If you’ve ever attended a trade show or business conference you’ll know that audiovisual, computer and interactive technology are often key features of those events. What you may not know is that behind the scenes there is often an operation like SmartSource, an ABCOM Technology Group Company, which serves customers across the U.S. from 20 branch offices in major metropolitan markets.
Today, that experience and a well-positioned fleet are meeting challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic, noted Michael Schmick, director of branch operations at SmartSource. Utilizing equipment once used primarily for trade shows and conferences, the operation is providing vital solutions for remote workers and students at homes. The company was also called on to provide equipment to COVID-19 field hospitals like the one at the Javits Center in New York City.
Across the country, SmartSource fields 97 delivery vehicles. The newest units in the fleet are Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, Ram ProMaster, and Ford Transit commercial vans. Also in use are cargo vans and 13- to 24-foot box trucks. The entire fleet is leased, with Enterprise Fleet Management supplying vans and smaller trucks and Penske providing 24-foot models.
“Leasing takes on the heavy lifting of fleet management and helps us standardize on vehicles,” Schmick said. “For example, Enterprise handles titles and registrations, supplies WEX fuel cards, and provides maintenance cards that are accepted at most service centers nationwide. They also have special pricing with national chains, and where they don’t have predetermined rates, they do the negotiating for us.”
Schmick also related that Enterprise has been instrumental in meeting specification and upfit needs for SmartSource. In vans, for example, the fleet management company arranges for Link Manufacturing aluminum ramps to be installed by U.S. Upfitters. The ramps mount inside a vehicle’s doors where they are not exposed to the weather or road debris, he noted, and they are easy for one person to deploy and store while they take up less than 12 inches of space.
“With U.S. Upfitters,” Schmick continued, “Enterprise arranges local and mobile installation services for the ramps at our locations by factory-trained installers. U.S. Upfitters also installs a safety partition between the cab and cargo area, E track for securing large items like copiers, and D loops in the floors and walls that are used with ratchet straps to provide flexibility when delivering a variety of different items.”
Also through Enterprise, Schmick reported, SmartSource is taking advantage of the fleet management company’s partnership with Geotab. “We use their GPS-tracking devices in our fleet vehicles to see where every unit is across the country at any point in time,” he explained further. “That helps us more effectively manage operations and meet changing customer needs.
“The Geotab technology also has safety improvement features,” Schmick added. “For instance, the system of in-cab coaching alerts drivers and notifies operations managers when a customizable speed threshold, a G force on acceleration or turns, and other factors are exceeded.“
The focus on safety at SmartSource is also seen in the use of rear view cameras on every van, and in training by supervisors for new drivers during the onboarding process that emphasizes the aspects of operating a larger vehicle with only side mirrors. Driver training includes safety videos provided by the company’s insurance carrier as well.
Leveraging its technology inventory and delivery expertise, SmartSource is meeting the increasing need for companies to support remote workforces, and for schools to provide home-based online learning. In one two-week period recently, it delivered more than 10,000 laptops. Likewise, when a staffing firm needed technology for more than 1,200 employees who were required to work remotely, SmartSource was able to ship laptops to 60 locations within days.
“We did not totally pivot away from our core business,” Schmick stated, “but we’re using our fleet and personnel to provide the services we offer to homes during this crisis.”
