Tracking is an essential part of doing business in the trucking industry, with mobile apps playing an outsized role in truck tracking. If you’re an asset-based freight broker with a dedicated fleet, you may need to use an asset truck tracking app to monitor the location of your equipment and to know exactly what your fleet is doing. Both non-asset based and asset-based freight brokers also need a truck tracking app to monitor the location of live loads as they’re being transported by truck from a shipper’s facility to various drop off destinations.
Read on to learn more about the different types of truck tracking apps used in the industry and how to choose the best truck tracking app for your freight brokerage.
Types of Truck Tracking Apps
Fleet/Asset Tracking Apps
Most asset-based freight brokers and larger trucking companies use a combination of sensors and truck tracking apps to monitor where their trucks and other equipment are located and how they’re being used. Statistics from the National Crime Information Center show that approximately 1,000 pieces of commercial equipment are reported stolen each month, representing thousands of dollars of loss. Using an asset tracker with your fleet allows you to take immediate action when your trucks aren’t where they’re supposed to be and recover those assets should they be stolen or misdirected.
Real-Time Live Load Truck Tracking Apps
Another kind of GPS-based truck tracking app is used by freight brokers (and shippers who work directly with carriers) when freight is being transported from shipper facilities to distribution centers, retail stores and/or other locations. Live load truck tracking apps allow you to monitor the location of the truck and load while in transit using the GPS tech in the driver’s smart phone and a driver mobile app. Real-time live load truck tracking apps provide you with start to finish digital load visibility, from the time the load is picked up by the driver until it reaches its final destination. You can view these updates either in your TMS or in the real-time tracking platform’s interface.
How To Choose a Real-Time Live Load Truck Tracking App
When it comes to choosing a real-time GPS truck tracking app for live loads when they’re being transported by truck, you should prioritize several key features and functionalities. First, be sure that the tracking app you use to track your shippers’ loads is driver-friendly and easy to use. You don’t want the app itself to be a barrier for tracking shippers’ freight. Does the app make it easy for a driver to start and stop tracking the load? Does the carrier or driver already use the truck tracking app in their day to day operations? Does the tracking app provide transparency to the driver in terms of who is receiving their location data? Asking these questions can help ensure that the technology/app itself isn’t thwarting your efforts to track loads for your shippers.
Your shippers require real-time tracking data to ensure they meet their own customer and distributor needs. Access to real-time truck tracking data also helps your shippers better understand their own supply chains and operations. That’s why accuracy and reliability also are important to consider when evaluating truck tracking apps to use with carriers and drivers. The app should leverage the GPS tech in the driver’s smart phone. Why? GPS tech in smart phones is accurate within approximately 16 feet.
Trucker Tools’ Driver App: The Trucking Industry’s Most Popular Truck Tracking App
To check all of the must-have boxes discussed above, consider using Trucker Tools’ driver app and real-time visibility software for load tracking. Unlike many other truck tracking apps, Trucker Tools’ driver app does more than merely track loads for brokers like you. The app includes more than 20 features and tools designed to save truckers time when they’re on the road. Drivers can use the app to find the cheapest fuel, food and restaurants, truck parking, cargo insurance, rate information, reloads, weigh scales and much more. The value that the Trucker Tools app provides to drivers and carriers is the reason why it’s the industry’s most downloaded app month after month. It’s also why many of the drivers and carriers with whom you work are likely already using the app.
Trucker Tools’ truck tracking app and companion tracking software provide you with real-time updates on the location of the freight you broker every five to 15 minutes. When an unforeseen delay occurs, you know in real-time and can immediately work to resolve the delay and provide your shippers with highly accurate ETAs. Using a truck tracking app like Trucker Tools’ ultimately can lead to higher shipper satisfaction and higher service levels. It also can reduce or even eliminate manual phone calls to the carrier to ask them when the load will arrive. Greater efficiency often translates into lower operating costs and the ability to broker more freight without increasing your headcount.
Learn more about “The Role of ELDs in Real-time Freight Visibility.”
Schedule a free demo of Trucker Tools’ real-time visibility platform.
