Bronx Bakery Case Study

The problem

When Steven Rose was 15 years old, he got a job working for a man who owned a bread route in New York City. He enjoyed the experience so much he decided that one day he’d have a delivery business of his own.

Today Rose pounds the pavement every day to meet potential customers face to face for his own company: Bronx Bakery. He has delivery contracts with five different bakeries, each with its own specialties such as rolls, croissants and breads. He owns a fleet of six trucks that deliver bakery products to restaurants, delis, small supermarkets, bodegas and anyone who sells bread in the Bronx, Queens, Manhattan and Westchester, from 4 p.m. to 7 a.m. 364 days a year.

Yes, deliveries are made while Rose is asleep. Before, he wasn’t happy going to bed without knowing where all his trucks were. He called them all the time, even in the middle of the night, to check where they were on their routes, what deliveries they’d made, how long they spent at a delivery site, whether there were speeding problems.

It made life crazy.

The LiveViewGPS solution

Rose decided a GPS vehicle tracking system would help his company run more efficiently, make his life less hectic and allow him to sleep better. He tasked his Number Two, Gracie Valdes, with finding the right solution.

“We’re a small ‘mom and pop’ operation,” Valdes explains. “What we wanted was a GPS vehicle tracking solution that was easy to implement, easy to use and easy on the pocketbook. I spent two weeks investigating and talking to various providers before I selected LiveViewGPS.

“What I liked most about LiveViewGPS was they said all the right things. They totally understood what we needed and offered us exactly what we were looking for. They didn’t try to sell us a high-end system with a bunch of fancy features we’d never use; they were more concerned with outfitting us with the right solution. They also gave us a great deal.”

Bronx Bakery purchased the best-selling G-5 GPS Vehicle Trackers which operate on LiveViewGPS’ new Live Trac Platform, a next-generation, real-time vehicle tracking system offering 1-, 5- and 10-second vehicle tracking capabilities on highly sensitive receivers. Like other Live Trac units, it works in environments where other GPS units fail.

The Live Trac G-5 GPS Vehicle Tracker is small and compact, with a state-of-the-art GPS chipset and integrated internal antenna. Its internal battery backup normally lasts for two days between charges.

The Live Trac GPS Platform features reliable 99.9 percent server uptime and requires no software to install. System updates are free, and live support is built into the platform. Users log on via their computer browser or web-enabled mobile device and, once connected, can track multiple vehicles in real time on a high-resolution satellite map, set geofencing (zones), find addresses, see aerial or road map views, and view historical data up to 90 days. A personal dashboard allows users to set and manage mapping, reporting and alert features to meet business or personal needs.

The benefits

“The Live Trac G-5 GPS vehicle tracking system has done everything we hoped for,” says Valdes. “Now we know where each driver is at that precise moment in time, which helps us with scheduling. If we get an ASAP order, it’s easy to find the closest delivery vehicle, have him pick up the order at the bakery and make the delivery. Meanwhile we can alert other customers on his delivery route when to expect him.

“As everyone knows, traffic in New York City is a nightmare, even at night. With the Live Trac GPS system we now have a bird’s eye view of the entire area. I go online, check out traffic patterns, congestion, accidents, weather conditions and other problems, then phone drivers with alternate routes when necessary. This allows us to keep to our delivery schedules, which our customers appreciate.”

Although the Live Trac Platform delivers comprehensive reports, the one Bronx Bakery uses the most is the stops/starts report.

“Idling time is a killer for us,” Valdes continues. “If our drivers keep their vehicles running while picking up or delivering orders, that’s a lot of wasted fuel. The starts/stops reports give us accurate data on idling time, so we’re able to make our drivers more aware of the problem. We now save a couple of hundred dollars in fuel costs each month just by reducing idling times. That’s a lot of money for a small business like ours.”

Route drivers have schedules to maintain, and if they fall behind there’s a temptation to speed and make up for lost time. Now Valdes can spot speeders and call them to slow down. Not only does this increase driver safety, it also keeps their insurance rates from skyrocketing.

“LiveViewGPS has been great to work with,” Valdes concludes. “I love them. They have excellent customer service, they quickly answer any questions we have and fix any problems we encounter. If anyone ever asked me, I’d say oh my god buy their products. They’re that good.”

Now, at night, Steven Rose can pick up his smartphone at any time and see exactly where every driver is, what they’re doing, how many deliveries they’ve made and whether they’re on schedule.

Nowadays he sleeps a lot better.