Month: August 2017

Fleet Management: A Quick Way to Improve It

Fleet Management | 2 min read

Fleet Management: A Quick Way to Improve It

Today, a big part of effective fleet management is fleet dispatching. Modern fleet dispatching is a little more complex than just having a big white board in a meeting room, and then sending your driver’s out with a simple manifest.

What is Fleet Dispatching?

Today organizing a fleet takes more effort and organization than simply assigning a driver a manifest full of stops for pickups. So what is the best way to perform fleet management correctly? Well, if you ask most successful fleet managers, you’ll find they are using some sort of fleet management or dispatching solution. At the very heart of a good management system lies a good fleet management dispatching and routing solution that helps solve problems, even when there are emergencies.

Why is Routing so Important?

Modern fleet management routing takes more than just going from point A to point B. But again, it varies based on the specific transportation industry requirements. For a successful fleet based company, routing is about getting each driver on the road picking up and delivering as fast as possible, with the right requirements and in the right time frame. It means getting each driver out on the road as fast as possible, in the right vehicle, with the right qualifications and eligibility, to complete each stop based on set time frames or customer expectations. The goal is to drive fewer miles, use fewer vehicles, and save more money.

Good managers have found that simply giving drivers a manifest and expecting things to get done is not efficient because unexpected things can happen on the road, and this can delay pre-planned operations. Being able to effectively manage and change root systems in real time becomes absolutely necessary.

The Benefits of Real Time Applications

Real-time dispatching solutions offer better ways to pick up loads and make deliveries. Real-time applications are an integral part of successful fleet management to increase productivity. The best part? Many of these applications are now easily accessible anywhere, anytime, from a computer or a smartphone making everything the driver and dispatcher need to do their job available at their fingertips.

What Does Fleet Management Software Offer?

All fleet management software is different, but the overall goal of the software is the same. Fleet management software offer extensive features to gain cost-savings and experience true efficiency when it comes to managing a fleet.

The right system will create routes that are optimized with driver directions, dispatch them to the driver through his smartphone or tablet and track drivers actions in real-time. This increases productivity and efficiency while at the same time improving customer service.


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How Dispatching Software Makes for Better Dispatchers

Dispatching | 2 min read

How Dispatching Software Makes for Better Dispatchers

The success of every organization relies heavily on the people who work behind the scenes. In the transportation industry a key role is the dispatcher. This is the person who is the important link between the driver, management, and the customer.  

Certainly, the drivers in your organization are important, but it is the dispatcher that keeps your drivers, their workload and the delivery of your services on-time and in order.

The dispatcher’s job is one of the most important in the company, but he/she can only succeed if given the tools needed. The dispatcher needs to be constantly aware of driver locations, traffic in the areas, the weather, and any other factors that could potentially get in the way of drivers being on time. Dispatchers organize the best arrival routes, communicate with customers on time of delivery, and even invoices when needed – the super employee who does it all. But unfortunately the job cannot get done effectively and efficiently if everything is done manually. There are only so many hours in a day.

This is where the right dispatching software with features such as traffic reporting, driver location, route organization and cost saving reports come into play. It is when your dispatcher has access to this information that he or she can get the job done in the best way possible.

Dispatching software can assist dispatchers with the following:

  • Maintaining records of the driver’s daily routes
  • Finding the quickest route
  • Prioritizing cargo space for each of the drivers based on planned routes
  • Viewing live traffic that should be avoided
  • Recording miles driven
  • Automatic IFTA calculations
  • Offering customers up-to-date arrival times
  • Generate appropriate invoices
  • Planning the most efficient routes to meet delivery requirements

Overall, we can safely say the dispatcher is responsible for keeping drivers and customers happy by keeping everyone well-informed. However, this is virtually impossible to do manually. It requires dispatching software to visualize optimal routes, see traffic conditions, and help with last-minute customer needs.

When you improve the planning process by implementing appropriate software, you make sure that your dispatchers and drivers can do their job as effectively as possible.

 


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