Western Distributing Improves Customer Service

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Western Distributing Maximizes Customer Service with TMWSuite

Western Distributing, located in Denver, CO, started out in 1933 distributing Coors Beer and Jim Beam, then in 1977 started a truck line to take control of pickup and delivery of the product to their warehouse. They now operate over 175 trucks across the U.S. and Canada. They carry liquor, meat, and beer (Coors Brewing Co. is one of their clients) in their 80% reefer fleet. Their strong relationships with local shippers allow them to get outbound loads readily and to operate so efficiently that they boast an empty mile rate of less than 7 percent.

The Challenge

Using a legacy DOS application for their dispatch operations software was successful for many years. But when they began to install other technologies (e.g., PC Miler, Highway Master, JD Edwards, Truck Pro) based on the Windows platform, they started to encounter integration problems. “We had five different programs integrating with each other and kept getting errors, lockups, crashes, etc.,” said Dino Guadagni, Vice President at Western.

After analyzing their needs, a program that ran on SQL in addition to continuity and integration between all their different systems was a critical requirement. “The logical choice for us was TMW’s TMWSuite™,” Guadagni said. “Since we’d already been working with TMW, we knew they were good partners.”

The Solution

TMWSuite gives Western managers and IS people quick access to huge amounts of data. They really appreciate all the reports they can develop by using MS Office Excel, Access, etc. “We can even tell how much time a unit spent sitting at the dock,” says Guadagni. “It really allows us to get creative. I can create my own version of dispatch, order entry or invoicing by customizing it to my requirements. He enjoys the flexibility and the openness of the system.

Western also keeps a close eye on fuel consumption. Healey indicates they collect fuel consumption data directly from the engines on each of their units. “I have a table where we store this data and link it to the tractor profiles in TMWSuite. From this we can tell immediately how and where fuel is being consumed: by unit, by driver, by lane, or by any other set of criteria we choose.”

In addition to fuel tracking, Western also uses PowerSuite’s powerful analysis tools for monitoring and reporting on performance statistics for each piece of equipment. “Using Access and Excel, we customize reports that look at our different truck styles,” said Healey, “They tell us by make, model and year how well each is performing.” This helps them make better decisions on equipment purchases and maintenance schedules.

Western drivers, many of them former owner/operators, are on a rewards system so tracking fuel data is very important. Not only the “Top Fuel” conservation driver gets special recognition, but also the driver not doing very well (he gets “The Guzzler” on his mailbox).

The Result

Technology also helps Western manage its government compliance requirements easily. TMWSuite collects data on driver qualifications and various certification requirements. Then Western staff people use that information in Access reports to create driver ID cards that contain every critical piece of required information.

"These cards are perfect for identifying who is certified to haul our secure loads and tell us when their certification expires, etc. Then we export these cards directly to the government via email,” Guadagni said. “It saves us a lot of time and makes this job a lot easier.”

Western Distributing Integrates for Growth

Western Distributing Improves Customer Service