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Since legalization legislation is on the books for Spring 2017, if this passes into law, what would be the ramifications to companies and their drivers who cross the border?

Given the growing importance of advanced transportation analytics in the trucking industry, it’s conceivable that hundreds of organizations with fleet management responsibilities are now confronting the question of whether they should build their own BI platform or invest in a packaged solution available from a transportation-specific technology provider. Before answering the “Build vs. Buy” question, according to BI experts, transportation professionals should carefully consider the following factors: Cost, Time and Vision.

Pong. Does it ping – sorry, ring a bell?

Readers of a certain age probably recall this early 1970s video game: a table tennis match played s-l-o-w-l-y on a non-flat screen television. Despite its simplicity, Pong brought a new kind of entertainment into innumerable households – but would never succeed in the sophisticated 21st-century gaming environment.

Fuel delivery is fluid.

So many factors impact a company’s profitability from rack to retailer. Success depends on the performance of equipment and personnel every step of the way. And, the ability to optimize those assets and resources to ensure maximum performance under changing market conditions is a challenge.

Enter TMW.

TMW software for fuel delivery operations can make strategic and tactical differences at every stage of downstreaming.

Last year was a tough year for the trucking industry as the macro-economy slowed. The consumer side of the economy remained the pillar of growth, but the industrial side stumbled in 2016. The manufacturing sector, which provides a significant amount of freight for trucking, had a particularly rough year. The strong US dollar dampened exports, which in turn limited manufacturing output and contributed to the inventory glut. The lack of business investment is also hurting US manufacturers. Business spending on capital, including buildings and equipment, is down in the US. This in turn has led to weak labor productivity growth, which is a recipe for slow economic growth.

Throughout the last decade, the phrase cloud computing — web-centered computing in which services, including apps, and storage and security, are hosted via the Internet — has become standard in the software-industry lexicon. Enterprising organizations are aware of the mounting costs and complexities of maintaining a secure applications environment and are eager for greater freedom to focus on their core business capabilities. Forward-thinking leadership teams are turning to cloud-based trucking software solutions along with hosting services to manage and protect their operations software environment, rather than on relying on internal hard drives.

“Expect the unexpected” has quickly become the national mantra since Donald Trump’s election, especially in industrial sectors. On the campaign stump, Trump was pro-coal and anti-climate change, putting him at odds with major initiatives enacted last year by the Obama administration. Myron Ebell, Trump’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has a long history of being a naysayer on global warming, and Rick Perry, Trump’s choice to head the Department of Energy, once vowed to eliminate it if he was elected President. There’s no way to read these tea leaves, but his pending appointments send the signal that Trump is serious about dismantling the Obama administration’s recently approved fuel efficiency standards.

People on the front lines of transportation companies used to be tethered to workstations in the office, truck, dock and maintenance bay.

The transportation industry is ever-changing. The vehicles we use may look similar from year to year, but the technology we rely on to move cargo and manage logistics is constantly evolving—from in-cab devices to in-office truck management software. Continuing education is crucial to keep up with shifting capabilities and best practices, let alone stay ahead of the competition.

Congratulations, you’ve been awarded a new freight contract. But wait, a few surprises buried within the transportation RFP might make it difficult, if not impossible, for Operations to efficiently and profitably execute the business.