Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/858523
42 commercial carrier journal | august 2017 technology Uniform coverage Freight tracking bridges the divide between brokers, carriers BY AARON HUFF F reight tracking applications now are standard for transportation and logistics service providers. They require no upfront investment in hardware or soft- ware, especially since the majority of drivers carry the smart- phones that house the apps. Yet for LSPs, using basic freight tracking technology may not be enough to differentiate their services in the minds of their customers. One segment in the market where Trucker Tools is seeing increased demand for its Load Track platform is from indepen- dent freight agents who have to go the extra mile to stand out in a crowded field. LSPs use Load Track, which is embedded in the free Trucker Tools driver smartphone app, for continuous shipment visibility from the time they dispatch a driver to pick up a load through final delivery. Prasad Gollapalli, Trucker Tools' chief executive officer, says Load Track also automates arrival and departure notifications, provides instant two-way driver messaging and simplifies the data and document capture process. "Collectively, these features help brokers eliminate fraud or double-brokering," Gollapalli says. Since the driver's location is tracked before he arrives to pick up a load, this visibility ensures the load doesn't change hands. LSPs also use Load Track to identify and validate driver detention events at their customer locations and speed the freight payment process by having drivers capture load data and electronic proof-of-delivery documents, Gollapalli says. Automatic updates Artisan Logistics, a Columbia, S.C.-based transportation and supply chain solutions provider, uses Load Track as an inte- grated platform with its custom freight management system. Artisan, an agent for a large asset-light transportation firm, dif- ferentiates its services by sending automated shipment tracking alerts to customers at certain intervals, says Dennis Brannon, CEO and owner. e email alerts contain a "View Tracking" link for customers to monitor live shipment status on a visual map display. Artisan also uses its integrated Load Track platform to send automatic updates to customers. "In the trucking marketplace, you have to find ways to create value," Brannon says. For Holly Transportation, the technology has proven valuable to customers with high-value shipments. e Dallas-based Landstar agent is able to monitor shipments to ensure drivers stay on designated routes and with their equipment at all times. "Our customers are impressed by our capabilities to monitor high-value freight and hazardous shipments that require an extra level of security," says Monty Byrd, Holly's owner. Going for total connectivity Since MacroPoint was founded in 2011, one of its strate- gies has been to create a freight tracking network with 100 percent coverage for LSPs and make it possible for them to access the network directly from their native transportation management soware systems. e company has built integrations with TMS, telemat- ics and electronic logging systems and captures locations from its free mobile app that drivers can download to their smartphones. With real-time information coming from these and other sources, MacroPoint uses algorithms to predict the estimat- ed arrival times of shipments by accounting for variables such as drivers' predicted hours-of-service limits when the actuals are not available. "e differentiator is that there are many different ways we are able to grab data," says Dave Halsema, the company's executive vice president. Since many transportation companies now have asset and nonasset logistics divisions, freight tracking applica- tions can help to ensure a consistent flow of information to customers, no matter whose assets pull their loads. in focus: MOBILE LOAD APPS MacroPoint has built integrations with telemat- ics and electronic logging systems and captures locations from its free mobile app that drivers download to their smart- phones.