C.N. Brown says that it has moved to paperless logs and significantly reduced operating costs, due in part to Cadec’s fleet management software.
C.N. Brown owns and operates 20 tractors that service 87 Big Apple Food Stores and 32 Red Shield Heating Oil locations throughout New England. The fleet also delivers fuel to more than 100 independently operated gasoline stations. The company says Cadec’s fleet management software helped it reduce fleet operating costs by three cents per mile, even as its overall mileage and fuel prices grew – resulting in savings of $57,000 annually. This savings came despite an increase of 90,000 miles in 2007 versus 2006, according to C.N. Brown.
“We took a long, hard look at where business was,” says Transportation Manager Ken Cannell. “By looking at closely at its routes, the company improved the utilization of trucks through slip-seating and night driving, for example. The fleet was able to eliminate two trucks and not replace four drivers that left or retired. We are actually looking to cut one more truck.” The fleet also modified the parameters of its Caterpillar engines and trained its drivers to understand their equipment better, Cannell says.
C.N. Brown says it has been using Cadec On-Board Computers (OBCs) and fleet management software since 2000. The original impetus was to comply with federal regulations regarding transport of gasoline, oil diesel fuel and propane. Since then, C.N. Brown says it has come to appreciate many other benefits. “At first, our fleet management effort was about compliance – but we’ve since come to realize it’s really about efficiency,” says Cannell. “Our Cadec software has had a measurable impact on C.N. Brown’s bottom line.”
C.N. Brown says Cadec’s OBCs and software, installed in all of its trucks, have enabled it to:
In 2008, Cannell says he prepared – and plans to meet – his budget that is only an increase of about 5.5 percent over 2007, despite the significant increase in diesel prices. To download the new case study on C.N. Brown published by Cadec, go to www.cadec.com/CNBrown.
