Situation
When you are a regional dealer of one of the world's largest maker of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines and industrial gas turbines, your customers expect impeccable products and service. For Wagner Equipment Company in Denver, Colo., living up to such high standards is all in a day's work.
Wagner is the regional distributor of Caterpillar, Inc., a Fortune 100 company responsible for building much of the world's infrastructure. Wagner sells, rents and services Caterpillar equipment for customers in Colorado, New Mexico and West Texas, whether a large construction company or a small government agency.
Caterpillar equipment, whether bought or rented, is an investment of thousands and often times millions of dollars, so when something goes wrong, customers expect an efficient process to get their equipment up and running again. For customers in the Colorado region, Wagner foots the bill with a large state-of-the-art shop system that can fix the smallest electrical problem all the way up to a major engine repair. Because of talent and the latest technology, Wagner can fix Caterpillar equipment with ease and efficiency - exactly what Caterpillar customers expect.
Wagner has a large main shop with seven support shops on its 55-acre Colorado campus where 200 inside shop mechanics work to repair and maintain Caterpillar machinery. Seven additional field personnel service equipment in more remote areas. Whether mechanics are in the shop or the field, they need sophisticated tools to do their work.
Wagner maintains more than 3,000 tools and parts - items that all of its mechanics need and use everyday to do their jobs. The tool inventory is valued at more than $500,000, so when Wagner noticed that it was loosing anywhere from $1500 to $3000 worth of tools a month, the company knew it needed to make some changes - not only for their own bottom line, but for their customers' bottom lines.
Solution
Wagner had a recommendation about tool tracking software from a colleague that had used ToolWatch with great success. The managers at Wagner decided to dig a little deeper. After some research into the program and taking a look at the first-hand experience a company they acquired had with the program, Wagner knew ToolWatch was exactly what they needed to cure their tool-loss ills.
Jeremy Flowers and David Pennetta, parts and service counterman, took charge of ToolWatch and spent several months labeling all of Wagner's shop tools and getting the entire ToolWatch system up and running. Now, when they need to input a new tool, it takes about two minutes.
Results
As a direct result of ToolWatch, Wagner has lowered its tool-loss expenses to less than $500 a month. About 150 tools a day pass efficiently through the system, helping the parts and service counterman keep better track of the tool inventory. When a mechanic needs a tool, he simply has his employee number scanned and the tool scanned. If the tool isn't returned within five days, the parts and service counterman call the mechanic to check in. Usually, the mechanic simply forgot to return it. Whatever the case, the important thing is that Wagner knows exactly where the tool is and who had it last so he can track it down and get it back to the shop.
Prior to ToolWatch, Wagner personnel kept track of its vast tool inventory using paper and pencil. It was completely inefficient and contributed to its significant monthly tool loss. ToolWatch has not only helped Wagner reduce losses, it has helped it be more efficient, a trait Caterpillar customers have come to expect.
