What Visibility Means for Carriers

  View-of-driver-communicating-via-CB-radio

Trucking has been going through a lot of changes these past few years. There’s a lot of new technology, governmental mandates, increasing expectations, and shorter delivery windows. It’s a lot to keep track of, but it’s all very important. With that in mind, we’d like to clear up some of the confusion, and provide you with the information you need to stay up to date, and leverage all of the resources you need to efficiently do your jobs.

One of the hottest industry topics right now is visibility, but there seems to be some uncertainty and confusion around exactly what automation means. Let’s take a look.

What Does Visibility Mean For Me?

A lot of people hear visibility, and they think driverless trucks or annoying cell phone applications. Some companies are working on driverless trucking, but it’s a long ways away, and it’s not our focus at project44. Visibility is actually a pretty broad term. There isn’t one, single piece of technology that causes it, it’s more of a series of different things that, when they come together, make it possible to automate different manual processes and create more visibility for your customers with minimal driver effort.

That’s a big part of why tracking is so important. Tracking is used in order to provide information to the different people and companies involved in a logistics network. When companies know where a shipment is at all times, they can do a better job of planning. They can make sure the shipment is ready to be received without hassle to the driver, and they can set up the next leg of the shipment’s journey ahead of time. This reduces dock congestion and wait times at docks. They can also keep customers notified about where the shipment is and when it will arrive, which puts less stress on everyone involved, and keeps drivers happy and satisfied..

How is this achieved?

Tracking shipments requires a little bit of help on your end. In order for information to be transmitted from a truck to another piece of technology, there has to be some level of participation from carriers. project44 helps accomplish that one of three ways, depending on what’s easiest for you.

Direct API Connection - This is a software-level connection. APIs are basically pieces of software that connect different technologies and efficiently send information. It is typically the best option provided your team has the resources to set it up on your end. Our team is happy to help.

ELD Tracking - You’re probably already aware of the ELD mandate. This solutions takes advantage of the ELDs that will already be installed in trucks, and uses that to transmit tracking information. This is the most simple method.

Appless Tracking - This method uses the GPS that’s already on a driver’s cell phone. It doesn’t require the driver to download an app of any kind, they simply have to opt into the service and keep their phone on. We take care of the rest. For added convenience, you only have to opt in once.

Whichever method of tracking you choose to participate in, you can rest assured, that p44 is using that information solely for the benefit of you and your partners. This data is used to automate the more tedious parts of your job, and it provides your partners and customers with valuable information that will make their operations run more smoothly. If your company provides them with better data, you’re more likely to become their preferred carrier. Just think of the reduction in manual work that would result from eliminated phone calls from customer service reps or customers inquiring about shipment status. It makes your entire operation run more smoothly, and it keeps your partners happy. When technology is done the right way, it makes everyone’s lives easier. That’s our goal here at project44.