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December 18th, the day the ELD (Electronic Logging Device) Mandate goes into effect, is right around the corner. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) issued technical specifications and certification standards for ELD manufacturers, but there’s no official vetting of manufacturers for carriers nor guidance on how to make the best choice of a compliance solution. Since the mandate will impact an estimated 1.8 to 2 million vehicles, there is great interest on the part of opportunistic and inexperienced entrepreneurs as well as for the more established industry providers. But the ELD Mandate also creates opportunities for carriers, whether they’re moving from paper records or already utilizing e-log technology in their fleets, as the more established providers offer more than just compliance for their ELD solutions, but applications that also reduce paperwork, improve safety, and increase the bottom line.

When it comes to transportation software, you might be a power user. But there’s always more to learn about how to use technology to enhance your company’s profits. And there’s no better way to gain that knowledge than by networking with experts and industry peers at a user conference.

Top 10 Countdown: Why to attend in.sight 2017

By Brian Lavelle and Carman Geres

Complexity kills cash flow.

Federal regulators have dished out plenty of lemons over the years, burdening trucking companies with time-consuming and expensive regulations. With the Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food (STF) rule taking effect last month, carriers have yet another opportunity to merely comply with the regulations or to make lemonade.

As cyber criminals get more sophisticated, cybersecurity has evolved to put more walls between them and valuable user data. Leading strategies include encryption and multi-factor authentication (MFA) – which takes the traditional username/password approach to digital security and adds authentication factors like thumbprint, face and voice recognition, PIN numbers and trusted device authentication.

Managing and maintaining a small fleet is like herding cats. With a dog. You have so many issues to deal with. Not the least of which is juggling service needs while keeping customers on schedule.

From a quick snack to a multi-course meal, when you order food away from home, a member of the International Foodservice Distributors Association (IFDA) probably delivered the ingredients. IFDA’s members provide groceries and related products to professional kitchens in restaurants, convenience stores, colleges and universities, hospitals and many other venues.

Seven-hundred billion: the current dollar value attributed to the American trucking industry, and a figure representing that industry’s significant contribution to the nation’s annual Gross Domestic Product. In the United States, trucks handle approximately 70% of all freight shipments. Considering these numbers, it is not surprising that the US trucking industry is occasionally referred to as the backbone of the national economy.

Like all business enterprises, however, the transportation management industry faces mammoth challenge as evolving market trends compel it to discover methods to reduce operating costs, accelerate revenue growth, enhance customer service and meet hardline corporate objectives. To this end, the industry has slowly come to embrace technology and seek out fleet management solutions. By not keeping pace with the robust technology investments seen in other sectors, the transport management industry is rife with disruption – but solutions for navigating current and future market trends and associated challenges exist.

Companies seeking strategic guidance should look to innovative business intelligence and logistics software options that integrate and optimize services. Among these cutting-edge technologies: Master Data Management (MDM), in which comprehensive data is stored in one secure master file. This single reference point refines information sharing among staff and departments, and helps users make more knowledgeable decisions surrounding rating, planning and expediting.

If you’re reading this you already know the problem: the driver shortage will remain an ongoing challenge for those operating fleets over the next decade. And, industry demographics don’t offer any sign of relief.

Trucking companies that haul intermodal loads are like jugglers. Think of all the balls you need to keep in the air: rail schedules, port schedules, shippers’ requirements, government mandates, container movements, equipment maintenance, customer billing, driver payments. You might be handling both single- and multi-container moves, full containers and less-than-containerload (LCL) freight. You can’t afford to let anything drop.