Hayley Dobson, Trinity Logistics’ Group Vice President, recently spoke to Trucker Tools’ Founder and CEO Prasad Gollapalli about how the company is using Trucker Tools’ technology to simplify communications with carriers and provide them with a streamlined technology experience. The conversation, which was part of a webinar entitled “How Trinity Logistics Engages Carriers Through Technology To Build Its Network,” illustrates how technology choices impact relationships with carriers, and the ability to build a strong carrier network. Dobson spoke during the webinar about Trinity Logistics’ process for evaluating technology and how a culture of responsiveness is helping the company retain carriers.
Read on to find out how Trinity Logistics is using Trucker Tools’ tech to engage and retain carriers — and how choosing the right technology can help you grow your own carrier network.
Make It Easy for Carriers To Interact with Your Brokerage/3PL
If you want to engage and retain carriers, said Dobson, it’s critical for you as a 3PL or freight broker to make it as easy as possible for carriers to interact with your company.
“I think it goes without saying that it’s so important to be easy to do business with for retention across the board,” said Dobson. “We need to keep carriers moving and productive. Carriers don’t have a lot of extra time in their day to make a call to find a load or to check in, so any way that we can give them to connect with us that doesn’t disrupt their current process is really critical in retaining them. Carriers have a tough enough job as it is and the whole purpose of our role as a 3PL/broker is to make their job easier, which requires that our interactions with them are as seamless as possible.”
“I think it goes without saying that it’s so important to be easy to do business with for retention across the board,” said Dobson. “We need to keep carriers moving and productive. Carriers don’t have a lot of extra time in their day to make a call to find a load or to check in, so any way that we can give them to connect with us that doesn’t disrupt their current process is really critical in retaining them. Carriers have a tough enough job as it is and the whole purpose of our role as a 3PL/broker is to make their job easier, which requires that our interactions with them are as seamless as possible.”
Trucker Tools’ broker platforms, driver app and Book-It-Now make it simple for carriers to communicate with Trinity Logistics’ teams. Owner operators and carriers can send quotes on loads and even book loads with Trinity using the Trucker Tools driver app or Trucker Tools’ free software platform for carriers. Drivers/carriers also can use the app to track loads for Trinity and with other brokers. When tracking a load with the Trucker Tools app, drivers have the option to upload and digitally send BOL/POD documents to Trinity via the app.
Focus on Technology Win-Wins
In the webinar, Dobson spoke about Trinity Logistics’ technology journey and lessons learned in using technology to increase carrier retention and engagement. She advises brokers and 3PLs to make technology choices with carriers in mind because if you try to implement a new technology that doesn’t help carriers in any way, adoption is likely to remain low. Dobson also said that she sees a natural alignment between the technology needs of brokers and those of carriers.
“Innately brokers and truckers have similar goals when it comes to our needs with technology,” Dobson said. “Those goals are visibility, automation and efficiency. That’s what I feel like both of us are really trying to do. Our relationship with Trucker Tools has enabled us to do that on several fronts — with the GPS tracking, quoting functionality and Book-It-Now®, so I it’s been a win-win. Over 165,000 carriers are on Trucker Tools’ carrier platform, so the carriers are already there. We’re not asking them to go somewhere else to try to connect with us and I think that’s key.”
Create a Culture of Responsiveness Focused on Relationship-Building
“It really starts at the top of our organization,” said Dobson. “A culture of responsiveness is one of our strategic cornerstones. We really focus on the importance of building relationships. We equip our carrier sales team specifically with tools to streamline communication and we try to get these guys looking beyond a transactional relationship and moving into that contractual relationship. We try to give them all the tools that they need in order to execute that.”
“It really starts at the top of our organization,” said Dobson. “A culture of responsiveness is one of our strategic cornerstones. We really focus on the importance of building relationships. We equip our carrier sales team specifically with tools to streamline communication and we try to get these guys looking beyond a transactional relationship and moving into that contractual relationship. We try to give them all the tools that they need in order to execute that.”
Dobson went on to say that Trinity Logistics also makes sure that carrier partners have access to the company’s leadership team to share feedback. A new executive sponsor program connects members of Trinity’s executive leadership team with carriers to facilitate those higher level relationships, and to ensure that communication is flowing both ways.
“For Trinity, it’s all about continuous improvement and raising the bar on that exceptional service that we provide to our partners and our team” Dobson shared. “You train and lay out expectations of how we can be the broker of choice and how we can enhance that carrier experience or shipper experience. Then we have to make sure we’re doing what we say we’re going to do. It’s a constant cycle to make sure that our machine is well-oiled and that we’re moving in the right direction.”
Watch “How Trinity Logistics Engages Carriers Through Technology To Build Its Network” on demand. Schedule a free demo of Trucker Tools’ real-time load tracking, digital freight matching and Book-It-Now®.
