Market Express Transportation from Fresno, California

Market Express Transportation of Fresno CA operates 25 company-owned trucks hauling refrigerated produce throughout California, Arizona, New Mexico, Washington, and Oregon. Incorporated in 1989, Market Express has been an Axon client since April of 2003.
Marva Petrequin, Chief Financial Officer, has been with the company since its inception and spoke to us about their Axon Experience.

Tell us about your experience in dealing with Axon.
“It's been very professional in every respect. Axon has been very good about listening to our needs and developing the means for us to capture the information we need. I love the reporting system because I can get all the information that I need to do my job.”

Tell us about some of the problems that you've solved using Axon Software.
“One of the major things that we have solved is having access to information right away. It's instant gratification. As soon as something is entered into the system, everyone who needs it has access to the information so we're all on the same page when dealing with customers.

We are not losing billing information that we were obviously missing before because our bottom line has improved so drastically.
Our cash flow has improved so much that we're paying things within 30 days rather than 90.

We have actually had profits in the last several years, which we were not seeing prior to the use of Axon. To me, as chief financial officer, this is a really good and important thing.

There is absolutely a direct relationship between using Axon and becoming profitable.”

How were you handling fuel tax prior to Axon?
“We were manually capturing information, so we were putting it on a spreadsheet of sorts. There was a database in our prior program that allowed us to put information in, but I had to manually add it all up to get information for the different states that we deal with. Now it's much smoother. I have access to the information right away, and it's available for any regulatory agencies that we need to report to.”

Has the use of Axon affected your driver statements?
“The one thing I can say is the payroll information for our company drivers is much clearer. The drivers understand how they're being paid.

We have excellent history now. We can go back and resolve any questions immediately, and the driver can clearly see what’s happening.

The drivers like it a lot because it's very clear to them how they're being paid. They can go back to their copies of their logs, and they can see that they're getting paid for what they drive.”

How has Axon improved your invoicing?
“We were, in my estimation, losing at least 25% of our orders. Now, we are able to see what orders are outstanding and why. We were also billing 10 to 15 days past the delivery day. So that, of course, affected cash flow.

Our customers are sent the invoices very timely now – within days, instead of a week or longer – because they're entered as soon as the order is taken. The information is there. We just go in and verify delivery information once we have a signed receipt, and things are sent out very quickly. Customers appreciate that a lot.

The comment section on the order screen is extremely helpful because we can see exactly what's been happening with an order or if there's a shortage. We can handle claims quickly and effectively.”

Has your staffing changed at all since you started using Axon?
“We’ve had some natural attrition. We’re operating with three people less than when we started with Axon, and we haven’t really suffered at all. We're able to handle things very well.

It's been very easy to have people take on different parts of the job, so it’s gone very smoothly. I think people could actually take on more than what they have now.”

Has the use of Axon improved staff morale?
“I notice that people are more relaxed in their work. We can answer customers' questions quickly because we have the information right at our fingertips.

All we have to do is go in, and we can see the history very clearly. We can give them immediate information on what the status of their order is. We can give them a real-time statement because things are being put in quickly, even cash receipts. They can see exactly how it was posted.

Sometimes customers are not clear on what they're paying, or it might have been applied in the wrong place. It's easy to fix that. I mean if it was billed to the wrong person, that's easily resolved.”

Has Axon helped maintain or improve your customer relations?
“Absolutely, absolutely.”

Can you estimate your annual return on investment from Axon?
“Can I actually quantify it? I believe that Axon costs us nothing! (Laughs) Just from the standpoint of our increased profits, our increased cash flow, it's no cost to us to do business with Axon.”

Tell us about the support you receive from Axon.
“Everything that has been done has been professional and timely. We have gotten amazing support from Axon.

The ability of Axon to come in and actually see what's happening makes it much easier, particularly for people who are not that familiar with the system. They can just contact Axon directly and get their problem resolved even if I'm not here. And Axon has actually let me know, before I realized, that I have hardware problems going on.

We've actually had a couple of hardware crashes, and we've not lost any data because of the backups that take place on a regular basis, apart from what I do in-house. So we've been able to fix the hardware problem and go right back online and not lose anything, and that, to me, is amazing.”

Could you compare that experience with any prior software you’ve used?
“Our prior software vendor was good, but there was a lot more time involved with any issues that took place. So if we had a problem, it was a long process to get it resolved.”

Could you talk to the ease of use of the Axon Software?
“When we started with Axon, I had three dispatchers that were terrified, and they started using the system and were able to have immediate success because it is so easy. And I was able to track what they were doing to make sure that it was all flowing properly and set up some procedures for them that would help them feel more comfortable as well.

Being able to be working in a screen and, at the same time, be able to look at some other detail and some other component of the software system is tremendous. Having to leave a program and go out to something else and then come back in is very time-consuming and annoying.

It's very easy the way Axon is set up, and it's so integrated. I think Axon’s total integration is one of its primary strengths.”

If one of your peers in the industry were to ask you about Axon, how would you describe your experience to them?
“Actually, I have talked to others in our industry. And have highly recommended Axon to them. Primarily because of the integration and ease of use. And the versatility of the program because no trucking company is alike. Even though we might do the same kinds of loads and go to the same types of clients, every trucking company has its own flavor.

I think Axon can be used by any trucking company. So I've recommended you.”

“There is a Direct Relationship between Using Axon and Becoming Profitable”

Why the High-End, Highest-Quality, and Best-Supported Software in the Trucking Industry – is actually FREE!