Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/993011
60 commercial carrier journal | june 2018 TECHNOLOGY: LOAD PLANNING At a glance, CSRs can see if loads are running late and view the balance of loads to trucks in their planning region, says Barry Brookins, McLeod's director of service delivery for enterprise consulting services. Bolt, an Internet-based fleet management and dispatch soware system, has a planning screen that uses a map display. Color-coded pins show the locations of trucks, pickups and deliveries on planned routes. On the same map, users can view unassigned orders, capacity they have available and drivers' hours of service. Having this in- formation in one screen helps users identify where they can add more pallets and stops to routes to maximize revenue. For each truck on the screen, "you want to present as many possibilities or opportunities as you can," says Jerry Robertson, Bolt's chief technology officer. "We have taken an incredible amount of data and put it together in a way that you can look at that and make a decision." Time management Drivers' HOS data has become integral to load planning, espe- cially in the wake of the electronic logging device mandate. Private fleet Pipco Transportation hauls refrigerated loads for parent company F&S Produce of Rosenhayn, N.J. Pipco's 40-truck fleet uses HighJump's transportation management soware system. e Load Planner screen shows users all of their available loads and drivers, along with supporting details. User-definable alerts notify of exceptions such as load assignments that don't match a fleet's parameters for revenue per mile and deadhead mileage, among other possibilities. HighJump imports locations and hours data – the past eight days and the current day – into the screen. e soware determines if drivers have enough hours available for any given load assignment, says Kevin Pasternack, vice president of sales for transportation. Each time a user selects a load, the driver list is updated to show those who should or should not be considered for the load based on hours, deadhead miles and other factors. Once a load is assigned in the system, the estimated time of arrival for deliveries updates automatically. Pipco recently began to incorporate live HOS into its load planning process by using HighJump's integration with Verizon Connect's telematics and ELD system. With the integrated ELD information, Pipco is able to plan loads a week in advance and make changes each day to maxi- mize updated trailer capacity and available driver hours, says Pete Giovetsis, director of operations for Pipco. e HighJump soware keeps track of the number of pallets in each trailer. HighJump is designed for small to mid-size truckload carriers with over-the-road and multistop operations. e vendor also has a cross-dock module. Owning it Besides using ELD data within their own soware systems, some smaller operators are sharing ELD data with third parties to match spot market freight dynamically. Konexial's GoLoad freight matching platform uses loca- tion, hours and profitability to present relevant load oppor- tunities to carriers. Load opportunities are presented to owner-operators through a mobile app and to fleets through the My20 Tower web-based communications and dispatch system. Within My20 Tower, carriers can select the trucks they want to make available for load offers and set their asking price – the rate per mile – to move freight. GoLoad provides real-time feedback to carriers on their rates based on asset location and hours available. Shippers can name their asking price for loads and get immediate feedback. Konexial's loads come directly from shipper and freight broker customers who accept terms upfront for freight payment, fuel surcharges and transaction fees. By using the technology, shippers gain access to hidden capac- DRTrack from TMW Systems adds real-time visibility to the status of orders as routes progress. Bolt, an Internet-based fleet management and dispatch soft- ware system, has a planning screen that uses a map display. Color-coded pins show the locations of trucks, pickups and deliveries on planned routes.