Located in Hamilton, Ontario, Snowbird Transportation is a second generation family-owned transportation company. The company started in the late 1970’s with one cargo van and has grown to a fleet of 12 trucks and 6 trailers. An unwavering commitment to outstanding customer service has helped Snowbird Transportation build strong, long-lasting relationships with clients in the wine, printing and veterinary supply industries, among others.

Their personalized service approach and value-added services such as short-term warehousing, fleet replacement and tailgate services, have been pivotal in helping this transportation company experience continued growth and success.

Challenge

With millions in fleet worth, this company needed a solution to track the location of their equipment and vehicles in real-time. They were also looking for a solution that would allow them to track their drivers and driving behavior. Since the Snowbird Transportation office is opened during standard business hours, they needed a feature through which the person who was on call had complete visibility of the fleet after-hours.

With their strong commitment to providing excellent, personalized service, management uncovered the need to make routing more efficient. “We were dependent on the driver telling us where he was. We needed to strategically accommodate deliveries and pickups, we were using the phone and radio too much,” says Louisa McAlpine, President. Snowbird was looking to reduce the volume of base-to-driver radio communications required to provide their customers with accurate information, such as more precise timing on the arrival of their loads at the destination. Less time on the phone also meant the driver could focus on driving safely.

Solution

The company’s management knew they had a strong need for a fleet and mobile worker management solution, but they were hesitant. “It was always seen as the kind of technology that larger companies would use. We had seen it at trade shows and it seemed like something too costly for a small fleet. When we saw the ROI, we knew it was something we needed to try. The cost/benefit factor was definitely there,” says Louisa McAlpine, President.

Fleet Tracker MGS200 and Asset Tracker AT1000

Snowbird Transportation purchased 9 MGS200 Fleet Trackers and 4 AT1000 Asset Trackers. With the new devices installed, management has visibility over their fleet and mobile workforce at all times.

A great feature that Louisa has taken advantage of is the ability to access the Fleet Complete platform from mobile devices. When the office is closed, she can check where all the drivers are from her tablet.

“For a small company, our customers think it is remarkable that we can give them a more precise estimate of arrival times.”

– Louisa McAlpine

With Fleet Complete IoT Platform, this company has also been able to improve routing. Since there is no longer a need to call drivers to know where they are, Louisa and her team can confidently tell their clients when the driver will arrive. “For a small company, our customers think it is remarkable that we can give them a more precise estimate of arrival times,” says Louisa.

Benefits

The benefits that Snowbird Transportation has derived from the Fleet Complete solution are many. Having real-time knowledge of truck and trailer locations is helping Louisa and her team run the company with confidence. The fact that Louisa can access the platform from her tablet, makes her feel more secure about driver and equipment safety even when the office is closed.

Since routing has become much more efficient, staff can now focus on providing the great personalized service that they are known for and strengthen relationships with their long-time customers even further. Since they are not forced to ascertain driver location for routing purposes, they can now spend that time talking to customers and acquiring new business. “We are probably just scratching the surface of what we can do with the system. Fleet Complete has made us more efficient and the system has more than paid for itself,” noted Louisa McAlpine, President.

Another benefit of the system is the sense of security that Fleet Complete gives staff when dealing with new drivers and equipment. According to Louisa, “There is a trust element, confidence. That is invaluable when it comes to new drivers and equipment.”

Snowbird Transportation is now focusing on the driver behavior management aspect. They have started to use idling and speeding reports and, through managing aggressive driving behavior, they will realize even more savings in the form of lower fuel and vehicle maintenance costs together with a better safety record.

Kim, the company’s dispatcher, is now attending regular complementary Fleet Complete hosted webinars to learn more about the great features of Fleet Complete. Louisa and her team look forward to getting even more time and resource savings from using all the features that this robust system has to offer.