investing in systems that keep them always at the front and centre.”
