Customer Success Story: Athens Paper

Company Overview

Company: Athens Paper

Website: athenspaper.com

Headquarters: Nashville, TN

Founded: 1967

Locations: 14 branches across the Southeast and Midwest US

Fleet: 70 vehicles, 56 dedicated to delivery

Industry: Paper & Packaging Distribution

The Challenge

"From my time at Athens, I knew DQT's solutions would be a game-changer," said Scott Loomis, Corporate Operations Manager. "We'd always done things the same way by assigning trucks to locations and running all of them daily, no matter the load. It wasn't unusual to send out a truck with just one or two orders."

Athens relied on manual routing, and paper-based processes. These outdated tools offered limited visibility and contributed to inflated operational costs.

Quick Wins Even Before Order Delivery Tracking (ODT)

"After I joined Athens but before we had any delivery management systems in place we were still doing everything manually," Scott noted. "Even then, by making a few key adjustments, I was able to eliminate three trucks from our fleet, saving Athens tens of thousands of dollars."

ODT & Advanced Routing

Signed: December 2024

Go-Live: April 7, 2025

Before going live, Athens rigorously tested ODT side-by-side with their manual routing process in three stages:

10-Hour Workday: Every delivery on time and in full. Fleet reduced from 56 to 41-43 trucks.

9-Hour Workday: Same efficiency. Overtime reduced. Long-term viability validated.

8-Hour Workday: Still 41-43 trucks daily. Significant overtime savings.

"We confirmed we could eliminate 10-12 trucks and still maintain great customer service," said Scott. "It wasn't just about cutting costs it was about smarter, more sustainable operations."

The Turning Point

Athens began modernizing by implementing Infor CSD as its ERP. Scott and the operations team explored dispatch and routing solutions to integrate with the new system. That's when they discovered DQ Technologies.

"I was impressed, technology has come a long way," said Scott. "The demo went very well because DQT and I spoke the same language."

Athens initially signed on with DQT for GPS and ELD in late 2023 replacing Omnitracs, with implementation completed in January 2024.

"DQT's GPS and ELD were far more user-friendly than Omnitracs. Our drivers had no issues transitioning," said Scott.

Proof of Delivery: ROI in 60 Days

Before implementing ODT, Athens regularly received calls from customers claiming deliveries were missed or items were skipped. These disputes often led to time-consuming investigations, costly refunds, and unnecessary re-deliveries.

"Doing electronic POD with DQT's ODT has paid for the system in the first 60 days," said Scott. "I've used it at least a dozen times to prove false claims."

With every delivery now backed by visual and signature evidence, Athens has dramatically reduced customer disputes, minimized costly re-deliveries, preserved revenue, and improved overall accountability.

Ongoing Support & Partnership

"There was a quick buy-in from drivers. I told them it wasn't optional and it wasn't going to fail," said Scott. "The training was smooth, and DQT's U.S.-based support has been outstanding."

Looking Ahead

"We're running the same level of service with 12 fewer trucks and drivers. We haven't even started using notifications yet," said Scott. "This is just the beginning."

Key DQT Products Utilized

• GPS Tracking
• Advanced Routing
• Order Delivery Tracking (ODT)
• ELD (Electronic Logging Device)
• Dashcams
• Asset Management (AM)
• Hosting
• Emessaging (implementation pending)