Dulux Decorator Centre is the UK’s leading trade decorators merchant, supporting professional painters, contractors, and site teams across the UK. With more than 230 stores and over 1,000 colleagues, the business has built its reputation on deep product knowledge, strong relationships, and dependable service—ensuring their customers are at the heart of everything they do.
Delivery is a major part of that promise. A significant portion of revenue depends on getting the right products to active sites, on time, and often on the same day.
But as the network grew, manual delivery processes limited visibility and consistency at scale.
Dulux Decorator Center turned to Onfleet, a leading last-mile delivery platform, to support that growth. The partnership brought real-time delivery visibility and centralized delivery management across all 230+ stores.
The Challenge: Maintaining Excellence at Scale
Before partnering with Onfleet, deliveries were managed largely through manual processes. Drivers relied on paper documents, pens, phone calls, Google Maps, and local knowledge to complete routes.
That approach worked because of experience and dedication. But as the network expanded rapidly from 185 to 240 stores in just 18 months, its limits became clear.
This created three clear challenges:
- No real-time delivery visibility: Once vehicles left the store, delivery progress was managed through local knowledge and phone updates rather than shared tracking. This made it harder to provide precise arrival times at scale.
- High call volume: Customers often contacted stores or the central support centre for delivery updates. As volumes grew, these enquiries became a regular part of daily operations.
- Lost time on site: Without clear ETAs, painters and decorators were often idle on site, waiting for deliveries to arrive before they could start work. That idle time made it harder to plan the day efficiently and delayed the start of work.
Together, these factors shaped the need for a more standardized way to manage deliveries as the network continued to grow.
The Solution: Partnering with Onfleet
Onfleet is a last-mile delivery platform built for multi-stop fleets. It provides one shared system to plan routes, track vehicles live, communicate with drivers, and send accurate delivery updates to customers.
In this partnership, Onfleet became the execution layer connecting stores, drivers, and customers once deliveries left the store.
What the Partnership Enabled
With Onfleet in place, Dulux Decorator Centre introduced a shared delivery workflow across its network:
- Route planning and optimization: Store teams could move away from paper routes and Google Maps to structured, repeatable planning.
- Real-time vehicle tracking: Operations teams and stores gained live visibility once vehicles left the store.
- Customer delivery updates: Trade customers began receiving clear ETAs instead of calling stores for updates.
- Proof of delivery: Drivers captured delivery confirmation digitally, reducing disputes and follow-up calls.
- Responsive support: Onfleet’s team provided fast, hands-on support throughout rollout and ongoing use.
As Robin, Regional Operations Manager at Dulux Decorator Center, noted, “The level of support has been outstanding. Response times have been faster than we expected, and that made a real difference during go-live.”
A Rollout Built for Adoption
Implementation was treated as a joint operational effort. A pilot launched across approximately 25 stores, followed by a phased rollout using a train-the-trainer model. Regional check-ins and store visits ensured feedback flowed both ways.
Drivers were involved early to address concerns around tracking. Instead of feeling monitored, drivers saw fewer interruptions and smoother on-site deliveries.
As Annie, Fleet Logistics Lead at Dulux Decorator Center, shared, “It’s been really well received by drivers. It’s made their day easier, not harder.”
The Results: Reduced Calls, Recovered Revenue, and Better Delivery Experiences
Within six months, Onfleet was live across Dulux Decorator Centre’s full store network, with strong adoption from store teams, drivers, and regional operations.
80% Reduction in Customer Inquiry Calls
After automated customer notifications went live, delivery enquiry calls dropped by approximately 80%.
“The only time we tend to get calls now is if an order is placed late in the day for next-day delivery, and the customer contacts us early the next morning before they’ve received a delivery notification. Outside of that, we’re not hearing much about delivery inquiries anymore.” — Dean Whelan, Supply & Logistics Manager, Dulux Decorator Centre
Direct Revenue Recovery
One of the most tangible early wins came from a large decorating contractor in London who had previously moved business to other merchants. After implementing Onfleet, this contractor brought back approximately £60,000 in annual business specifically because of the delivery tracking capability.
Improved Customer and Driver Experience
Drivers consistently report that they now arrive at job sites with customers already waiting curbside—because customers receive accurate ETAs and delivery notifications before the vehicle arrives.
For painters and decorators working on large construction sites, that predictability avoids time lost locating drivers or materials on arrival, helping crews start work sooner and keep billable hours and project timelines intact.
“It’s not just making us more efficient. It’s making our customers’ businesses more efficient.” — Dean Whelan, Supply & Logistics Manager at Dulux Decorator Center
On top of that, the initial concern about drivers viewing the system as surveillance proved unfounded—drivers see it as a tool that makes their jobs easier.
Industry Leadership Recognition
Dulux Decorator Centre became the first company in their industry to implement comprehensive real-time delivery tracking, earning them finalist recognition at the British Coatings Federation (BCF) Awards.
Looking Ahead
The work with Onfleet is not a completed project but an ongoing initiative to keep improving the shopping experience for their customers.
Dulux Decorator Centre is actively expanding their delivery proposition in 2026, exploring earlier notification windows, additional integrations, and enhanced capabilities. "Our delivered sales account for nearly 30% of our total revenue, so this is a critical part of our business that we'll continue to invest in and improve," Dean emphasized.
A Proven Model for Scaling Delivery with the Right Partner
Dulux Decorator Centre journey demonstrates the transformational impact of modern last-mile delivery technology. In just six months, they went from fielding hundreds of calls daily to becoming the first in their industry to offer real-time tracking—winning back lost business, delighting customers, and earning industry recognition.
If your organization is scaling locations, fleets, or delivery volume, and still relying on paper routes or phone-based updates, Onfleet can help you build the same kind of delivery foundation — collaboratively, and at your pace. Start a free trial today.