Lynx Telematics, in Cincinnati, Ohio recently has signed a deal to partner and provide services to an industrial company that employs a fleet of more than 700 trucks and is the number 3 company in their industry.
It was learned through conversations after the decision had been made to work exclusively with Lynx Telematics, that this was the 4th test pilot that the company had been through over the past 3 years.
The reasons sited for making their decision were the complexity and robustness of the solutions we provided as well as the customer service and attention to detail that we demonstrated while servicing the test pilot program.
Vice President of Business Development, Vincent Rush, who handled the account from inception to delivery, explains the process and what led to the acquisition;
We began by picking a total of 16 large box trucks in two different locations.
Location A had 9 trucks on pilot while location B had 7.
Before we began stage one, we crafted a team “Roll Out” letter to the employees explaining the purpose installing this technology.
We called the program “The Safe Driving and Operational Efficiency Program”. One of the problems with many telematics projects, is failure to properly implement the program. That not only takes into consideration the explanation of why, but when, how and the name of the project.
The main objectives of the program were, safety compliance, reduction in fuel consumption, lowering insurance costs and allowing drivers to earn more through improved route efficiency.
The telematics landscape is littered with programs gone wrong, due to an improper roll out with unclear expectations.
When dealing with employees, it is very important to make sure team members see the project as a good thing for the company and not a “Covert Spying Project”.
This has always been one of our specialties and what differentiates us from many of our competitors.
There is a big difference in building a successful and sustainable telematics company and simply selling telematics devices.
Phase 1 of our program consisted of setting up our “plug and play” system in the trucks and then monitoring and collecting data for the Operations Manager for a period of 2 weeks.
During this time period we focused on idling time and discovered that each truck would idle an average of 8:30 per stop or an average of 7 hours per week, per truck.
It was during this phase that we were able to show, that by getting control of the idling time, we could reduce the company’s annual fuel expense of approximately $9 Million dollars by a conservative $720,840, using just one element of savings.
In phase two we split the locations and the fleet into two separate groups.
One with audible alerts for idling over 3 minutes and the other location, with only 6 trucks, without audible alerts.
The results were staggering!!!!
Location 1 accumulated a total of 280.5 hours with 9 trucks for an average of 1:52 per stop, while Location 2 with 3 fewer trucks, totaled 592 hours for an average of 6:12 per stop.
We were able to show our client an estimated annual savings in fuel expense, based on idling alone, of $902,415 or roughly 10% of their annual fuel budget.
We didn’t stop there.
The next phase of our test pilot was a meeting with their insurance company.
Not only did we get a verbal estimate of $75,000 dollars in annual savings, we received an endorsement from the company as well.
With an additional estimated savings of $129,600 in maintenance expenses we were able to show our client a projected annual savings of $1.1 million or $3.3 over the next 3 years.
Sure, these numbers are great and alone they should be enough to help any company pull the trigger on making the investment into telematics.
We also added the ability to monitor texting and driving through our partnership with ZoomSafer. In fact, 3 days before our final meeting, one of the company drivers was ticketed for texting while driving.
However, for a company that has been down the road with 3 other test pilots, all lasting 90-120 days, the real thing that sealed the deal, after only 52 days, was our level of customer service and attention to detail for the client.
“Lynx Telematics did not simply install a bunch of units and accumulate data for us”,
commented the company Fleet Operations Manager. “They actually took personal responsibility and helped us manage and understand what the data was telling us.”
“Lynx also monitored our fleets ECM data and alerted us to possible mechanical issues as they were happening. That alone saved us thousands in productivity and lost product.”
“When I wanted reports or samples of data, my Account Manager, Vincent Rush, didn’t just email it to me, he hand delivered it and explained how the data was presented. They were the most thorough company we had tested.”
“What has really impressed us to this point is that now that we are partnered with Lynx, we are still getting help and attention, like we did in the testing phase. Very impressive level of service from a telematics company”
For more information or an analysis on how Lynx Telematics can help your company fleet reduce operating expenses, improve safety compliance and productivity while reducing risk liability, contact Vincent Rush at (513) 965-6318 or vrush@lynxtelematics.com
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