Kowalski Sausage Co. Taps Omnitracs’ Roadnet with Tasty Performance Results

Omnitracs, a global pioneer of fleet management solutions to transportation and logistics companies, has announced it has reached a significant and tasty milestone with its Roadnet Anywhere customer: Kowalski Sausage Company.

Since implementing Omnitracs’ Roadnet Anywhere Routing & Dispatching in February of 2015, Kowalski Sausage has realized a notable increase in profitability, and has reduced routing expenses by more than an estimated 60 percent. The Roadnet Anywhere platform provides a more holistic view of fleets, consolidating views of routing, dispatching, proof of delivery, telematics, customer notifications and business analytics in one place.

An iconic brand across home-state of Michigan and beyond, Kowalski Sausage Company has cultivated a reputation for authenticity, with its food rich in tradition. From its three production locations, Kowalski Sausage Company delivers to an estimated 500 grocery stores, convenience stores, distributors and warehouse clubs across Mich. and Ohio.

The company currently operates a fleet of 10 trucks, and its raw and unprepared foods require refrigeration during transport, making on-time service vital. Direct store deliveries are made via ten daily weekday routes, with service windows ranging anywhere from 30 minutes to six hours.

“For a company like Kowalski Sausage dealing with perishable food items, timing, control and transparency is non-negotiable, both for the company itself and its customers.  In order to ensure they’re operating at optimal performance levels, they require real-time, objective information—unfettered access and visibility to route factors such as distance, time and cost,” said Kevin Haugh, general manager of Omnitracs Roadnet Technologies. “Our Roadnet Anywhere SaaS fleet management platform has been able to successfully address each of those needs. In less than a year, we transformed fleet operations at Kowalski, delivering data-driven insights they can then leverage to improve business decisions surrounding fleet size, delivery size, lease lengths and other investments.”

From a big-picture perspective, Kowalski Sausage uses Roadnet to plan daily routes and uses dispatch tools for reporting and troubleshooting. In fact, Roadnet Anywhere Routing & Dispatching creates the lowest cost routes for each day’s deliveries, all while adhering to any rules or variances the Kowalski dispatch team implements based on customer needs. They can now create routes and monitor actual execution throughout the day to spotlight exceptions and proactively address problems.

“We’ve built a 95-year brand heritage around a passion for quality, both in our products and across business operations; implementing Roadnet Anywhere has helped us continue to deliver on that promise to our customers,” said Crystal Towery, assistant controller, Kowalski Sausage Company. “In contrast to our past solution, we now have monitoring resources and tools at our fingertips and everything is based on actuals, so there’s nothing subjective in the process. That makes a big difference when it comes to running a company effectively and efficiently. We know exactly where we need to improve our performance for the betterment of our customers and ultimately our bottom line.”

Outside of the tangible growth in terms of profitability, Kowalski Sausage Company has also improved relations with its drivers, leading to improved employee satisfaction and longevity.

Towery adds, “With Roadnet, we’re able to identify where our driver issues are, sit down with the driver and explain our observations, ultimately troubleshooting to determine what adjustments need to be made to reduce extended travel and service times. Now, drivers are under less stress, which creates better attitudes at customer locations and increases customer satisfaction. We have had more driver compliments over the past three months than we have had over the past three years.”

Kowalski Sausage Company is also using Mobile Premium, which provides upgraded features such as signature capture, picture notes, and auto arrive/depart. More on Omnitracs’ Roadnet Anywhere platform at: http://www.omnitracs.com/platforms/roadnet-anywhere.

Category: Featured