Back in 1990 C.A.T. President, Daniel Goyette, decided he wanted to move his company into the future. "Lack of management skills and use of a proprietary, sporadically-supported dispatch system were keeping the company from expanding and improving," according to Robert Gadoua, Manager of Information Systems at C.A.T. It had taken nearly 20 years to grow from 20 trucks in 1972 to about 100 trucks in 1990.

"Our President, who's a visionary, was determined to propel the company’s technology and management capabilities into the next century." And that meant doing whatever they had to do to expand their range and improve their quality of service to C.A.T. customers.

Goyette knew that this was a critical juncture for his organization. He also knew he needed to implement the best possible, dispatch operations technology. Because he understood the critical importance of properly managing the flow of information, he analyzed the two leading AS/400 mainframe systems. He wanted big players with solid development and reliable support. He even benchmarked with peers to make sure he knew exactly what the most important standards were in a system to achieve the results he desired.

Working with colleagues in the industry over several months, Goyette chose TL2000 for its powerful, stable, integrated approach to information management. In addition, Mr. Goyette was impressed with the excellent references with whom he spoke. First, he set up the bait – the finest dispatch system available – then he went about attracting a team of experienced, committed people to bring professional management skills to the organization. It all worked.

"TMW Systems and their support team have lead C.A.T. to challenge market trends and be proactive in responding to customer needs."

Over the years, C.A.T. staff developed confidence in the accuracy of the data they get, and in their ability to do what they need to with that data. According to Gadoua, "TMW Systems and their support team prepared C.A.T. to challenge market trends and be proactive in responding to customer needs." For example, C.A.T. implemented satellite tracking and EDI services in direct response to customer demands. They rely on TMW to help them make it happen when they need state-of-the-art technology.

"We are really pleased with the recent introduction of ShopLink 400. All our maintenance data now gets entered once instead of first into one system, then copied into another," says Gadoua. "We have fewer errors and save lots of time and effort with the single entry payables and single entry supplier approach."

"Savings in empty miles and other metrics are really process based," states Mr. Gadoua. "TMW software gives us the numbers we need to improve our processes. The software is a powerful tool that adds value to our decision-making process." C.A.T. expects to continue its growth by adding value for their customers, like their recently introduced logistics services. A long-time TMW partner, C.A.T. will be riding high with their customers into the new millennium