The demand for continuous, real-time freight visibility certainly hasn’t diminished in 2020. If anything, the need for and value of load tracking has increased as every segment of the supply chain looks for a competitive advantage while trying to weather recent market disruptions. If you oversee operations in your brokerage, finding the freight visibility tool that meets your brokerage’s specific needs is essential.
In answer to the question of what is the best real-time visibility tool, we’ve created this checklist for evaluating freight tracking solutions that you may be considering for your operations. Did we mention that Trucker Tools’ real-time visibility platform checks all these boxes?
✓ GPS-Based Location Technology That Delivers Real-Time, Accurate Visibility
In contrast to older location services such as cell phone triangulation, GPS technology is extremely accurate in correctly identifying precise locations. The GPS chip included in most smart phones today can correctly identify a location within 30 feet. Trucker Tools’ real-time visibility platform uses this GPS tech in the trucker’s smart phone and Trucker Tools’ free driver app to provide your brokerage staff members with highly accurate, continuous load tracking information. Trucker Tools’ real-time visibility platform has increased freight tracking accuracy (accurate pickup and delivery confirmation) for Georgia-based Syfan Logistics by 50 percent.
✓ Reduce Check Calls To Drive Greater Operational Efficiency
Any freight visibility solution worth its salt should reduce the number of manual check calls that your staff members make to track a load. If a load tracking software doesn’t reduce manual communications, it’s not doing what it’s supposed to do. Most brokers and 3PLs who use Trucker Tools’ real-time visibility platform reduce their check call considerably, while others have been able to eliminate check calls altogether. Full service logistics provider LTI Delivers has reduced its check call volume by 40 percent thanks to Trucker Tools. Check call reduction or elimination provides a major boost to the efficiency of your operations and provides your staff members with more time for servicing shippers and cultivating new business.
✓ Gain Carrier Buy-In with Transparency and Added Functionality
To encourage carrier participation and increase the number of loads you can track digitally, you must choose visibility technology that is carrier-friendly. In a Trucker Tools survey of nearly 300 truckers earlier this year, more than half of those who responded said that privacy is their top concern around load tracking. Several also expressed frustration with the “one and done” functionality of apps that only track freight for brokers. Trucker ools’ driver app provides transparency to truckers. They must actively accept a load tracking request for the track to start and they can always see who is receiving their location info in the driver app. Trucker Tools’ free driver app also does more than just track loads for brokers. It includes 17+ tools and features that help truckers save money and time when they’re on the road.
✓ Seamless TMS Integration
When a freight visibility platform integrates with your transportation management system, it makes it that much easier for your staff members to quickly see where a load is and track its progress without calling the carrier. TMS integration means your staff members don’t need to open another software program or browser window to track a load in real-time, which helps you raise operational efficiency even more. Trucker Tools’ freight visibility platform integrates with all the major transportation management systems on the market today including McLeod, MercuryGate, Ascend, HighJump, Tailwind and others.
✓ Trucker Tools’ Real-Time Visibility Platform Checks All the Must-Have Boxes
It’s true: Trucker Tools’ real-time visibility platform checks all of these boxes. Our load tracking platform is consistently accurate because it uses GPS technology for load tracking. The accuracy of Trucker Tools’ load tracking reduces check calls, which also reduces the time that your staff members spend on load tracking, ultimately decreasing your cost per load. While most single function load tracking apps can only be used for a single load with one broker, carriers can use Trucker Tools’ free driver app with many different brokers. That encourages carriers to keep the Trucker Tools driver app on their phones permanently.
The free Trucker Tools driver app also provides truckers with real-time information on available loads, fuel prices, optimal routes, weigh scales, parking, Wal-Mart locations, truck stops, showers, rest areas, restaurants, DOT locations and more. Carriers value the multifunctionality of our driver app and the money-saving tools and features included in the app incentivize load tracking for carriers.
Still not convinced? Find out how you can Use Higher Visibility Compliance To Improve Relationships with Shippers.
Learn more about Trucker Tools’ carrier-centric visibility solution by scheduling a demo with our sales team.
