You Can Run a Leaner Organization –
And Save a Forest at the Same Time
 The
Calac Group of Companies operates 225 power units across the US and
Canada. They have been working with Axon for over 10 years.
Christine Meyers has been with Calac through the entire time and
spoke to us about their “Axon Experience.”
Christine, tell us about your role at Calac.
“Well, I’ve played many roles. Other than driving, I’ve done almost
every job. I’ve done accounting, from the general bookkeeping to
preparation for the financial statements; I’ve done billing; I’ve
done driver pay; I’ve done Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable -
back in the very beginning, I even did some dispatching. I set up a
lot of the systems that are in place in the office now, and right
now I am the office and systems manager.”
Were you responsible for the implementation of
the Axon trucking software?
“Yes, I was. I was the person that implemented it right back in
1996. And I also implemented the upgrade to Axon ETA. [Axon’s
real-time version].”
Tell us about your experience in dealing with
Axon.
“I love it! I always rave about the people that I deal with at Axon.
It’s always on a real personal level. They always give me an answer.
The response time is so good. And everybody is really polite.
Sometimes, over the years, I’ve called in very stressful situations;
I’ve probably been downright rude. That never stopped Axon people
from dealing with me, always on a professional level, always
understanding what was happening at the time, and resolving the
problem very quickly – and with a sense of humor, I might add. So
I’ve developed some really good relationships with the support
people over the years, and I really treasure them. As Axon grew, the
number of people that I was dealing with grew, and it didn’t take me
very long to become very comfortable just asking a question to
whichever support person answered the phone. Because I found that
even if it was a new person, if they couldn’t answer my question
right at that time, they would be calling me back within a half an
hour with an answer to my question. And sometimes it was something I
probably should have been able to figure out myself.”
Has Axon helped solve some specific problems
for you?
“Well, we went through tons and tons of paper here, and the live
[real-time] GL has just been incredible. We eliminated reams of
paper, because there’s no printing of the batches and no posting, so
that was a big thing.
Another big problem now is all the security
measures, and the regulations with the hours of service and all of
those things. Government agencies are putting everything onto the
carrier and that is always a huge challenge. Axon’s helped out there
with the ACE program and compliance. That’s been a really good
thing, and that all makes it easier for us as a carrier.
I guess I’ve used the software for so long, I
don’t know any other way to do fuel tax. It’s so automated – it
makes it really easy so it was never a problem for me because I’ve
always used Axon software. And because it eliminates the manual data
entry with the automatic fuel downloads, it just makes it really
simple. We do fuel tax for approximately 125 units in all the group
of companies, and it takes probably a half a day, but most of that
is spent in checking, because it’s all done. So, it’s mostly just
checking it and going through and making sure everything makes
sense.”
Has the software helped you with driver
retention?
“It does help with driver retention because leased
operator
statements and driver settlements are so straightforward that
there’s little chance for error. There are many other issues [that
affect driver retention], but everybody’s paycheck is really
important, and because their driver settlements are so easy to
understand, and it gives the drivers a lot of information, they can
easily make sure that they have been paid correctly. That cuts down
on a lot of our payroll administration because they have a lot fewer
questions regarding their pay. And because the driver pay is tied to
an order, there’s less chance of missing it, making sure the driver
is getting paid for what they’ve done. They’re not having to come in
all the time and say, oh you’ve missed this, or you’ve missed that.”
Has Axon Trucking Software helped improve
office productivity?
“Yes. We have been able to reduce some of the data entry people
which enabled us to put people in positions that we needed on an
accounting level.
One of the things that comes to mind is our shop.
We use the Axon work order system, and it eliminated using a
separate system for inventory and equipment maintenance. That
eliminated a lot of the duplication. And we get a much better, more
accurate picture of where our inventory’s at. We’re obligated to
track maintenance on our equipment and, with a fully-integrated
system, it makes it easy, because those work orders go right onto
the equipment statement, and we have that history at any given time.
That helped us with our staffing as well, because we’re not using
two systems anymore.”
Can you talk about the ease of use of the Axon
software?
“It’s really easy. That’s been the biggest thing with moving to ETA.
People that typically don’t use, or are scared, of the technology
aren’t afraid to use Axon because it is very easy and
straightforward.”
How would you describe the Axon training?
“The most patient people on the face of the earth. Our trainer was
just amazing. She had a lot of patience and she was very clear. She
didn’t go too fast; she really went at a good pace so that everybody
could keep up, and I think that was really important. Everybody felt
really comfortable, and the training process went really smooth.”
How would you describe your experience with
Axon to your business peers?
“Nothing but positive, largely because of the support that we get,
because that’s the biggest thing. I mean, the software speaks for
itself because it is fully integrated. We run a pretty lean staff
here, in comparison to a lot of companies, and we are able to do
that because of the Axon software. And the support has been so
important in letting us run with a lean staff. Because if we have a
question, it’s almost as if your support people are co-workers for
us. If we have a problem, we pick up the phone, and we get an answer
in such a short time. Plus the ease of use, and how automated it
makes us, all goes back to helping us run very lean.”
Do you have any additional comments?
“As human beings, we don’t like change, right? But, the staff here
has embraced the new Axon software and they’re excited to use it.
They’re always asking questions and, because ETA usually has a
solution for them, they continue to look for ways that the program
can increase their efficiency, and that’s good for a company, any
way you slice it. If people are looking for the software program to
make their job more efficient, they can shorten things up so they
have time to do other things. That’s a good thing for any company.
A difficult task is getting dispatchers to use a
system. With the
ACE program, it really made them realize the importance of using
the program, and they’re able to see that it really isn’t that hard.
The software is so straightforward, and so easy to use, it took away
that fear. When they see a way that they can get through that part
of the day and move on and do other things, that really inspires
them. Plus, if they can get their job done on Monday to Friday, 8 to
5 instead of having to work long nights or long days or come in on
the weekend, that makes a big difference. Then they’re going to ask,
how can I make this quicker, how can I make it better? Where else
can I improve?
I’m probably Axon ETA’s biggest fan because I was
the first admin. person [Calac] ever hired, and I’ve been with them
right through all the growth and all the changes and I couldn’t have
done it without the support from Axon, and I guess that’s probably
why I’m such a big fan.”
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