Refrigeratedtransporter 1669 Kowalski Sausage Truck

Roadnet Anywhere slices costs for Kowalski Sausage

March 30, 2016

Since implementing Omnitracs Roadnet Anywhere Routing & Dispatching in February 2015, Kowalski Sausage Company has realized a notable increase in profitability, and has reduced routing expenses by more than an estimated 60%.

Omnitracs LLC has reached a significant milestone with its Roadnet Anywhere customer Kowalski Sausage Company. Since implementing Roadnet Anywhere Routing & Dispatching in February 2015, Kowalski Sausage has realized a notable increase in profitability, and has reduced routing expenses by more than an estimated 60%.

The Roadnet Anywhere platform provides a more holistic view of fleets, consolidating views of routing, dispatching, proof of delivery, telematics, customer notifications, and business analytics in one place.

An iconic brand across its home state of Michigan and beyond, Kowalski Sausage has cultivated a reputation for authenticity. From its three production locations, Kowalski Sausage delivers to about 500 grocery stores, convenience stores, distributors, and warehouse clubs across Michigan and Ohio. The company operates a fleet of 10 trucks, and its raw and unprepared foods require refrigeration during transport, making on-time service vital. Direct store deliveries are made via 10 daily weekday routes, with service windows ranging anywhere from 30 minutes to six hours.

“For a company like Kowalski Sausage dealing with perishable food items, timing, control, and transparency is non-negotiable, both for the company itself and its customers. In order to ensure they’re operating at optimal performance levels, they require real-time, objective information—unfettered access and visibility to route factors such as distance, time, and cost,” said Kevin Haugh, general manager of Omnitracs Roadnet Technologies. “Our Roadnet Anywhere SaaS fleet management platform has been able to successfully address each of those needs. In less than a year, we transformed fleet operations at Kowalski, delivering data-driven insights they can then leverage to improve business decisions surrounding fleet size, delivery size, lease lengths, and other investments.”

Kowalski Sausage uses Roadnet to plan daily routes and uses dispatch tools for reporting and troubleshooting. In fact, Roadnet Anywhere Routing & Dispatching creates low-cost routes for each day’s deliveries, all while adhering to any rules or variances the Kowalski dispatch team implements based on customer needs. It can now create routes and monitor actual execution throughout the day to spotlight exceptions and proactively address problems.

The company has also improved relations with its drivers.

“With Roadnet, we’re able to identify where our driver issues are, sit down with the driver and explain our observations, ultimately troubleshooting to determine what adjustments need to be made to reduce extended travel and service times, “ said Crystal Towery, assistant controller at Kowalski Sausage. “Now drivers are under less stress, which creates better attitudes at customer locations and increases customer satisfaction. We have had more driver compliments over the past three months than we have had over the past three years.”

Kowalski Sausage is also using Mobile Premium, which provides upgraded features such as signature capture, picture notes, and auto arrive/depart.

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