Technology is evolving rapidly across the transportation and logistics industry. As new tools are adopted, service and performance expectations change. The road map of success is changing too.
There are a few things that have always been and will continue to be seen as markers of a successful business – profitability, brand recognition and customer satisfaction. The ways businesses achieve those things, however, are subject to change.
Now the road to success is paved with digital tools and technological adoption.
Some brokerages seem to have taken a wait-and-see approach to technology. These companies are often overwhelmed by the variety of digital tools available or wary of spending money on something that may not deliver revenue gains. Brokerages are smart to be choosy about who they go into business with, but being too cautious could cost them just as much as being impulsive.
“Waiting too long to adopt digital tools is a huge mistake,” Trucker Tools CEO Prasad Gollapalli said. “Technology is designed to evolve to the user’s needs. The more you use a piece of technology, the more you are influencing that technology’s direction.”
Early adopters do, in fact, have the unique opportunity to influence a digital tool’s future simply by using it and providing feedback. That means that technology will be fashioned around their needs, setting them up for successful adoption and utilization. When brokerages choose to sit on the sidelines, they lose their chance to make their voices heard while a technological offering is still young and malleable.
Trucker Tools prides itself on keeping customer feedback in mind when optimizing its tools and expanding its suit of services. Gollapalli and his team meet brokerages where they are and help them ascend to the next level through various digital offerings, including load tracking, freight matching and instant booking.
One of the biggest reasons customers decide to partner with Trucker Tools is to increase visibility into their shipments and bolster driver tracking compliance. That’s exactly why Manning’s Truck Brokerage CEO Charley Dehoney decided to give the company a try.
“We wanted to see a higher percentage of compliance and tracking via automation. Trucker Tools provides us the utility of seeing exactly where our trucks are without picking up the phone, allowing us to plan ahead,” Dehoney said. “Our carriers have been loving it; the Trucker Tools app is a frictionless download.”
Companies like Trucker Tools provide brokerages with an effective way to up their technology game without devoting significant amounts of time and money to building in-house tools and making those tools attractive to drivers.
“Brokers should adopt technology that is moving, not standing still,” Gollapalli said. “Technology should enable brokers to expand their networks and provide all customers with proper training and support.”
Dehoney offered one straightforward piece of advice to brokerages considering tech upgrades: Don’t wait.