How Rounds Company Reduced Payroll and Improved Deliveries Using FleetMatics GPS
Mark Whelan, Vice President of Frank I. Rounds Company, found himself facing the same daunting challenges as many small businesses with vehicle fleets: climbing payroll costs, unreliable delivery times and the need to improve customer satisfaction.
Rounds Company has served the New England area since 1935 as the preeminent supplier of commercial and industrial boilers, combustion equipment and accessories. The company relies on a fleet of 31 vehicles to provide rapid response and high quality service to their clients.
But according to Whelan, the company needed to further improve customer expectations while also controlling payroll during the down economy.
“When you dispatch employees, it is difficult to see where they are,” said Whelan. “We needed to find a way to tighten the belt a bit.”
Rounds Company’s search for a practical, cost-effective solution to their payroll and customer service issues eventually led them to FleetMatics.
FleetMatics has helped small businesses throughout the world realize the full benefits of GPS vehicle tracking. The FleetMatics GPS Vehicle Tracking Solution was designed from the ground up to specifically serve small businesses by providing:
- A simple user interface with easy reporting functions
- System access via any Internet-enabled computer
- The most dependable tracking uptime in the industry
With FleetMatics GPS installed, Whelan now knows the exact location, route, speed, idle time and engine status of every company vehicle. The system compiles the information to automatically generate easy-to-use management reports. Whelan can now quickly get an overview of his entire fleet performance, eliminate payroll discrepancies, improve delivery times and provide proof of service to clients.
“FleetMatics helped by providing a great flow of information that tightened our operations,” said Whelan. “I don’t know how someone can survive without this type of information. We’ve reduced some theft, increased productivity and increased response time to emergencies.”
According to Whelan, Rounds Company was able to shut down an entire division because of the efficiencies gained using FleetMatics GPS. The system helped the company reduce overhead by merging operations and became a key component in their transition to digital back office applications and dispatching.
“Our company has become more efficient on the whole since using FleetMatics,” said Whelan. “I can’t believe the visibility that I was missing and I just can’t say enough about how easy it is to use.”