Camping Companies, Inc., Controls Its Mobile Workforce

With branches throughout the Southwest United States and headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona, Camping Companies, Inc. is one of the largest wholly owned repossession companies in the nation.

The company has developed a reputation for providing best recovery services available and giving clients outstanding customer service. By utilizing the latest technologies, Camping Companies has been able to adapt to the ever-changing needs of their clients.

The company decided to install the Verizon Connect fleet tracking solution on its 61 vehicles in an effort to better service its clients and manage employees in the field.

A Complete Fleet Management Solution

According to Greg Book, COO at Camping Companies, Inc., Verizon Connect system has helped the company in a number of areas including better territory control, improved driving behavior, routing efficiencies and more. "The list could go on forever," said Mr. Book. "The system really gives us an accurate picture of what's going on out in the field."

The mobile employees at Camping Companies all service a specific coverage area. Sometimes, the drivers would overlap the areas, which caused inefficiencies in the field. Dispatchers in all of the company's branches have access to the Verizon Connect system and can use Live Fleet to ensure drivers stay within their assigned coverage areas.

"We use the Live Map feature every day," said Mr. Book. "It gives us a feel for who is doing what, where they are and identify inefficiencies in our system."

Verizon Connect Live Map uses advanced GPS tracking to accurately track every vehicle in your fleet. The system uses Google Maps API Premier to pinpoint the location of your vehicles down to the street level. With Live Map, Camping Companies can also ensure that their drivers manage time efficiently in the field.

Mr. Book also utilizes the Verizon Connect's Detailed Report to track employee work hours and ensure mobile employees are working in an organized manner. "All of our drivers are based on commission. If they aren't performing, then I can look at the Detailed Report to see what's going on," said Mr. Book." I can see if the guy in the field is routing properly or zigzagging all over the place. It makes sense that if you are routing properly, you're going to be more efficient."

To help keep all the company's branches focused, Mr. Book uses the dashboard feature which gives fleet managers a complete overview of fleet activity all on one easy screen. According to Mr. Book, the dashboards help the branch manager get a handle on high speed, idling and distance traveled. "The branch managers can't always be 100 percent in touch with what's going on in the company," said Mr. Book. "With Verizon Connect, everybody is on the same page. We've absolutely been able to decrease speeding and time spent idling."

Reducing Liability and Improving Customer Service

Verizon Connect GPS Truck Tracking not only provides vehicle locations, but can also track the precise speed of vehicles. Businesses can use this information to help investigate customer complaints about speeding vehicles or to provide proof against fault in the event of an accident.

"If a driver is involved in an accident, we can go back into the Verizon Connect system and see how fast they were going or get other information about what the driver was doing before the accident," said Mr. Book. "With all the facts, we can prove that our guy was innocent, or see that he had been on the road for 14 hours and lost focus."

With Verizon Connect, Camping Companies can also improve customer service by providing the quickest service possible to clients outside their usual coverage areas. "We got a call for a client 60 miles west of Sacramento. We usually only get out there once or twice a week," said Mr. Book. "With Verizon Connect, we were able to see we had a truck in the area and send him immediately to the job. Before Verizon Connect, it would have taken a few days to get out there."

"Verizon Connect really makes our business look good," added Mr. Book.