Helping a growing companion transport business replace fragmented manual processes with a connected system for booking, scheduling and field team dispatch.
About the client
Steering Care operates in Stratford-on-Avon as part of a larger UK network providing accessible transport, companionship and practical support to people who want to remain independent, connected and active within their communities.
Owned and operated by Paul Tuszynski, the business provides far more than transportation alone. Its Companion Drivers support customers with hospital and healthcare appointments, shopping and social outings, community activities, education journeys, family visits and longer-distance travel. Services can also include wheelchair-accessible transport, mobility support and assistance throughout the journey rather than simply collecting and dropping off a passenger.
Paul has lived in the Stratford area for more than 20 years and has built the local service around a highly personal approach. The aim is to understand what each customer needs and provide safe, reliable and person-centred support that helps customers maintain their independence while providing reassurance to their families.
As the business developed, that personalised service needed to be supported by operational processes that could scale with it.
Paul Tuszynski, Owner, Steering Care
“The service we provide is very personal, so it is important that our Companion Drivers have the right information and know exactly where they need to be and when. As the business grew, it became clear that our internal processes needed to become more structured.”
The Challenge
Before implementing OctopusPro, much of Steering Care’s booking and dispatch process was managed manually using WhatsApp and a combination of different calendars.
While this approach could work with a smaller volume of activity, it created increasingly fragmented workflows as the business developed. Booking information had to be communicated manually to drivers, calendar changes needed to be updated separately and there was no single system providing the whole team with one consistent view of scheduled work.
This was particularly important because a Steering Care booking can contain much more information than a standard journey.
Companion Drivers need to understand where the customer should be collected from, their destination, the required time and whether there are any additional support requirements. They may also need to know whether a wheelchair-accessible vehicle is required and other information that will help them provide the right level of support.
Managing these details across messages and separate calendars created unnecessary administration for Paul and increased the amount of manual coordination required whenever a booking changed.
Paul had also tried software systems previously without achieving the outcome he wanted. As a result, he was understandably cautious about introducing another application into the business. The new system needed to make operations simpler rather than creating another layer of administration.
Paul Tuszynski, Owner, Steering Care
“I had used systems in the past that had not really worked for us, so I was cautious about introducing another one. I needed to be confident that the system would actually make the business easier to manage rather than simply giving us another piece of software to maintain.”
The Solution
Steering Care engaged InsideEdge to help evaluate and implement OctopusPro as the central system for managing its bookings and field operations.
From the outset, the focus was on understanding how Paul and his team actually worked and configuring the platform around those requirements.
The initial system demonstration was an important part of that process. Rather than simply demonstrating features, InsideEdge showed how OctopusPro could be applied to Steering Care’s real-world booking, scheduling and dispatch requirements. This gave Paul confidence that the platform could replace the existing manual processes and provide a more structured way of working.
Centralised booking management
OctopusPro now provides Steering Care with a central location for managing bookings and scheduling activity.
Instead of information being distributed between WhatsApp conversations and separate calendars, bookings can be created and managed within one system. Changes can be reflected centrally, providing greater visibility of the operational schedule and reducing the need to update multiple sources of information manually.
Digital dispatch to Companion Drivers
Bookings are dispatched directly to the appropriate Companion Driver through the OctopusPro mobile app.
Drivers can accept and receive new booking requests on their mobile devices and access the important information associated with each journey.
This includes:
- Collection and destination addresses
- Booking dates and times
- Customer and journey information
- Whether a wheelchair-accessible vehicle is required
- Other relevant requirements for the booking
Drivers can also use the application to navigate to the customer’s location, giving them the information and tools they need within the same mobile workflow.
A simpler implementation process
InsideEdge managed the system configuration and setup on Steering Care’s behalf.
Rather than Paul having to learn the technical aspects of configuring the platform himself, InsideEdge took responsibility for the implementation and then worked with Paul and his team through structured training sessions.
This meant their primary responsibility was to attend the sessions, understand the new workflow and learn how to use the system effectively.
Support also continued through go-live. InsideEdge remained available to respond to the initial questions that naturally arise when a team begins using a new system in a live environment.
Paul Tuszynski, Owner, Steering Care
“John put us at ease from the beginning. The system demonstration was excellent because it showed us how OctopusPro could actually work within our business. InsideEdge then managed the whole setup, so our job was really to turn up to the sessions, understand the process and learn how to use it.”
The Results
The first phase of the project has moved Steering Care from a fragmented manual dispatch process to a centralised digital workflow.
Bookings are now controlled from one system and dispatched directly to the field team. Companion Drivers can see where they need to be, when they need to be there and the important information associated with the customer and journey.
For Paul and the administration side of the business, this reduces the amount of manual coordination required to keep drivers informed and removes the need to maintain the same information across multiple calendars and WhatsApp conversations.
For the Companion Drivers, it provides a clearer and more consistent way to receive new work and access the information they need while in the field.
Most importantly, the system provides greater operational control. Everyone is working from the same booking information, changes can be managed centrally and the business has better visibility of upcoming work.
The implementation experience was also significantly different from Paul’s previous experience of introducing software. InsideEdge handled the configuration, guided the team through the transition and remained available when the system went live.
Paul Tuszynski, Owner, Steering Care
“The implementation support made a big difference. InsideEdge handled the setup and were there when we went live to answer the initial questions we had. That made the transition feel seamless and allowed us to start using the system with confidence.”
What’s next?
With digital booking and field team dispatch now established, Steering Care is moving into the next phase of its OctopusPro implementation.
The next stage will introduce quotation and invoicing functionality, allowing more of the customer journey to be managed within the same platform.
This will also include OctopusPro’s native integration with QuickBooks Online. Once implemented, invoices created within OctopusPro will be synchronised with the accounting system, reducing the need to manually recreate invoice information and removing another administrative step from the process.
The longer-term objective is to continue bringing previously separate activities into one connected workflow, giving Steering Care greater control as the business grows while allowing Paul and his team to spend more time focusing on the customers they support.
Paul Tuszynski, Owner, Steering Care
“Phase one has already given us much better control over bookings and dispatch. The next step is to bring quotations, invoicing and accounting into the same process so we can continue reducing administration and make the business even easier to manage.”
Closing statement
By partnering with InsideEdge, Steering Care has replaced fragmented booking and dispatch processes with a connected field service management platform.
The business now has one central view of its bookings, Companion Drivers receive the information they need directly through the OctopusPro mobile app, and Paul has greater control over day-to-day operations.
With phase one successfully implemented and the next stage already planned, Steering Care now has a digital foundation that can continue developing alongside the business.