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Toyota Forklift Fleet puts Northline in Control
Toyota Forklift Fleet puts Northline in Control
25/05/2009
National freight and logistics specialist Northline has chosen Toyota Material Handling to supply it with 150 forklifts and reach trucks.
Northline has a long record of success in the transport sector, providing services which include freight management, long haul road train and rail container travel, high tech warehousing and distribution.
The company began freight operations 25 years ago, by “doing the hard bit first”, servicing Australia’s remote regions from its Adelaide base. Those regular freight services from Adelaide to Alice Springs and Darwin are still an important part of Northline’s national operations which now include depots around the continent.
Selecting Toyota Material Handling as its supplier will enable Northline to benefit from an organisation with a network as widely spread as its own.
“Because Northline is a national operation we wanted to use our buying power, not just to obtain the best price for the forklift equipment we needed, but also to make sure we received the best possible service and support,” Purchasing Officer, Colin Owen said.
Based on previous experience Northline elected to call tenders for its material handling equipment to be provided under a five year rental.
“After examining all the options we went with Toyota Material Handling because they offered the whole package that we sought,” Colin said. “They provide quality forklifts which the operators like to use and which has a reputation for reliability and longevity and their fleet management system is very good.
“Cost also played a major part in our decision, but we were looking at the total cost of ownership over the five year lease period, not just for the first year. We’re trying to rationalise, so the last thing we need is to be carrying extra material handling equipment just to be on stand-by in case of equipment failure.
“During the selection process we were impressed by the effort Toyota Material Handling made to understand our business. The good rapport that was established also made it easier to identify appropriate equipment for our needs.
For the purposes of the tender process Northline looked at replacing existing equipment with like equipment, but after in-depth site analysis by Toyota, Northline expects its forklift fleet make-up to change as it gains more experience with the new equipment.
“The online fleet management system package provided by Toyota is very comprehensive, but also very user friendly,” Colin Owen said. “It will be easy for our depot staff to operate, but I also have access at a national level to get a complete picture of the state of our fleet at any time.”
“We’ll have end-to-end management through the fleet management system and we are counting on it to deliver long-term benefits. Not only will the system make the administration of our forklifts and reach trucks so much easier than it might otherwise have been, but it will also simplify the fleet replacement process in five years time.
