Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/215766
technology in focus: SMARTPHONE APPS Load tracking for the masses Apps can keep tabs on both drivers and shipments BY AARON HUFF veryone with a smartphone or tablet has access to a big and expanding universe of mobile applications. How big? For the trucking industry alone, there are more than 14,000 apps in the Google Play and App Stores. If you can think of something that is beneficial to you as a motor carrier, broker, owner-operator or driver to work more efficiently and accurately, chances are there's already an app for that. Let's start with the common point of frustration between carriers, brokers and drivers – the daily check call. The call is always the same question(s): "Where are you now? When do you expect to get there?" Or perhaps in a more abbreviated form, "What's your 20? What's your ETA?" To automate check calls and other routine driver communications, asset-based carriers often will spend more than $1,000 per truck for the hardware and $50 a month in wireless costs to track loads and capture shipment information. Today, any nonasset logistics providers can get the same shipment tracking capabilities despite major differences in the technology used by their contracted drivers and vehicles. Instead of requiring drivers to call periodically to report load status and other details, a broker could send a text message straight to a driver's cell phone. The text could include a link to a tracking app once the driver accepts the load. With the driver's permission, the company begins tracking. Location information flows from the driver's GPS handset to a website or directly into the company's transportation management software. E Whatever hardware or wireless provider the driver is using becomes irrelevant. Pegasus TransTech now offers a free tracking app to complement its Transflo Mobile app that drivers can use to capture images of paper documents to speed the billing and payment process. All a driver needs to use the Transflo Load Track app is an iPhone, Android smartphone or tablet, and Overdrive's free Trucker Tools app. The Trucker Tools app, used by more than 200,000 drivers, comes preloaded with Transflo Load Track. Within Trucker Tools, the driver clicks on the Load Track icon and touches a large button to start the track. The app automatically sends the location to the broker in five- to 15-minute increments. Even with frequent shipment updates, the driver doesn't have to worry about losing data from his plan. "Load Track doesn't use that much data," says Prasad Gollapalli, chief executive and founder of Salebug.com, the company that developed Load Track. If a driver uses the app for five loads, with each load taking a day-and-a-half to complete, the amount of data usage is the same as opening a Facebook page one time. "We've also fine-tuned the app to not use much battery," Gollapalli says. "It stays in the background and only comes up when needed." If a driver wants to stop the truck and go off-duty, he could push a "stop" button. The driver could also push a "pause" button to the carrier or broker know not to call for eight hours while he is sleeping. Drivers also can share their tracking information with a family member for free; the cost – $1 per load tracking event from start to finish – is paid by the broker. Pegasus TransTech now offers a free tracking app to complement its Transflo Mobile app that drivers can use to capture images of paper documents to speed the billing and payment process. COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2013 35