To compete for, and subsequently win a customer’s business today you have to be able to move freight faster and handle it better, all while doing it for less money than your competitors. Additionally, and equally as fast, you are expected to be able to relay live, real-time shipment status updates from start to finish. Forget “almost real-time”, customers are looking for information to be shared in actual live, backseat driver real-time. Expectations are certainly high these days, and with so many innovative changes in the trucking industry, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Flat rate fees, same day service and the Internet of Things are raising and will continue to rise, customer expectations exponentially.
As a trucking company, regardless of whether you are a truckload (FTL), or LTL Carrier, what can you do to keep up? What are your options? Unless you have teleporting figured out, a mobile dispatching solution that integrates with your transportation management system is the most affordable and effective solution. Mobile dispatching has become a broadly used term and likewise can mean a lot of different things in terms of costs. This is why it is extremely important to identify the specific types of benefits and results you want to achieve by implementing a mobile dispatching solution.
As we mentioned, a key focus should be on whether or not the mobile dispatching solution is, or can be, integrated with your TMS package. The end goal is to get live, real-time data from your drivers back to your transportation management software. Once the data is back to your TMS, your transportation management system provider should be able to instantly share appropriate information with all relevant parties using EDI or Web APIs.
Other key areas to explore when considering a mobile dispatch solution is how the solution gets deployed and used:
- Does the solution require devices to be installed in your trucks?
- Is the mobile dispatching solution an App?
- If an App is used, what devices and operating systems is it compatible with?
- To use the solution will you need to purchase hardware such as new tablets or phones?
- Is the mobile dispatching solution web based?
- Meaning it won’t have a device or O/S compatibility issues. You should be able to use it on any web-enabled mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or laptop.
The benefits of each mobile dispatch solution will vary depending on the feature list, and to a larger extent the way in which it will be integrated with your TMS package. Instead of exchanging calls, texts, or emails to update information, a mobile dispatch solution allows your drivers and dispatchers to interactively share trip information and updates such as:
- Provide accurate live ETA status updates
- Locate drivers current GPS location.
- Transmit accurate arrival, departure, and missed stop date/time stamps, live.
- View live trailer drops and hooks with their GPS locations.
- Manage critical appointments, detention windows, notifications, and alerts.
- Capture precise stop-by-stop odometer readings.
- Report on fuel purchases.
- Update pickup orders, BOL information, and pro number sticker assignments.
- Image, index, and upload PODs and BOLs
- Share “who signed” for proof of delivery signature.
- Create new pickup orders while onsite.
In addition to meeting rising expectations, and delivering superior transportation services, imagine the impact an integrated mobile dispatching solution will have on your company. Your customer service team will be able to produce extraordinary service experiences, and dispatchers will realize a huge gain in productivity. For instance, how many calls per day do dispatchers answer from drivers – 10x, 20x, 50x, 100x a day? Whatever the number may be, mobile dispatching radically affects that volume in a positive way. Moreover, day-after-day it eliminates the amount of time each dispatcher spends updating trips in your TMS because it’s all happening live, by your drivers.
According to the Commercial Carrier Journal “Keeping drivers connected has become an important strategy for motor carriers. By deploying mobile apps, companies are simplifying work for drivers, and thereby removing inefficiencies and frustration points in the workday and from the work lifestyle of trucking.”
By implementing an integrated mobile dispatching solution, such as Roadvision’s Driver Connect, your trucking company will not only be able to provide a superior transportation experience for customers, but you will gain enormous efficiencies, and boost internal morale because you will have eliminated repetitive tasks and processes. Power your trucking company, drivers, contract carriers and other non-company drivers with the ability to generate a dynamic transportation service advantage.
To learn more about Roadvision’s mobile dispatch solution, Driver Connect, contact us today.
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