Axcell Technologies Helps Transportation Broker Stand Out in the Crowd

Aug. 28, 2011 - PRLog -- As a trucking services broker, Trek Freight Services competes in a crowded market. “There are something like 15,000 brokers in our market nationwide,” explains Gary Bazelon, president of the company. “We offer the things you would expect—a full spectrum of freight services, custom solutions, and excellent customer service. But really differentiating our company comes down to communicating better than our competitors. We need to have more information at our fingertips and be able to share it with our customers as quickly as possible.” According to Bazelon, a lot can go wrong when something is shipped from point A to point B. “When we can deliver more information more quickly, it allows our customers to adapt, saves them time, and reduces their cost,” he says.”Therefore, communication with the customer is in our blood.”
Not surprisingly, the company relies on stable, flexible information technology to deliver this level of communication and customer service. “Our IT systems are at the heart of our business,” says Bazelon. “Our flow of information depends on them.” To manage their IT infrastructure, Trek Freight Services turned to Axcell Technologies. Axcell provides complete managed IT services that give small and mid-size companies more effective IT functions and lower their overall IT cost. “We don’t just deliver IT products,” says Rick Vines, president of Axcell, “but rather very high quality IT functions.” One of the key elements of Axcell's managed services is their ability to comprehensively monitor and manage Trek Freight Services’ IT infrastructure remotely, thus reducing problems and downtime. They do this by using advanced management software combined with Dell desktop and notebook PCs based on Intel® vPro™ technology.

Using Advanced Tools To Help Make IT ‘Disappear’
“Our focus is on managing our customer’s IT in s such a way that they don’t have to think about it,” says Vines. Axcell’s Intel vPro technology-based solution is bringing a number of significant advantages to Trek Freight Services that make their IT transparent—so they can focus on their customer.

50% less PC downtime means fewer interruptions.
For Trek Freight Services, PC downtime is lost productivity, every time. “Today, the PC has become even more important than the phone,” says Bazelon. “Everyone—from accounting to dispatch to sales—uses their PC all day to get information to and from our customers. Losing a PC for one hour can mean losing thousands of dollars of revenue. I’ve said before that I’d buy an insurance policy against PC downtime—the productivity gains are that important.”  Axcell is minimizing Trek Freight Services’ PC downtime by using the advances of Intel vPro technology to monitor and manage their PCs around-the-clock, seven days a week, even if the PCs are off or their operating system is disabled. This allows Axcell to proactively watch for many developing issues and intervene before they negatively impact the PC user’s workflow (or the entire business). When problems do arise, they can often be corrected remotely, without the cost and delay of a field service visit and without interrupting the PC user. “Because vPro lets us solve more problems remotely, we’re cutting average PC downtimes by 50 percent  and getting customer employees back to work more quickly,” say Vines.

40% faster problem resolution means getting back to work sooner
For the repair of many PC problems, Intel vPro technology’s remote capabilities eliminate many field service calls by allowing Axcell to fix more problems remotely. “Because we can reach our customers’ PCs remotely to run diagnostics and perform repairs, we can significantly shorten their wait times—by 40% on average,” says Vines. And that improvement applies to both hardware and software problems. For Trek Freight Services, the difference is considerable. “In addition to improving our productivity, we also have remote offices in California,” says Bazelon. “Axcell’s ability to maintain and repair our vPro-based PCs is a big advantage for us.”

Active and passive power management capabilities that significantly reduce energy costs.
With the ability to turn off groups of PCs after hours and then power them back up before the start of the next business day, Axcell can save their customers money through lower energy usage, making a substantial positive impact on their return of investment. “We estimate that a vPro-based PC that is actively power managed can save a customer $168 per year,” says Vines. According to Bazelon, this is an attractive benefit. “With 50 computers, saving $168 on each on adds up,” he notes.

Systems that protect Trek Freight Services’ IT investments and help them spend smarter.
The performance and energy efficiency of Dell desktop and laptop PCs based on Intel vPro Core processor family give Axcell’s clients the horsepower they need for demanding business applications—both today and as their applications change and grow over time. These PCs run business productivity and multitasking applications much faster, while also delivering excellent energy efficiency. This performance means that Trek Freight Services will be ready for tomorrow’s improved applications, including multitasking and collaborative tools.

A Strategic Partner, Rather Than a Vendor
Axcell Technologies is more than a vendor; they’re a strategic partner to their customers. “The level of IT functionality that we provide our customers becomes strategic to how they serve their customers,” explains Axcell’s Rick Vines, ”and Trek Freight Services’ ability to leverage advanced tools like Intel vPro technology-based PCs is a great example of that.” Gary Bazelon agrees, noting that Axcell is really an extension of his company. “We rely on Axcell to not only maintain our systems but give us the roadmap of what we need going forward to maintain our competitive advantage.”

For More Information

For more information on the benefits of Intel vPro technology for small and midsize businesses, visit https://msp.intel.com.  
For more information on Axcell Technologies, visit www.axcelltech.com.  
For more information on Trek Freight Services, visit www.trekfreight.com.