On this week’s episode of Taking the Hire Road, Keith Whann, chief technology officer of TruckSuite, sat down with host Jeremy Reymer, founder of DriverReach and Project 61, to discuss the development of a multiservice solution for turning drivers’ cellphones into mobile offices.
Whann’s career path, as is the case with many others, did not begin in trucking. When he graduated law school, Whann was appointed as assistant attorney general of Ohio. For several years, he worked in regulating the motor vehicle industry in consumer transactions.
Afterward, Whann formed a boutique law firm specializing in motor vehicle sales, and as a result wound up networking and eventually being involved in commercial and retail motor vehicle sales and acquisitions himself.
His real transition into trucking began when he discovered a need for mobile technology to simulcast sales data. With a team of experts, Whann built simulcast software and began to offer mobile apps that were adopted by hundreds of auction companies around the world.
“I realized that I was building out the tech platform, and so I sold out of my interests in auction sales,” Whann said. “I decided to focus on building this tech platform that allows for remotely selling products and services.”
Through the proliferation of Whann’s software and app, he joined forces with the founders of TruckSuite. Among other contributions, Whann is now the author of TruckSuite’s new warranty product.
He says that through his networking at industry conferences, he realized there was not a multiservice app that could accommodate the needs he and his team were observing in the community. “I knew it would be incredibly impactful to drivers and their daily routines if we could roll all of these things into one,” Whann said. Those features include warranty claims monitoring, truck service concierge services, education, training, transactions and more.
“With the supply chain issues we saw during the pandemic, we really saw an opportunity to turn people’s phones into mobile offices,” Whann said.
“Knowing the men and women on the road as I do now, you can’t forget they’re trying to run a business,” he said. “Some are owner-operators, some are on leases, some are contractors or employees, some are over-the-road and some are point-to-point local delivery, so there are differences, but everyone is trying to manage their careers and their daily lives.”
To communicate with family, co-workers, employers and truck service experts while performing daily duties, Whann says drivers desperately needed a safe and easy user experience to help streamline the process.
“We really focus on products and services that drivers need to keep their operation running,” Whann said. “Our flagship TruckSuite app is designed to keep the trucks on the road.”
“If we can save drivers an hour or two a day and increase the quality of their mobile interfaces in a convenient way, that’s important to us because it makes their lives easier,” Whann said.
The TruckSuite app is divided into sections including My Truck, My Health, My Business, My Concierge and many others. “I call it the toolbox, because it can be used for whatever you need,” Whann said. “Whatever you do every day to stay on the road, you can manage with us.”
My Concierge, TruckSuite’s new live chat service, lets drivers talk to a representative anytime about anything, which keeps drivers from spending hours stuck on hold or waiting for a response.
“For certain programs, we even have built-in proprietary software that allows you to talk with live video feed to other people or experts, including our own contacts as well as the drivers’ own employers,” Whann said.
“Our whole goal is to help truckers solve any problems they need to and manage their workload efficiently so they can stay on the road and get back home sooner,” Whann said.
Click here to learn more about TruckSuite.
Sponsors: DriverReach, Lanefinder, The National Transportation Institute, Career Now Brands, Carrier Intelligence, Infinit-I Workforce Solutions, WorkHound, Asurint, Arya By Leoforce, Seiza, Drive My Way, F|Staff, Trucksafe Consulting, Seated Social, Repowr