Tech-savvy trucks ensure speedy delivery without compromising safety.
The luxury of a two-week lead time is long gone.
More and more, printing customers are demanding that jobs be turned around in days—not weeks—forcing printers and their suppliers to react quickly and efficiently if they want to keep up.
The ability to deliver on time, every time is essential, and it’s one of the reasons Millcraft installed Fleetmatics®, a GPS tracking system, in all of its 30+ delivery vehicles (ranging from over-the-road semis to sprinter vans).
“One of Millcraft’s core values is that we deliver. The Fleetmatics technology shows exactly how we’re delivering on behalf of our customers,” says Greg Lovensheimer, vice president of operations at Millcraft.
Using this technology tool, operations managers can now track routes and monitor delivery times to make sure customers get their exact orders, exactly when they need them. And because it blends seamlessly with Millcraft’s existing order management system, Microsoft Dynamics AX, customers now have complete supply chain visibility from the moment an order is placed until it arrives at their door.
Lovensheimer admits that one of the hallmarks of Millcraft being a fourth-generation family business is the level of intimacy between employees and customers. But, he says, “every client—no matter how good of friends you are—needs to know they’ve got the best overall value supply chain that they can possibly get.”
And there’s no room for shortcuts. Fleetmatics technology also helps ensure that drivers are following all of the safety precautions required by law—a critical component of being a trusted community partner.
“Customers want to know who their partners are, and, more importantly, they want to know if their partners act with integrity,” says Lovensheimer.
By Laurie Hileman