Case Study

Renys Department Store

Damariscotta, Maine

Background

We solve even the toughest cases.

Established in 1949, Renys is a chain of department stores with 15 locations in Maine. 

A family-owned and operated company, Renys started off as a single store in Damariscotta, Maine, and today employs more than 400 employees. Renys’ merchandise consists of a wide variety of products such as clothing and footwear, home appliances and home and garden supplies.

Challenge

With a fleet of over 3,000 lift trucks, a large retailer with hundreds of locations throughout the U.S. was finding it extremely difficult to monitor and manage their equipment maintenance activity and downtime.

The company was using a Guaranteed Maintenance Plan through a secondary provider, which offered little insight into key metrics such as:

  • Repair history
  • Intervals between failures
  • Preventative maintenance completions

The customer suspected that the inability to monitor these basic metrics was having a significant impact on their bottom line, and began doubting the value of their Guaranteed Maintenance Plan, which they were charged for monthly.

Solution

The customer inquired with the Yale Fleet Management team who evaluated the customer’s current program and proposed the Yale Low Cost of Ownership Program.

With the Yale Low Cost of Ownership Program, the customer only pays for services as they are performed, is guaranteed that all appropriate discounts are applied and has full visibility to the metrics their prior plan was lacking.

After further conversations with the Yale Fleet Management team, the customer decided to utilize Yale Fleet Optics as well. This consultative service gave the customer a dedicated industry-specific fleet advisor who continually monitors and evaluates their lift truck data, draws insights and develops recommendations to manage costs, averts negative trends and helps increase uptime and productivity.

Impact

By switching to the Yale Low Cost of Ownership Program with Fleet Optics, the company was able to save over $1.5 million within one year. 

They no longer have the burden of upfront maintenance payments, and have full visibility to the metrics needed to make informed, cost saving decisions. Some of the key metrics they now have access to include:

  • Repair history
  • Intervals between failures
  • Preventative maintenance completions
  • First-time fix metrics

Other benefits the company has experienced include the ability to:

  • Modify PM frequencies to match individual lift truck usage levels
  • Identify and address locations with high maintenance spends and repairs
  • Analyze fleet size, age and costs, so replacements can be considered as needed
  • Recognize trends and potential future failures or issues
  • Monitor and provide insights to help reduce truck and product damage
  • Receive direct access to OEM parts at consistent fleet pricing
  • Have access to prompt, certified service technicians