May 14, 2016
By: KIM DROUILLARD
VP & GENERAL MANAGER, OMNITRACS SYLECTUS
Miki Gavriloski, chief operating officer of Sweetland Transport, had finally reached his limit. He was done juggling between his businesses’ highs and lows of having freight to ship but no truck to carry it. Or having an excess of trucks, but no freight to ship. His company, Sweetland Transport, a 50+ vehicle fleet based in Michigan, was facing two objectives: gain more customers and attain an edge against the competition. Even with strong business acumen and highly skilled and safe drivers, he knew that he was up against labor-intensive challenges such as countless phone calls, difficulty building strong relationships and an unorganized back office—all of which seemed to put the brakes on Sweetland Transport’s bottom line.
Gavriloski realized that the missing piece was a sophisticated technology solution that could improve operational efficiency and optimize his fleets’ capacity issues. Enter Omnitracs Sylectus TMS. Implementing the Alliance Pro solution, Sweetland Transport was able to manage operations and share excess trucks and loads, thereby growing its customer list and the entire business. When Sweetland Transport first implemented Omnitracs TMS in 2012, they were a five vehicle fleet. Today, they have expanded to more than 50 and have experienced 150 percent sales growth from 2013 to 2014.
Omnitracs TMS provides Sweetland Transport with an intuitive load board, trip monitoring, and integrated billing, which have helped streamline operations and have minimized some of the hassles—such as dispatch and settlements—that drivers often experience while out on the road. Sweetland Transport has also seen the positive impact the technology has had on customer service. Greatly improving, the carrier has been able to keep its return customers happy and impress new ones.
Long gone are the days of worrying about capacity or an unorganized back office. Sweetland Transport has turned all of it around and now enjoys growth thanks to TMS technology.