Lions Gate Trailers
Lions Gate Trailers Utilizes SkyBitz Tracking Technology to Offer Customers Increased Efficiencies, Enhanced Security
Vancouver-based Lions Gate Trailers Ltd. is the largest trailer leasing company in Canada. With locations throughout the country, Lions Gate offers local and regional carriers a wide range of dry and temperature- controlled vans, flat decks and specialty equipment.
Situation
Where other companies may boast that they’re focused on the customer, Lions Gate really means it – and can point to several customer-focused programs and initiatives to back up the claim. This pledge to react to its customers' needs faster than the competition is why Lions Gate wanted to offer trailer tracking, especially to those carriers that transport high-value loads or manage complex distribution networks with multiple assets.
“We wanted to help our customers achieve better efficiencies and gain more control of their operations,” said Bart Dueck, Branch Manager for Lions Gate Trailer’s Vancouver location. “There’s definitely a benefit to dispatchers knowing exactly where their assets are scattered, especially when they’re dealing with owner operators.”
Solution
Lions Gate began to offer the SkyBitz Global Locating System (GLS) tracking technology with Smart Sensor Tracking as a value-added service on select trailers. The leasing company selected SkyBitz based on the solution’s ease of installation and the reliable, proven GLS technology. The fact that the GLS has a self-contained battery with no wiring required – allowing the unit to be easily transferred from one asset to another – was also a key factor in the decision.
“We only offer a service to our customers if we feel it has a good return on the investment,” remarked Mark Conlin and Steve Nash, Lions Gate Rental Sales Managers in Vancouver and Toronto, respectively. “We felt that SkyBitz had the potential to offer solid, quantifiable results.”
Results
In a short time, Lions Gate’s customers have already reaped the benefits of having the capability to track their trailers in real time. Not only have they realized increased operational efficiencies, but they have also enhanced security as well – and gained the ability to recover stolen loads.
A case in point is a British Columbia-based trucking company that hauls high-value commodities. When the carrier couldn’t locate a trailer that was dropped off in the early morning hours, Lions Gate consulted the SkyBitz Web site to pinpoint the location of the trailer. As it turned out, the trailer had been stolen and moved to another location. With the help of SkyBitz tracking data, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police located the trailer later that day – right where SkyBitz said it was. The end result: the customer was able to recover most of the load, which was valued at nearly $250,000.
Lions Gate is using this lost-trailer incident to establish even more effective benchmarks for using the SkyBitz technology, such as programming each mobile unit to “wake up” within a shorter time span and installing door sensors that trigger an alert in the event of unauthorized trailer entry. The company is also recommending that customers with high-value loads utilize the SkyBitz SkyFencing feature to more closely monitor their trailers and ensure they don’t deviate from their routes.
“We’re constantly evaluating our ‘lessons learned’ to improve the outcomes for all our customers,” concluded Dueck. “Offering the SkyBitz GLS technology is just one more way that we’re maintaining our competitive edge in the Canadian trailer leasing marketplace.”