Communications Unlimited, Inc. (CUI) provides cable installation, maintenance, and repair services for customers across the East Coast. The company is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, and offers services from Massachusetts to Florida and as far west as Oklahoma City.
With a fleet size of roughly 200 vehicles, the company needed a way to implement better driver controls and cut costs. By switching to Coast, CUI saved $22,000 per month compared to its previous fuel card provider.
Customizable controls
According to Ed Keeley, Director of Business Intelligence and Analytics at CUI, many factors contributed to the company’s success with Coast. But the biggest change came from implementing the customizable controls Coast offers on every fuel card, which their previous vendor didn’t offer.
Given the nature of CUI’s business, it’s common practice for drivers to routinely switch vehicles. CUI assigns a fuel card to each driver, and that driver uses it regardless of the vehicle they are in. Drivers also have to log into the card each time they use it, so no one else can access it if it is lost or stolen. “There’s a lot of potential for abuse that became virtually impossible with Coast,” Ed said.
Integrating Coast with One Step GPS
“The biggest control that helps us is the integration with One Step GPS,” Ed says. CUI saw significant results by integrating Coast with One Step GPS, a fleet tracking system. The implementation process was easy, thanks to the customer support they received from Coast and One Step GPS.
The integration gave the company a new level of transparency into how its drivers are performing. For example, CUI receives a notification if a vehicle isn’t at the gas station when it’s being fueled. Integrating a fuel card with a GPS system has given CUI more control over its fuel spend, and over which vehicles that fuel is going into.
Five figure savings in one month
After switching to Coast, CUI wanted to see how the costs compared to their previous vendor. “We intentionally started using Coast on the first day of a new billing cycle so we could compare a full month’s fuel expense to our previous vendor,” Ed explains.
That first month, the company saved $22,000. Various factors contributed to these savings, including the fuel rebates Coast offers. Every Coast fuel card comes with customizable controls, giving CUI a more effective way to monitor vehicle expenses.
In addition to the major savings, Ed cites the smooth experience he and the team had when making the switch. “One of the most important things with the switch to One Step GPS and Coast was the customer service that we received from both companies,” Ed says. “The onboarding process was smooth. It was easy. We got white glove treatment, and it made the transition from one product to the next very easy and just an amazing experience.”
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