our longer-term agenda, so they know when a technology or an idea is a good fit to bring to us. Then we are transparent with them, and when we collect data, we share it with them. We don’t view that as being proprietary; we want to help them be stronger.” BENEFITS OF CHANGE Embracing cutting-edge technology allows C&S not only to reduce costs but also to serve customers better. “We’re only two and a half years into this process, but as it becomes part of our normal course of business, it’s becoming more and more a competitive advantage for us,” say Mr. Trajkovski. “For example, on-time delivery is critical today. If we’re not making a delivery window, it wastes labor resources at the end location. We’re currently doing a remarkable job in educating the customer-facing jobs in our organization to leverage what we’re doing in terms of efficiency. That’s something which is definitely going to differentiate us in this sector.” Of course, these investments in reducing fuel consumption and improving efficiencies also affect environmental performance. “From an environmental standpoint, we look at these new assets holistically,” says Mr. Trajkovski. “We don’t just look at the acquisition or the fuel consumption. We look at acquisition, operation, maintenance, and the mode of disposal. Given the shortened lifecycle on our assets, we’re trying to optimize the first half million miles as much as possible, while also using warranties and performance measures to ensure our suppliers can be held accountable for the performance of these assets. Data, education, and change management are all critical to ensuring our performance is optimal. Every quarter, we circle back on our assumptions to ensure that our metrics
are being met, and if they aren’t, we look into what we need to do.” MEASURING SUCCESS Based on the first two-and-a-half years of the new asset replacement cycle, C&S have either met or exceeded their budget assumptions in almost all efficiency and uptime metrics. “Our fuel economy is actually better than we thought it’d be,” says Mr. Trajkovski. “Our reliability is better than we expected. We’ve actually been able to net assets out of the system with the same baseline of freight. It’s now about bringing all the different assets together – not just the tractor, but the dry van and the terminal tractor as well – so they’re all in sync, and they’re all delivering the efficiencies they’re supposed to.” Next, C&S plan to begin using renewable and alternative sources of energy. “We’re working with a couple of key suppliers on solar-powered supported refrigeration units,” says Mr. Trajkovski. “Since 2017, all our refrigeration units have come with electric standby. The electric unit is far quieter, and reduces noise pollution. Solar would mean the tops of the trailers are equipped with the latest-technology solar panels, which would allow us to collect energy as we make deliveries. We needed to get our arms wrapped around the basics, which was a replacement cycle which supported the longer-term vision and strategy for our fleet. We can now look at alternative energy, like incorporating electric, and perhaps compressed natural gas, perhaps hybrids, and other technologies. We are on our third generation of ownership, and our owner is often quoted saying: ‘What got us here isn’t going to get us there.’ That means we have to continually grow, we have to change, and we have to evolve to remain competitive and to keep bringing value to our customers.” c
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