Head ‘em up and move ‘em out. Nearly 60 years after the theme from the TV show “Rawhide” became a pop-culture staple, its semi-iconic lyrics still resonate today. It’s the credo by which dispatch managers thrive: plan and keep the fleet moving.
There’s a modern-day twist: use technology in ways that improve performance and profitability, while ensuring drivers are aware and productive. Smart fleet managers know the most effective way to accomplish this is with transportation management system that offers solutions specific to their company’s needs and business objectives. Not only does it make routine responsibilities easier to achieve by reducing planning and tracking time and help with more efficient scheduling, the advanced technology returns objective performance measurements that supply strategic data, including scheduled-versus-real unloading times, mileage, speed and information associated with driver performance.
The Big 3
- Apprise you of road and conditions that might affect your drivers’ ability to do the job
- Share information as it happens
- Provide analytics that can be used in future route planning
It’s essential your trucking dispatch software include planning. A myriad of external factors, such as traffic congestion, weather-related road closures, construction, mechanical issues and customer delays can be costly in both time and money.
These issues may not be your fault – but working around them becomes your responsibility. Identifying and resolving these concerns swiftly results in greater customer satisfaction and money saved. Software should provide stop-by-stop information and performance-based visibility, too. These components enable you to contrast planned route schedules and spotlight discrepancies in work hours, miles driven, and delivery times, with both summary and detailed views.
Finally, you’ll have objective performance measurements for better decision-making and driver coaching for improved fleet and driver productivity. Helping your dispatchers do their jobs resourcefully is key to your success – but moving your fleet out every day is only the beginning.
With a TMW transportation management system--complete with trucking dispatch software--as part of your arsenal, you can monitor your fleet through measures that are business-smart, profitable and secure. For more information on a compatible transportation management system and what is available to you right now, contact us.
