InfoLink provided utilization data that indicated opportunity charging could be used, maximizing the uptime of the fleet.
InfoLink provides the company with fleet utilization data across multiple locations – data that isn’t available from any other source.
The company now has a better understanding of its fleet activity, helping its management identify process improvements that will minimize operator distractions that result in fleet downtime.
Corporate Controller – Crown Packaging, Inc.
Crown Packaging is a privately held company headquartered near Dayton, OH, with facilities in Ohio and Tennessee. Specializing in contract packaging for the automotive industry, it provides packing supplies and the expertise to package and distribute a wide variety of OEM parts to manufacturers’ distribution centers for delivery to dealers. It manages operations within several of its customers’ facilities as well as its own. The company employs nearly 300 people across all its facilities and regularly operates three shifts, six days a week.
Spread across its various locations, Crown Packaging regularly takes in, sorts, packages and ships out approximately 4 million automotive parts each month. It is committed to packaging and shipping parts within 48 hours of receipt and processing 300 orders a day can be the norm. The company’s “products” are its efficiency, speed and quality control. Making the most efficient use of every inch of available space to handle often bulky and odd-shaped products, moving everything in and out smoothly and keeping tabs on all the many moving pieces is critical to a profitable operation. When management asks, “What equipment do we need? Are we using what we have efficiently? How do we know?” being able to track lift truck operations on a daily or even hourly basis can be vital to the decision-making process.
When the corporate controller was asked to evaluate the overall operation’s use of its lift truck fleet with an eye on replacements and improvements, he looked for information on how the trucks are being used, how often and what the organization really needs. He found existing information was basically built around anecdotal data – the feeling of operators and managers that every lift truck was not only needed, but was fully utilized. The quest for accurate information led to Crown’s InfoLink system to provide real-time information on every truck in the fleet. This operator-friendly system, linked to the extremely maneuverable Crown RC 5500 Series lift trucks, opened the eyes of management to the realities of daily use helping them streamline operations, optimize lift truck utilization via opportunity charging and reduce the overall fleet.