Zero to 60 in under 5 years. No joke – that’s how many trucks they’ve been adding at Interflet Transport of Laredo, Texas. It definitely helps that they went in with a plan and with an organized software system from day one. We stopped in for an interview with Samuel who is part of the management team.
Q&A
Can you tell us a bit about the company?
We’re a trucking company – we just haul dry vans. The company has been open for 5 years, and I’ve been working here for 3 years. We started with 5 trucks when we started with Axon. It’s been almost 4 years and we were able to grow to 60 trucks. Axon has been especially helpful when it comes to driver payment, invoicing, and the accounting department. It has been a lifesaver. It’s an easy system, so I learned it probably in a day and a half. It really helps.
Can you tell us about your experience with Axon Software?
My experience has been good. I know that if I have any questions, I can just phone. Axon’s staff are great. The call back is in 5-10 minutes or so. I’ve actually never had any issues with Axon. It’s a good system and we enjoy it. Everybody enjoys it. I use Axon to see which driver has which load and where that driver is at. It’s easy. Like I said, it took me just a day – actually more like half a day – to learn the system. I don’t use Axon every day, but whenever I get onto Axon I remember everything. Everything is just there. It’s user-friendly. That’s what I like about it. Everybody likes Axon.
How do the drivers like their statements?
They like them a lot because they’re very detailed. If there are any changes or anything, they’ll see it on the statement and question us about it. For example, if there is a layover that we paid them or there’s a deduction, they can see it physically on these statements. That helps a lot. It’s very driver-friendly. They understand it and it’s helpful.
If you didn’t have Axon Software and grew your fleet to 60 trucks, how many more staff would you need to run the office?
I would have probably needed 2 more people for each department. For example, I have 2 people in accounting, and I would have probably needed 4 extra staff if we didn’t have Axon. That’s very good, very helpful. It’s cutting down on the manpower that we need to run a company our size. If we were to double in size again, we would probably only have to bump it up by about 3 people.
From the standpoint of return on investment, has Axon Software paid for itself?
I think it probably paid for itself in the first couple of years, because back then we had 5 people working for 2 trucks. . . . That’s a lot. When we integrated Axon, we cut down on personnel and it worked out great. Since then we’ve had just a few people that we had to hire on. It’s a good system.
Has Axon Software helped maintain or improve your customer relations?
The reports are what help us a lot. There are a lot of reports that are customer-friendly, that we can just take from Axon and email to our customers in an attachment. The customers love that. I don’t think we’ve ever had a complaint about any reports that we send directly from Axon to the customers, and we send them on a daily basis. It’s good.
Can you compare Axon Software to any other software that you’ve used?
Yes, I’ve had experience with the McLeod system. I think McLeod is way more complex. I know trucking companies around here still use it. But I’ve used it first-hand and I know we would have a lot of trouble trying to train everyone how to use McLeod.
How do you find the support from Axon Software?
The support is great from Axon. McLeod had a 1-800 number, but it was a voicemail. You’d have to call them and leave a message, and they’d call you back. But it took them at least half a day to get back to you – they’re slow to get back.
If somebody in your industry asked about your experience with Axon Software, what would you say?
Great experience and fabulous customer service. I would recommend it to anyone.
