Instead of sending a truck when RelaDyne’s staff thinks the customer needs product, the company is integrating the SkyBitz SMARTank® solution to digitally monitor each tank’s status so they can determine the best time to make a delivery. That means fewer delivery runs and more efficient stops on optimized routes.
Doug Oehler, RelaDyne’s Executive Vice President of Branch Distribution, explains that every delivery stop costs the company between $30 and $60, depending on location. Their goal is to deliver at 80 percent of a tank’s capacity or more, but sometimes they undershoot that goal, delivering at only 50 to 60 percent. In such situations, a delivery could have been delayed perhaps by a few days with no consequence to the customer. In eliminating even one or two deliveries per month to all of the 15,000 tanks, the savings can quickly add up. Ultimately, lower RelaDyne costs will translate to customer savings too.
SkyBitz Tank Monitoring is enabling RelaDyne to realize these benefits. Entering a master agreement in 2017, RelaDyne has been integrating the solution at select locations throughout the country, with full deployment planned for the next few years. Previously the company had used as many as six different tank monitoring suppliers, given that they were associated with some of the acquired businesses. That created significant complexity in user interface, multiple data sets and screens to monitor.
Oehler noted that “You don’t want to have separate screens up for customers that might be right next door to each other, and end up scheduling multiple deliveries to the same area.”
Another benefit with SkyBitz was the short learning curve for RelaDyne’s team to use and operate the system, given its simple interface. Oehler did note that the culture change associated with moving staff away from their old way of doing things has been challenging.
Instead of intuitively anticipating what a customer is going to need and scheduling a delivery, dispatchers can now rely on SkyBitz Tank Monitoring to know who needs product and who doesn’t at any given time. This system typically requires a worker to be fully dedicated to monitors and dispatching a huge change from traditional operations.
Oehler acknowledged that “SkyBitz has done a great job of going out to our locations, training our people and getting them to move that mindset to the monitor system.”
The SkyBitz team also works closely with RelaDyne to ensure service quality, a key part of RelaDyne’s offering and brand differentiation. By going with RelaDyne on customer site visits, helping with implementations and holding monthly follow-up conference calls, SkyBitz supports RelaDyne well beyond just monitoring customer data. The entire team is committed to maximizing operational efficiencies while keeping customers well cared for.