HR TECHNOLOGY
PROVIDES
UNIFICATION of HR&PAYROLLFOR UTC
UTC ALSO UTILIZES ECI’S:
• BENEFITS • SELF-SERVICE
• TIME & LABOR • ANALYTICS
Company Name: Universal
Trailer Corporation (UTC)
Headquarters:
Cincinnati, Ohio
Locations: UTC maintains
a total of 9 locations among
all its brands, with 1,500
employees nationwide, and
5 Federal IDs
Primary Business:
Industrial, commercial and
recreational trailers
HR Technology Challenge:
The need for centralization
of all HR/Payroll functions,
specifically ONE platform
for payroll instead of seven
separate functions. Also,
need for enterprise-wide
reporting functionality
Applications Replaced:
Previously used ADP Payroll,
Timekeeping & Benefits;
replaced with ECI Payroll,
HR, Benefits, Self-Service,
Time & Attendance and
Quick Query Reporting
www.ecipay.com
800.320.9530 | info@ecipay.com
Client Profile:
Universal Trailer Corporation (UTC) is comprised of a family of brands dedicated to
providing their customers with the best quality, service, value and innovation when
selecting from their superior line of trailers. With a large dealer network throughout
the US and abroad, there is a Universal brand on “the road to value” to fit practically
any hauling need.
UTC, headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, was initially formed in 2001 when it
acquired Exiss Aluminum Trailers, Inc. of El Reno, Oklahoma as its first brand.
They continued to expand with the addition of Haulmark industries, Inc., Bristol,
Indiana; Sooner Trailer Manufacturing Company of Duncan, Oklahoma; Featherlite of
Cresco, Iowa and Wells Cargo of Elkhart, Indiana. Although UTC began in 2001, their
brands have been in existence for more than 50 years and today they operate nine
manufacturing plants across the United States.
The Challenges:
With the addition of each company to Universal Trailer Corporation’s umbrella
organization, came separate HR and payroll systems. The result: distinct differences
when it came to reporting, employee records, payroll processing, policies, etc. (For
example, at one time there were nine different attendance policies in place!)
“
This is a well suited
solution for a company trying
to keep its costs down and to get
information they need. [ECI] was a
good match for our needs.
”
–Ricardo Moncada, Vice President of
Human Resources, UTC
The largest challenge was not having a common platform - which made it especially
difficult when trying to determine labor distribution among all of the companies.
With such a large variation in reports, codes, etc., having ONE system provides UTC
with the exact data they need to make critical labor decisions, as well as simpler,
more unified, payroll processing.
In 2011, UTC decided to move forward with centralizing ALL HR technology functions
into one consolidated system.
UNIFICATION
The Solution:
Several of UTC’s brands were already using ECI® Empower, including Wells Cargo and Haulmark, and
were well aware of the functionality and power that it delivered. When UTC narrowed down the field to
three HCM vendors, ECI was a top pick and provided UTC with an on-site demonstration that left no doubt
in the minds of the Vice President of UTC Human Resources, Ricardo Moncada as well as Featherlite HR
Manager Magda Hoffman.
Details of Implementation:
UTC management was accustomed to each company handling their own HR/Payroll, so the entire
mindset had to change. An internal implementation project team was created to implement the ECI®
Empower enterprise solution, headed up by Featherlite HR Manager, Magda Hoffman - UTC wanted a
primary contact who would keep the process controlled and facilitate communication. Weekly meetings
and daily follow-through resulted in a smooth transition to Empower.
The largest and most complex implementation was the Featherlite Group, which was also one of the first
companies to make the switch to Empower. Once this transition was complete, the Cargo Group was next
and they also enjoyed a near-effortless switch. Today, the entire UTC family of brands exists under one
consolidated database.
UTC established a master training plan for their HR and payroll professionals from each location, which
introduced everyone to Empower and involved a great deal of interfacing with the ECI Implementation
team. ECI executed the project by thoroughly explaining each step of the process, speaking a common
language so that training was identifiable, and most importantly, ensuring that each of the UTC
companies were in sync.
We felt your customer
“
intimacy was much higher than some
of the other companies. They had generic,
web-based classes. We wanted something more
personalized and hands-on, a single point of
contact. I am big on keeping it simple.
–Ricardo Moncada, Vice President of
Human Resources, UTC
”
of
HR&PAYROLL provided by
The personal, one-on-one
“
attention that everyone at ECI has
given us is amazing. You don’t feel like
you’re a number or just another client...
The skillset within the company
(ECI) is top notch.
”
–Magda Hoffman, Featherlite
HR Manager
Unexpected Benefits of ECI Adoption:
UTC was impressed with the
amount of centralized data that
ECI® Empower could hold.
ECI’s Empower software provided UTC with the
ability to track recordable and non-recordable
safety data through a master system, which was
not available previously. They now have one central
database of 300 reports versus using multiple Excel
reports. UTC is also working to consolidate their
pay cycles and resolve some collateral issues such
as common labor distribution codes. ECI has also
helped UTC become more efficient. In particular,
UTC now has the ability to cross-train employees.
If an issue arises, all employees are working on
the same platform where they can sufficiently help
ECI has also helped UTC
become more efficient.
themselves. If there is an emergency, they are now
capable of running payroll to another site - this also
wasn’t available previously.
While one of the reasons UTC converted to ECI
was for the robust reporting capabilities, they were
impressed with the amount of centralized data ECI®
Empower could hold. “Quality reports are proving
to be the Godsend of the new system” according to
Hoffman.
HR TECHNOLOGY
Ongoing Service and Support:
Members of the ECI Implementation team were joined by office managers and other employees from
various locations of the UTC group to undergo ECI Empower and general HR training. ECI was happy to
facilitate this training, offering training rooms and detailed scheduling. One HR manager stated “Each of
the office managers felt very comfortable and welcomed. It was nice.”
According to Hoffman, “The reason we chose ECI is what we got from ECI – top quality people. The skillset
within the company is top notch. It is amazing how ECI identified our needs and were able to diligently
meet our requirements. They never made us feel over demanding or that we were making the system do
something it couldn’t do. We never heard ‘no.’ ECI was always solution-focused and continues to be.”
ECI is currently working to steer UTC toward their Time and Labor Management tool as well as ESS/MSS,
while continuing to fully-integrate Empower at each of the sister companies.
Highlights:
UTC found that a majority of their success with ECI was due to the business relationships that were
formed. From reception to implementation to support, the ECI team worked diligently to deliver an
experience suited to UTC’s needs.
Hoffman feels that it’s all about the individuals at ECI. “They never made us feel inadequate, and they
always stopped to make sure we got what we wanted. This is the main reason ECI is successful.”
ECI was founded in 1996 and is committed to fostering a
workplace environment of personal and professional growth
where we strive to simplify our client’s business processes
by offering state of the art human capital system technology
developed and implemented by the ECI team. Our single-source
solution, Empower, utilizes web based technology that automates
workflows and provides HR administrative users with one fully
integrated solution to streamline tasks. Some of Empowers’
areas of focus are Payroll Processing/HR, Self-Service, Benefits
Administration & Online Enrollment, Time & Labor Management,
Applicant Tracking & Recruitment, Point-and-Click Reporting,
Onboarding, Learning and Performance Management.
www.ecipay.com
800.320.9530 | info@ecipay.com