How Brydens Is Leveraging Axxon's Technology for Efficiency

In this success story, we’ll go through the wins Brydens has experienced with Axxon from Mr. McKinnon's and Ms. Minors’ perspectives. 

Mr. McKinnon has been with the company for 32 years, manages the warehouse, looks after the vehicle fleet, and handles day-to-day maintenance. He believes in training younger employees, stating, "A great leader mentors their replacement." He was once a younger employee too, and knows exactly the path to growth. 

Ms. Minors has been managing Brydens for 17 years now. She took the lead after her late father and is doing an amazing job along with her team to expand the company and keep innovating its road map. 

Before we dive deeper, we want to thank Ms. Minors and Mr. McKinnon for taking some time out of their busy schedule to share with us their experience with Axxon. 

The Challenge

Time-Wasting Drivers

Imagine sending out a driver for delivery, only to have it take much longer than it should. When you send another driver to do the same job, it's done much faster. Drivers taking longer than needed, exceeding overtime every day.  That's the kind of issue Brydens was facing. 

They knew something was going on, most likely the drivers were wasting time and such a problem has the potential to damage a company’s finances, efficiency, and productivity. Something that Brydens does not stand for. 

"Many times, drivers would be somewhere other than where they said they were," recalls Mr. McKinnon. "I used to take time to check on them, but it was hard to manage with all my other responsibilities."

“We were hitting overtime every day, but had no solid proof to show our union and put an end to that behavior. Unless you have someone constantly checking and showing up in places you would not be able to do so and stop that”, said Ms. Minors

Mr. McKinnon was running over his budget with the overtime which made his job much harder, and with his busy schedule, it was certainly difficult to make sure his team was doing their job. 

They were feeling overwhelmed, and so their curiosity sparked them to go in search of a tool that would allow them to know where their drivers were going and how their vehicles were being used. 

"The biggest excuse always used was that, during their delivery, they encountered other vehicles that were also delivering and got stuck, which took more time," said both Mr. McKinnon and Ms. Minors

The Solution

Simple and Effective

Axxon offered Brydens a simple yet powerful solution. The all-in-one GPS Tracking solution.

"We had a demo done by Frank and I liked it. It looked really simple, installation was quickly and accurately done, so it wasn’t too difficult," Mr.McKinnon mentions.

But the system is more than just efficient—it's timely. McKinnon, who juggles multiple responsibilities, says, "Our solution came at the nick of time. I have a lot on my plate on a daily basis." 

At Axxon, we believe that no manager or business owner should be stuck chasing drivers. The Axxon system provided Brydens with real-time tracking and immediate alerts for idling and if their vehicles were going off-route. 

With the notifications being customizable, Brydens was able to set their benchmark for their idling problem. Some of their trucks’ engines need to stay on for refrigeration purposes and for the ones that do not, Mr.Mckinnon and his team will get notified. 

Now he does not have to spend his days chasing drivers or even sitting behind his desk monitoring a map and the whereabouts. He simply gets a notification about the things that matter to his operations. 

"Just recently we even caught a driver idling at an off-route location. Thanks to the notifications we can set for X amount of minutes when a car is parked with engine on but not moving. The notification will just pop up and that’s how we were able to confront this driver," McKinnon notes.

“Since installing the devices, we've conducted three internal investigations into drivers who were going off-route. One of them was involved in theft and scheming with products. With Axxon we were able to resolve that issue. It's definitely worth the investment," said Ms. Minors.

The Results

Savings and Efficiency

The Axxon system has improved how Brydens operates. Mr. McKinnon now has the data for those straightforward conversations with his drivers. No more dancing around the issues. If you’re caught off-route, the data doesn’t lie, there will be consequences. This has empowered his communication with his team.

Being the warehouse manager he has to communicate with the guys daily. He is open to letting them know what is happening and has successfully introduced Axxon to his team.

 "Drivers now ask for permission to run personal errands, which is a big change," says Mr. McKinnon. 

But the benefits don’t stop there. Axxon has helped reduce overtime costs by 20%.

"It is one of the biggest impacts we have seen since the implementation of Axxon," says Mr. McKinnon

“We could not prove the excessive overtime in the past, and now with the devices we get to see when the vehicle arrived, when it departed and it even calculates for you how long you stayed there,” says Mr. McKinnon

“Of Course, you’ll never eliminate overtime but we were able to generate 20% of savings in overtime which we could not have done without the devices,” says Ms. Minors

The system even helps reduce fuel consumption by alerting any vehicle that's idling too long.

"We found drivers were wasting fuel by leaving the engine running. With Axxon we’re fixing that" adds McKinnon.

Every stop is being registered on the route history and route reports, if something does not add up with what an employee is saying it will be solved with Axxon. Mr. Mckinnon said it himself,

“Axxon is not just a tracking device system, there are so many different reports you can get and with a lot of details”.

With Axxon's solution, Brydens has changed the way employees approach their jobs, making them more aware and accountable for their responsibilities. The relationship between management and drivers has also improved. Now, everyone understands it's not just about making deliveries; it's about optimizing routes, expanding coverage, attracting more customers per route, and taking care of the vehicles. The team has become an integral part of this new process.

“It makes everyone understand in a simple way that we have to take care of everything at the top so we can all enjoy the profits at the bottom. It’s making people more accountable about their time, what they do, and the assets they are assigned” adds Ms. Minors

Conclusion

For Brydens, using Axxon has been a game-changer. It's helped them manage their time better, cut costs, and improve efficiency. Brydens has successfully established fleet management policies, rules, and regulations that are strictly followed, all of which can be verified using Axxon.

“This affordable solution is something crucial for any type of business with a fleet of vehicles,” says Mr. McKinnon.

Brydens is on the route to mastering all of Axxon’s tools to continue boosting their efficiency and productivity.

“It’s a complete fleet management system” adds Ms. Minors. 

After our conversation, we asked both Ms. Minors and Mr. McKinnon how they feel now compared to their overwhelming past. Their answers? “We feel that we are in a better place” and “We are more efficient.”

Brydens has thrived for over 58 years, and we're thrilled to be part of their journey in the years ahead. With Axxon, it's not just about tracking; it's about making your business run better. Simple as that