Case Studies

When Modern Corporation hired Jay Pugliese to lead its technology transformation, his first assignment was to evaluate the company's fleet operations and build a roadmap for modernization. More than just a maintenance platform, the business needed standardized processes, connected systems and a technology partner that could help guide long-term operational change.

By implementing Fleetio as the foundation for its fleet operations, Modern Corporation established standardized digital workflows across more than 400 collection assets, connected maintenance with procurement through NetSuite and gained the visibility needed to improve compliance, accelerate parts ordering and support smarter maintenance planning. As the company continues measuring long-term performance, leadership expects Fleetio to play an increasingly important role in optimizing maintenance costs and capital planning.

"One of the biggest reasons we chose Fleetio was the partnership. We were hoping the partnership would educate us, provide best practices from other customers, and help us validate our assumptions throughout the implementation." Jay Pugliese, Systems Program Manager & Tech Transformation

Laying the Groundwork for Fleet Modernization

Modern Corporation is one of the largest independent waste and recycling providers in Western New York and Southern Ontario. Every day, the company serves 80,000 to 100,000 residential customers and completes another 20,000 to 30,000 commercial collection stops. Supporting those operations requires a fleet of more than 400 collection assets and millions of dollars in monthly parts purchases, making consistent maintenance execution and operational visibility essential. Jay started by evaluating every major business system and identifying where technology investments would generate the greatest operational impact.

After interviewing more than 30 stakeholders across maintenance, operations, leadership and IT, one challenge became immediately clear, and that was that maintenance operations were heavily dependent on manual processes, inconsistent workflows and decades-old habits that varied from location to location. Enter Fleetio.

Disconnected Processes Slowed Fleet Operations

Jay knew that adopting a new maintenance platform to replace their legacy system would change how maintenance teams worked every day. Formerly, technicians relied heavily on paper forms, phone calls, handwritten notes and email chains to communicate maintenance needs. Parts requests often passed through multiple people before purchasing could begin, creating unnecessary delays while assets remained unavailable.

Preventive maintenance (PM) schedules also lacked consistency across facilities. Historical processes had evolved over time without sufficient visibility, making it difficult for leadership to verify whether maintenance was actually being completed at the correct service intervals.

For a business where every collection asset generates revenue, downtime carries significant operational consequences.

"In waste management, if that truck is not on route, we're missing anywhere from $1,000 to $1,600 an hour, plain and simple. Then you're dealing with missed pickups, overtime and customer service issues, so getting trucks back on the road quickly is critical." Jay Pugliese, Systems Program Manager & Tech Transformation

Standardizing Maintenance Across the Organization

Rather than approaching Fleetio as a software implementation, Modern Corporation treated the initiative as an organizational change management program. Before rollout, the project team documented nearly 80 operational use cases gathered from maintenance personnel, supervisors, procurement and leadership. Every workflow received supporting documentation, including standard operating procedures, quick-reference guides and training videos designed specifically for technicians who had limited experience using digital tools.

Instead of relying exclusively on classroom training, the Fleetio implementation team worked directly alongside technicians inside the maintenance shops. This hands-on coaching helped employees learn Fleetio within the context of their daily responsibilities while creating site-level champions who could continue supporting adoption after launch.

Fleetio's configurable workflows also allowed Modern Corporation to standardize maintenance processes while still accommodating operational differences between facilities and shifts. Weekly meetings between Fleetio Customer Success and Modern Corporation's leadership team created an ongoing optimization cycle where new requirements could be evaluated, configured and deployed quickly without disrupting operations.

One of the most impactful improvements was connecting Fleetio with NetSuite to streamline parts procurement. When technicians complete work orders, approved parts requests automatically flow into NetSuite, allowing procurement teams to initiate purchasing using pre-approved vendors and inventory records instead of relying on manual emails and phone calls. This provides maintenance teams with greater visibility into part availability while reducing delays throughout the purchasing process.

Driving Greater Visibility and Operational Control

Although Modern is still measuring long-term financial outcomes, several operational improvements became apparent soon after deployment.

"Our biggest win has been the digital DVIR. Having it in a repository that we can share to the DOT is very helpful. [...] Now, with those forms in the repository, the driver supervisors pull up the form, see who completed the DVIRs, and if someone left the yard without doing one, they're coming back now. So that's huge for us." Jay Pugliese, Systems Program Manager & Tech Transformation

Previously, missing paperwork regularly interrupted operations when drivers were stopped for inspections. Supervisors often had to leave the office to physically deliver documentation, delaying routes and pulling management away from other responsibilities.

Today, inspection records are stored digitally inside Fleetio, allowing supervisors to verify compliance immediately while ensuring drivers complete inspections before leaving the yard. The result is improved compliance, reduced administrative burden and greater confidence during regulatory inspections. Fleetio also helped Modern Corporation uncover opportunities to improve PM execution.

During implementation, leadership identified historical maintenance practices that delayed scheduled service intervals beyond intended recommendations. With standardized PM schedules now managed digitally, maintenance leaders have greater visibility into required service and can better ensure assets receive timely PM.

Building for What's Next

While Fleetio has given Modern Corporation a new maintenance platform, it has also established a scalable foundation for the company's broader technology transformation. Leadership now has the visibility needed to make more informed decisions around maintenance, procurement, compliance and long-term asset planning through replacing disconnected paper processes with standardized digital workflows,

As the organization continues optimizing workflows across its locations and collecting performance data, Modern Corporation expects Fleetio to play an increasingly important role in improving fleet uptime, forecasting asset replacement and controlling maintenance costs. With nearly $60 million invested in new fleet assets this year alone, having reliable operational data will be critical to maximizing the value of those investments and supporting the company's long-term growth strategy.

“Knowledge is power. Data moves mountains. I reviewed our existing fleet maintenance solution as part of our incumbent review, looked at what wasn’t being used, and compared what we were paying for versus the potential of a tool like Fleetio.” Jay Pugliese, Systems Program Manager & Tech Transformation