Crown’s Innovation Continues to Lead the Industry – Beyond the Truck 

Globally, the material handling industry is under pressure to improve productivity and reduce costs. Like never before, Crown Equipment Corporation sees this as an opportunity to work more closely with customers to define and develop customized systems for productivity optimization that help them run better, more efficient operations.

Crown Insite™ is Crown’s approach to productivity optimization that uses data to give users insights about the truck, operator, application and fleet. Crown Insite collects, integrates and analyzes data, both inside and beyond the truck, providing customers with increased knowledge about productivity and efficiency.

For more than 50 years, Crown has focused on delivering innovation. Now more than ever, Crown sees the evolution of material handling solutions moving beyond the lift truck into the realm where data can be integrated and used to make smarter and faster decisions. As a leader in material handling solutions, Crown pairs its problem-solving expertise with customer consultation and support, assisting customers with not only the interpretation of information, but also a long-term plan specific to their individual fleet management needs. This new approach to data analysis is Crown Insite.

“Crown Insite puts our customers’ needs first by providing new levels of lift truck performance and productivity,” said Crown President Jim Dicke III. “By capturing material handling data and other knowledge gained from Insite, we foresee a future where fleet managers are able to analyze results and make better decisions that will improve their overall efficiency and bottom line.”

Elements of Crown Insite function best when used together, but are available as separate modules. This industry-leading integrated approach incorporates proven tools like the InfoLink® fleet management system, FleetSTATS® program, SureSpec™ application and Access 1 2 3® Comprehensive System Control. Crown Insite is the new standard for providing key information for customers as the world of material handling becomes more data-driven.

Sean Bennett, a senior financial operations support manager at MBM Corporation, a leader in food distribution, wanted to improve efficiencies with the MBM lift truck fleet and turned to Crown to provide them with the benchmarks needed to promote change.

“We wanted to make our entire operation more efficient, so we turned to Crown for help,” said Bennett. “We now have a long-term productivity partner. InfoLink helps us track fleet usage and FleetSTATS manages truck maintenance costs and centralizes invoicing. Because of Crown’s guidance and expertise, we are more knowledgeable about our fleet and this has saved us time and money.”

The Crown Insite approach integrates information, both about the truck and beyond the truck, which provides another level of knowledge for managers. Crown Insite also includes Access 1 2 3, which monitors and controls key lift truck components and systems to safely maximize performance and provide real-time diagnostics. The system also incorporates fleet information by analyzing the age and types of trucks and measuring the true cost of maintenance. Crown Insite can integrate information from the FleetSTATS system to track performance and maintenance to help extend product lifespan. The system provides reports and spreadsheets that help customers achieve the lowest total cost of ownership.

“We want to create even stronger partnerships with our customers,” said Dicke. “Crown has applied its material handling and lift truck knowledge to put together a productivity optimization system. By capturing and applying data in ways only Crown can, Crown Insite gives our customers a more comprehensive picture of their fleet in real time. More than just the data, it’s the collective knowledge and systematic interpretation of data that leads to better decision making.”

Backed by research gathered through field-testing and the use of an extensive IT infrastructure, Crown Insite is a platform to integrate operators and applications. Crown focuses on designing lift trucks and tools that meet customers’ needs and set new standards in the emerging productivity optimization market. Utilizing industry know-how, Crown’s team works with each customer to establish customized goals and benchmarks and formulate information-based solutions to achieve results. Crown sees an exciting potential to add even more customer value with Crown Insite by unlocking and offering solutions that drive new levels of productivity – beyond the truck.

About Crown Equipment Corporation

Crown is the number one brand of electric lift trucks in the United States and the sixth largest lift truck manufacturer in the world. Crown’s award-winning line of lift trucks has earned a reputation for exceptional product design, engineering and manufacturing. From the smallest hand pallet truck to the highest lifting turret truck, Crown seeks to provide users with safe, efficient and ergonomic lift trucks that lower total cost of ownership and maximize uptime. Headquartered in New Bremen, Ohio, Crown lift trucks are manufactured and sold throughout the world.