When the coronavirus pandemic swiftly made its way across the U.S. in March, many companies instructed their employees to pack up their things and embrace a brand-new work-from-home lifestyle. While companies across the country struggled with the learning curve that accompanies remote work arrangements, truck drivers continued to move our medications and essential goods from one point to the next and keep our grocery stores stocked. In a lot of ways, these drivers were already the ultimate remote workforce.
Drivers are used to spending long hours on the road, completing their tasks alone while functioning as part of a team. They’ve been required to become more technologically savvy in recent years, and some of them are more digitally adept than the average 9-to-5er. Not only do they know how to use technology efficiently, they also expect that technology to work for them.
All-in-one apps like Trucker Tools provide the automated load tracking and booking abilities that drivers and brokers need to conduct business, but they also provide drivers with a little something extra. These “lifestyle” apps focus on driver needs, honing in on things like truck stop hours and amenities, fuel prices, parking availability, traffic alerts and optimizing routes. Ultimately, this helps them become more efficient and effective on the road while reducing app overload.
“It is much easier for brokers and drivers if tracking is facilitated through an all-in-one app that drivers are already familiar with. It becomes much easier to ensure tracking compliance,” Axle Logistics Vice President of Logistics Shawn McLeod said. “Drivers will not adopt an app that is too cumbersome, too complicated or interrupts their phone’s operating system.”
Trucker Tools surveyed drivers about their favorite features on the app. The majority of drivers identified finding loads (23.53%) or tracking loads (22.06%) as their favorite features, but a large percentage of drivers also singled out the app’s more lifestyle-like features, including the truck stop guide (20.59%) and weigh scale information (11.76%) as their top picks.
When asked about the features they use the most, drivers gave similar answers. Most drivers identified load tracking (38.24%) and searching for new loads (32.35%) as their most-used features. The truck stop guide also pulled in plenty of users, with 19.12% of drivers calling it their most-used feature.
“In the end, these guys are driving very large pieces of equipment hauling a lot of weight. The last thing they want to be doing is bouncing in and out of parking lots looking for a place to sleep or paying money to send paperwork,” McLeod said. “There is already so much cost involved in this industry. Trucker Tools helps to alleviate some of that, and it makes everyone’s life easier.”
Drivers are more likely to comply with tracking and communication requests when the process is easy and the software offers additional perks. That makes both drivers and brokers more efficient and better prepared to work together, no matter how many miles lie between them.