Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/252139
COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | FEBRUARY 2014 23 technology F or many years, it seemed like no job in the transpor- tation industry was finished until the paperwork was done. Times have changed; today, any work process that uses paper is synonymous with waste – or more positively, an opportunity. While documents that provide customers with proof of delivery may seem to be an obvious way to go paperless, the benefits of an electronic POD model may not be as apparent. From the time a driver receives a load manifest or bill of lading at the shipping dock, having a piece of paper to match the load may seem part of the routine: Take it along for the ride, get it signed and turn it in to the office. People in the office clearly see paperwork stacking up each day, but the cost may not be as apparent since it's all part of the daily routine. A popular solution is the use of docu- ment imaging systems and services. Docu- ments can be routed to the office as images and combined with workflow tools to automate billing and payroll. This modern convenience can make it easy to lose sight of the savings that can be gained by removing paperwork altogether. While companies are striving to make improvements in their green initiatives such as conserving fuel, electricity and other re- sources, many continue to ask customers to sign for their deliveries on paper. Besides wasting natural resources, they also may be wasting time and money. A small over-the-road carrier that makes one or two deliveries per day, per driver, is probably not consuming that much paper. However, fleets that make dozens of deliveries a day per driver may have a real problem on their hands, whether or not it is apparent to people in the office who are doing what they always have done. Let's assume that a paper POD process requires 1.5 minutes, per document, to manage. Since time is money, a 10-truck fleet that makes 30 deliveries per truck per day could save $3,000 a month in labor costs by eliminating paper, not counting the time it takes staff to respond to customer requests for POD documents. The use of personal mobile devices and applications has cleared a path to go paperless by eliminating upfront investments in field devices and software licenses. Drivers already own the hardware – a smartphone or tablet – and a mobile subscription to capture delivery information such as electronic POD signatures. Besides eliminating paper, fleets can use features found in mobile POD applications to increase operating efficiency. According to the National Private Truck Council's annual fleet benchmarking study, it costs $3 per mile to operate a truck based on a utilization rate of 75,000 miles a year. A 1 percent improve- ment in fleet efficiency is possible by using mobile applications to optimize delivery routes and gain visibility of activities such as the amount of time drivers spend at each stop. Some fleets now require their drivers – and their contractors, in particular – to have smartphones to run their mobile POD appli- cations. The companies easily can compensate drivers for their data usage to run these apps, which isn't much. The JumpTrack POD application uses about 12k of data per stop. Each month, the app will use less than 1 GB of data from a driver's phone for making dozens of deliveries per day. Based on a standard 3 GB monthly data plan costing $30 per month, the fleet would reimburse the driver $10 per month, says John Freund, president and chief executive officer of Jump Technologies. JumpTrack's cloud-based architecture makes it easy to go paperless quickly, Freund says. The user interface for drivers is as intu- itive as other apps used to minimize training time. MAKING THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENTS WORK FOR YOUR FLEET BY AARON HUFF technology AARON HUFF is Senior Editor of Commercial Carrier Journal. E-mail ahuff@ccjmagazine.com or call (801) 754-4296. DAILY ROUTINE: Hard-copy documents are part of the job for companies stuck in a rut. GOING GREEN?: Many fleets still ask customers to sign for their deliveries on paper. PERSONAL TOUCH: The use of drivers' smart devices has cleared a path to go paperless. Who needs paper? Mobile apps provide proof of delivery