Arnold Oil
Location: Corpus Christi, Texas
Profile: ITG Custom Integration
Business Issue: Arnold Oil and their parts division, Central Auto Supply, encompasses a large delivery area in South Texas. Like ADC and EXTRA, Arnold takes great pride in providing the best service to all of their valued customers. That said, their biggest issue has been the accountability of their drivers taking the most efficient routes possible and ensuring their deliveries arrive in a timely fashion to ensure customer satisfaction. Thus, optimized routes, real-time tracking and driver accountability reports were extremely valuable to keep their drivers on task.
EXTRA Solution: Currently, Arnold is tracking approximately 8-10 drivers daily on mostly hot-shot runs. They utilize the driver performance reports daily, including a customized report which includes how long a part remained in the warehouse before it was placed on the truck. This report truly displays the age of an order and how long the part remained at each phase before delivery. In the future Arnold is looking to utilize tables for signature capture and using invoice data to calculate the profitability of each delivery route.
EXTRA Results: Arnold used EXTRA for a 4-month pilot period prior to going live and becoming an actual EXTRA Customer. The clean usability of EXTRA enabled the dispatcher and drivers to catch on right away, and immediately they experienced efficiencies in quickly generating optimized routes for their drivers. Furthermore, drivers’ performance on the deliveries back are much more satisfactory after being tracked. The use of EXTRA has ensured the satisfaction of Arnold Oil Co.’s customers, which is their biggest goal.
Berkshire Hathaway
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Profile: 5 locations
Business Issue: The Camelback Corridor as it is referred to, was looking for a solution to take them to the next level. They were looking for visibility in real-time, especially for each of their dealers' counter reps, and potentially their customers. They also were looking for a system that would optimize routes and “tell the driver which way to go”. They were also looking for a more robust reporting functionality.
EXTRA Solution: EXTRA added value as their old program was not directly interfaced with their management system. EXTRA offered real-time tracking, displaying GPS coordinates every 5 seconds. This allows real-time information to be available not only to dispatch, but to counter reps in all locations and also to counter reps waiting on pickups. EXTRA also gave them the ability to supply their customers with a customer portal if they so wished. With EXTRA being based on the premise of real-time information, our reporting mechanisim is very extensive.
EXTRA Results: The Camelback Corridor now has all 5 dealers' counter folks logging and tracking where deliveries are at in real-time. No more calls down to dispatch which interrupts three people; the CSR, dispatcher, and driver. They have also started releasing customer portals to the shops that have shown interest, it has been a fun added tool for their outside sales reps to talk about with customers. They have been able to use the auto report function to have the desired reports emailed automatically to anyone and everyone they want the reports to go to. The corridor is running very smoothly, and using reports to analyze where to make changes and to see where potential growth area’s are.
CANUSA
Location: Mississauga, Ontario
Profile: DDG Custom Integration, 14 locations
Business Issue: CANUSA distributes auto parts throughout southern Ontario as well as areas within eastern Michigan and northwest New York. With 55,000 unique part numbers stocked in their 165,000 square foot warehouse, CANUSA is the largest auto part distributor in eastern Canada. They distribute thousands of parts daily from their 17 corporate and 20 affiliate locations throughout Ontario utilizing nearly 100 drivers. As you can imagine, ensuring accountability and efficiency in a delivery staff that large is a daunting task.
EXTRA Solution: To help increase driver accountability and efficiency, CANUSA enlisted the help of EXTRA. Utilizing proven, yet cutting edge technology, EXTRA allows CANUSA to be able to visualize their daily deliveries and driver activity like never before. This increased visibility, in addition to the automatic creation of efficient routes for each manifest dispatched, has revolutionized the way CANUSA manages their delivery operations.
EXTRA Results: By leveraging EXTRA, CANUSA has been able to improve their customer service by ensuring a high level of driver accountability and real-time ETAs for their deliveries. In fact, the increased visibility that EXTRA enables has even allowed CANUSA to completely restructure how they compensate their drivers, adding incentive based on timeliness and the quantity of parts/invoices delivered each day.
DSU Peterbilt
Location: Portland, OR
Profile: Two stores, six drivers
Business Issue: With one of the largest and most complete parts departments in the Northwest, DSU Peterbilt was not using their delivery team as efficiently as possible. Having to pay too much driver overtime, too many overlapping runs, and with no way to track their drivers, Vice President Steve Morrison contacted us for a solution that would streamline their deliveries. Steve tasked his Parts Manager, Chuck Blair, to implement a solution.
EXTRA Solution: : EXTRA, as a completely customizable Software as a Service (Saas) platform was not just easy to get integrated and up and running, but solved their needs. Starting with scheduling a route first thing in the morning, EXTRA automatically optimizes the route for each driver, and with two stores, that takes the guesswork out it for the dispatcher. Because EXTRA quickly calculates complex algorithms to find the optimized routes, overlapping runs were eliminated. Further, EXTRA’s Driver Trax breadcrumb trail shows exactly where the driver is and has been, compared to the optimized route. All of this is done in real-time so that both Mr. Blair’s counter people and his customers know exactly when the part will arrive.
EXTRA Results: Since implementing EXTRA, Mr. Blair is seeing a tangible return on investment by cutting driver overtime, which alone nearly pays for the low investment in EXTRA. With overlapping runs completely eliminated, DSU Peterbilt was able to fill that time with more deliveries, driving business and revenue, contributing to an immediate ROI. Also enhancing his department’s productivity is our real-time tracking, which allows the customer to quickly jump online and see the time of arrival, saving his counter team from having to field phone calls, and his customers from having to make them. EXTRA’s lightweight and user-friendly nature, combined with a low investment, made getting started effortless, and is now indispensible for Mr. Blair’s team.
Earnhardt
Location: Multiple Locations
Profile: 11 locations, ADP Integration
Business Issue: Earnhardt Automotive utilizes 11 locations to distribute over 1,000 parts daily across greater Phoenix and Southern Arizona. They have always prided themselves on being the best and utilizing available cutting edge technology to meet their needs. Their main dispatching area is located in a single dealership but yet controls all the drivers/deliveries, so having complete visibility of the operation at all times is a must for them.
EXTRA Solution: EXTRA provided them the solution they were looking for by using cutting edge technology to increase the visibility of their wholesale operation and also the capability to grow with them. One of the biggest advantages EXTRA provided them was the ability to package all the screens and information into one place as opposed to having to sort through several applications. The mapping interface is a huge advantage for the dispatchers as they are able to visually see their driver activities at any given point in time and make changes on the fly if needed. Also, EXTRA’s ability to integrate with their ADP DMS system provided them with reporting and information they have been lacking to fully maximize their potential.
EXTRA Results: EXTRA instantly became the asset they were looking for to control their wholesale operation. It has allowed Earnhardt to grow to their current 12 locations and 30+ drivers without the need to add additional applications, resulting in a huge cost savings. EXTRA also allows Earnhardt to solidify themselves with their customers by being able to provide them with real-time information, such as ETA’s. Something they had not been able to offer in the past.
Factory Motor Parts
Location: Multiple Locations
Profile: Custom Order Integration
Business Issue: FMP began a search for a routing and tracking solution in 2008 and in early 2009 were on the verge of making a decision on a provider. EXTRA fit the niche perfectly as it was just coming to the market and was designed to do everything, and more, that the company with numerous locations needed. The ability to track deliveries of auto parts, increase efficiency and provide reporting on just what was happening on the road were the top needs.
EXTRA Solution: After an initial 90 day pilot, FMP signed on for all locations. They have since grown and the rollout of EXTRA to all locations was completed in early 2012. With the help of EXTRA reporting, FMP is now able to measure ROI and efficiency in ways they never could before while better serving their customers. Reporting data is just a few clicks away to gather data on a location basis that used to take several days to prepare each month.
EXTRA Results: With EXTRA running company wide, the benefits are really starting to show. Individual locations are reporting high satisfaction and finding that their job is easier with EXTRA. No longer do they have to call upon a driver to find an ETA for a customer inquiry or estimate when he left. At a quick glance, all driver positions and ETA’s back to the warehouse are known, enabling them to plan the next deliveries. Management has found the ROI to be higher than anticipated and are easily able to analyze route data and patterns in sales and deliveries, enabling them to serve their customers in a timely fashion. Visibility of each location's performance is now made even easier with cross site reporting and an access portal. Upper management and decision makers can get the information they need on how each location is utilizing EXTRA for its deliveries for better planning.
Fast Undercar
Location: Multiple Locations
Profile: 25 locations, ITG Custom Integration
Business Issue: Fast Undercar is a franchised based organization with 5 corporate stores and 27 franchise locations. Fast has long been on the front edge of technology, and had been utilizing a manifesting system along with GPS tracking and signature capture on a Symbol device in many of their locations. The Symbol devices had become outdated and were very expensive. They were also looking for more features. They were spending quite a bit of money each month and starting to question the return.
Extra Solution: EXTRA came to the table as an all-in-one solution. We conducted a 3 month pilot in their Stockton, CA location. With that pilot we were able to prove that EXTRA not only could replace their existing solutions, which included the manifesting solution, GPS tracking, and signature capture pieces, EXTRA also brought a tremendous amount of additional functionality which truly helped in their fast paced environment. The mapping and dispatching tools were a welcomed asset by their dispatchers as well as all the reporting and tracking abilities by the managers. The signature capture action is now done on the same smart phone that is used for tracking the drivers.
EXTRA Results: With the success in Stockton, corporate decided to roll EXTRA out to 5 more locations. They were all very excited as EXTRA was a breath of fresh air considering is combined all three previous solutions in one. All locations reported that EXTRA was much more user-friendly than their old systems and EXTRA truly allowed for all involved in the delivery process to be connected. From driver, dispatcher, sales reps/CST’s and even management, everyone had visibility and was able to answer questions when asked about a delivery in a very timely manner. The ease of which to collect a signature on the Android phone was a huge hit and it is starting to appeal to other locations that could not afford the previous solution. EXTRA is now in 25 of their franchise locations and still spreading. All locations thus far have said that their customer service satisfaction has increased dramatically and they are very pleased with EXTRA thus far. They have stated that their ROI has been immediate.
Fred Beans
Location: Doylestown, PA
Profile: S21 Makes - ADP Authorized 3PA Integration - Delivery Management
Business Issue: Fred Beans Parts distributes over 250,000 part numbers across 21 manufacturers from their 169,000 square foot warehouse in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Their team of over 250 warehouse employees and 94 drivers distributes over 4,000 invoices daily all across the tri-state region of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
As you can imagine, managing nearly a hundred drivers and thousands of invoices on the road every day can prove to be quite a daunting task. In September 2011, Fred Beans Parts began looking for ways to better manage their warehousing and distribution activities. As a result of those efforts, Fred Beans Parts made the decision to switch management systems and made sure that whichever market leader they chose to go with, that the new management system would be able to integrate with and leverage the power of EXTRA.
Extra Solution: By January 2013 Fred Beans piloted their first two routes with EXTRA and within a few months were manifesting, routing, dispatching and tracking all 94 of their drivers through the system. As a result, Fred Beans Parts is operating more efficiently than ever and are positioned to continue their growth and market penetration for years to come.
EXTRA Results: EXTRA has proven to be more than up to the task of dispatching and managing nearly 100 drivers from Beans’ main warehouse and three cross-docks in the region. There is no question that with an operation as large and complex as Fred Beans Parts there are nuances of their business model that required accommodation by the EXTRA development team. Over the course of 2013, nearly 75 features or functions within EXTRA have been added or modified as a result of direct feedback and requirements from the Fred Beans management team. As a result, all users of the system have been able to benefit from the knowledge and know-how of an industry leader like Fred Beans Parts.
Freightliner of Utah
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Profile: Single location
Business Issue: With an extensive customer portfolio in and around Utah and Idaho, Freightliner of Utah was still using a manual paper system to track orders and deliveries. Too many hours, including many at overtime wages, were being spent on tasks that should be automated or simplified.
Extra Solution: EXTRA, a lightweight Software as a Service (SaaS) platform, was designed to make the transition from a manual system to a fully integrated and online solution very easy. Because of EXTRA’s many DMS and WMS partnerships, in this case ADP, total integration is simple and quick. After creating runs in just a few clicks, EXTRA automatically optimizes the route for each driver, which takes the guesswork out it for both dispatcher and driver. Further, EXTRA’s user-friendly interface requires minimal training, though complete training is offered, as is around the clock customer service.
EXTRA Results: Since the implementation of EXTRA, Freightliner of Utah is enjoying a dramatic improvement in overall efficiency, especially in terms of man-hours. With their ADP invoices getting automatically populated into EXTRA, Mr. Anderson and his team have found that it is very simple to sort and manage their deliveries. Within just a few minutes, his drivers are getting dispatched and out into their routes for the day. Because they are no longer using a manual system, papers, orders, and invoices are no longer getting lost, allowing the team to offer superior customer service. EXTRA’s advanced delivery management capabilities make it a crucial part of the Freightliner of Utah team.
Gold Cross Courier Service, Inc
Location: Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Profile: Three locations, 80 drivers
Business Issue: In an industry where the courier is always the first to receive blame for any delivery discrepancy, Gold Cross Courier Service, Inc., a courier company headquartered in Eau Claire, Wis., needed a way to improve accountability, while increasing efficiency and managerial organization.
With EXTRA’s positive reception at the two recent nationwide courier and carrier industry conferences, the two companies connected and discussed building a custom solution. Further, they were looking for an all-in-one solution to enter orders, dispatch on-demand, and integrate with QuickBooks.
EXTRA Solution: Partnering with Gold Cross, EXTRA built a truly customized solution to tackle both their holiday residential deliveries, and their contract with a local hospital, with plans to build custom solutions for their on-demand business.
For the residential deliveries, the EXTRA mobile solution allowed the drivers to quickly get optimized routes, and then capture proof of delivery signatures. For the hospital contract, a completely customized solution called Recurring Routes was built.
The Recurring Routes feature allows routes to be automatically built at certain times on designated days, are routed per the hospital’s requirements, and allows drivers to enter quantity of specimens both picked up and dropped off, and then capture signatures. Both custom features include robust profitability and accountability reporting.
Further, Gold Cross provided guidance, expertise and knowledge needed for EXTRA to build the order entry and QuickBooks integration functionality.
EXTRA Results: Since partnering with EXTRA, Gold Cross is now able to reduce the various places and programs required to get information they need - whether dispatch, tracking, reporting, proof of delivery, or billing. In addition to being able to immediately address and refute any delivery discrepancies, deliveries are routed and made in a much more organized and efficient manner.
EXTRA looks forward to implementing the custom-built order entry functionality to truly tap into the power of optimized routing for the on-demand drivers.
Return on Investment (ROI) is being realized with the cost effective nature of Software as a Service (SaaS) and increased efficiencies across the different facets of the business.
Larry H. Miller Corporate
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Profile: Single location, tracking only
Business Issue: Larry H. Miller Corporate wanted to be able to track their sales people as they were out on the road. The drivers travel long distances to make their sales calls to customers. Corporate management wanted a tool to be able to see where the drivers are and at which customers they have stopped to visit. Prior to using EXTRA, paper logs were kept by the sales team out in the field.
EXTRA Solution: EXTRA has in its arsenal the exact tools to solve Larry H. Miller Corporate's needs. The sales team simply needs to log in to the EXTRA Driver application in the morning in order for the phone to begin sending the GPS coordinates to the EXTRA website that was built for them. The driver's exact location displays on the map for management to see whenever they have the need. The Driver Trax, or a breadcrumb trail, of where they went that day is also displayed. The GPS coordinates of the driver are able to determine if they visited a customer that is already loaded into EXTRA's database. So, if the coordinates of the phone match the coordinates in the database for any particular customer, it is displayed on a Driver Trax report. This helps immensely with the visibility of who the salesperson is visiting and for how long.
EXTRA Results: Corporate now has the ability to see exactly where their sales drivers are at any particular time during the day. This gives them the ability to add stops to a salesperson who may be near another customer, if desired. It also allows the salespeople to be held more accountable for their actions throughout the day. EXTRA implemented the ability to display the exact customer name that the sales driver stopped at based off of the GPS coordinates. EXTRA worked directly with LHM Corporate to narrow this down and display the results the way that they wanted, thus making the reporting in the program more useful and accurate.
North Atlantic Corp.
Location: New England and Eastern New York State
Profile: NAC is a distributor and manufacturer of windows, doors, kitchens, stairs, millwork, and commercial openings. A company-owned fleet of box trucks and semi-trucks services builders and contractors, architects, lumberyards, specialty millwork dealers, remodelers, and homeowners in the residential and commercial markets through our different companies. Up to 20 drivers are dispatched onto routes within a given operating area, delivering over 250 order lines daily.
Business Challenge: Separate “silos of information” best describes the operations group prior to EXTRA. Orders were processed on the ERP system, then rekeyed into an internet-based mapping program to be route optimized. Once optimized, addresses were re-entered into an in-cab, dash-mounted GPS. Delivery progress and ETAs were communicated verbally via phone calls between the driver & dispatch often, tying up 3 people, driver, dispatcher and sales coordinator on one customer inquiry. Communication and distraction with phone calls for ETAs, delivery progress, changes, and updates also impacted driver safety. Even with some automation, the system was ultimately paper based with no provision for proof of delivery or signature capture. Interstate travel dictated the need for IFTA fuel tax reporting with multiple states covered. Yet another separate stand alone in-cab GPS device was installed to provide basic telematics and IFTA reporting.
EXTRA Solution: Today the Elite EXTRA (EXtreme Tracking and Routing Application) integrates directly into NAC’s order entry system through API which eliminates rekeying orders into a standalone in-cab GPS. Optimization is now done with the click of a button with optimized routes that are pushed to the in-cab tablet’s turn by turn app over the web. The tablet is also connected to a permanently mounted GeoTab ‘black box’ in the truck which is plugged into the truck’s computer. GeoTab provides real time vehicle health and driver behavior information proactively to the dispatcher screen. “Just last week, we knew a battery was going bad 2 days before it failed which prevented a breakdown and late delivery as a result”. We now have complete visibility into route information, delivery progress, a messaging app, and real time ETAs without distracting the driver. Proof of delivery is obtained using the tablet’s camera to easily record photos of deliveries, storing pictures and signatures without human intervention. We are prepared to comply with the FMCSA regulations coming out in 2017 for elogs all in a single solution.
`The driver app pairs with a browser based application at the warehouse which provides real time visibility including alerts for dispatch and anyone needing real time delivery information. Our sales team uses the “Route Whiteboard”, a webpage that displays route progress and provides updates and real time ETAs without tying up dispatch or calling the driver. Robust reporting features provide analysis of routes and drivers’ operational effectiveness.
EXTRA Results: “Elite EXTRA has seamlessly integrated with our ERP system which now provides real-time ETAs and delivery status updates to our staff and customers. Use of Elite is making us more effective which translates into savings of time and money while improving our customer service.”
Karl Almond, Senior Special Projects Manager
North Atlantic Corporation
Samuels, Inc.
Location: Vauxhall, New Jersey
Profile: 4 Locations, ITG Integrations
Business Issue: Samuels, Inc. wanted to be able to use advanced technology to improve their service to customers so they could focus more on other aspects of their business. Having such a high volume of delivery vehicles, the expectation was higher for them to meet all the needs of their customers and their deliveries. Samuels was looking for a way to improve service to their customers and raise the bar once again when it came to delivery expectations. Their largest issue was finding a way to balance the delivery expectation and to streamline the process as a whole.
EXTRA Solution: EXTRA gave them the opportunity to “build” their own solution using cutting edge technology. Being able to track their drivers in real-time and be more proactive to issues that may arise in the delivery process allowed them to get deliveries done faster and more efficiently. Internally, everyone became connected and through increased visibility, are able to answer customers’ questions, including the driver, dispatcher, CSR and manager. Additionally, EXTRA increased the accuracy of collecting cash from COD’s. Samuels uses EXTRA’s extensive reporting to make sure that a COD matches immediately upon a driver's return and can address any issues at that time, instead of after the fact.
EXTRA Results: EXTRA allows Samuels to better manage and control their delivery processes. They are now equipped to give their customers information that they were not able to in the past, such as real-time ETA’s. Also, the extensive reporting in EXTRA has allowed them to stay on top of issues that may come up and help solve problems before they get out of hand. Samuels is now able to address and exceed the expectation of their customers and improve efficiencies internally using EXTRA’s cutting edge technology.
TBA
Location: Multiple Locations
Profile: Multiple Warehouse set-up running 6 locations through one instance.
Business Issue: TBA was in search of a solution to increase the efficiencies of their drivers, improve customer service, and save money at the same time. Essentially, they were looking for a solution that was on the cutting edge of technology and would allow them to separate themselves from their competitors. They really wanted to be able to accommodate all six of their locations in the easiest way possible and gain visibility of all their drivers and orders. TBA was also in need of a solution that would better serve their customers and take their customer service to the next level. One area they knew they could do that was being able to provide them with real-time ETA’s and make those ETA’s available to them in a few different ways.
EXTRA Solution: EXTRA became a huge value add in the fact it was able to provide them with real-time information that their old system could not. It also provided them with a much more user-friendly program that allowed them to make edits to all kinds of routes and stay organized through the entire process. However, the biggest impact came with their customer service representatives. They no longer had to go back to the dispatch area to find out when a part could be expected at the customer who was waiting on the phone. EXTRA gave them the ability to look up real-time ETA’s right there on the spot for all of their locations and get that information to the customer in a much quicker fashion.
EXTRA Results: Having EXTRA up and running in all locations for several months now, they are really starting to see the benefits of all the features they utilize. Having visibility of not only the drivers, but of all of their orders as well has really increased the efficiency of all involved, especially the dispatcher. The extremely robust back end reporting has shown an increase in driver performance which as a result has helped them save time and money in many areas. TBA is also continuing to move forward with their customer service long term goals. They are currently working toward posting ETA’s online so the customer no longer has to call in, but can check their next scheduled ETA on their own time. The future looks great for TBA and they are always thinking of new ways to utilize EXTRA as a tool to continually separate themselves from everyone else.
Velocity Vehicle Group
Location: Whittier, CA
Profile: 11 locations, DSI integration
Business Issue: The team at Velocity Vehicle Group has always prided themselves on being able to exceed their customers’ expectations at every level. They were in the process of making internal changes to their workflow so they could set themselves up for increased sales volume, as well as serve their customers even better. When making those changes they found that they did not have the ability to accurately track a customer’s order from the time it was placed to the time is was delivered. Also, switching to a centralized call center provided another challenge since they could not accurately calculate ETA’s from all stores or make them visible to the call center.
EXTRA Solution: The first step was to have Velocity use EXTRA’s Centralized Dispatch model to integrate with their Management/POS system. This integration, with their Management/POS system, gave them the ability to track orders from the time placed all the way to delivery. Secondly, Centralized Dispatch allowed all of their Customer Service Representatives complete visibility of all ETA’s for all their stores.
EXTRA Results: EXTRA was instantly received as a breath of fresh air since Velocity was able to address all their needs and allow them to focus more on the day-to-day business aspects rather than delivery issues. Using the EXTRA Centralized Dispatch model solved two issues with one solution. They are now better equipped to provide faster, more accurate customer service on the delivery side, and internally track the life cycle of an order from the moment it is placed within their Management/POS system.
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Success Stories
Gold Cross Courier Service, Inc
In an industry where the courier is always the first to receive blame for any delivery discrepancy, Gold Cross Courier Service, Inc., a courier company headquartered in Eau Claire, Wis.,...Read More