We tend to rely upon our smartphones for information, turning to them in a second to look up events, read the news and communicate with each other. Trucking companies want to manage productivity, while also helping their drivers on the road. There are many useful apps for both fleet operators and their drivers.
From locating truck stops, gas stations and restaurants, the trucker can now turn to his or her smartphone and click on the relevant app. There are a number of great blogs that list the apps and offer opinions on each. Roadmaster lists 6 useful apps with a helpful review from the writer, James Rietz.
There are the apps that are useful for anyone using the road, such as Waze, a community based traffic and navigation app, where you can share real-time traffic information. However, there are also apps that are aimed at helping with all aspects of fleet management.
The mobile app BigRoad has spent time researching the seven pain points for fleet operators. The app addresses the following: truck inspections, rout planning, GPS hardware, fleet tracking, driver logs, audit fines and faxing and offers a 30-day free trial!
123 Loadboard helps professional truck drivers find loads to haul throughout the US and Canada. It offers an easy way of searching through millions of loads found annually on 123Loadboard.com’s freight matching network.
Trucker Path helps locate truck stops, parking, rest areas, open/closed weigh stations, and more. The app is interactive and constantly updated by other trucker Path users. This app is currently free.
If the trucker is just looking for a way of scanning copies of receipts, or invoices from the road, CamScanner provides an intelligent solution for document management, with versions for Android, iPhone, iPad, and Windows Phone 8.
This is just a small selection of available mobile apps that are geared to be helpful. It is also worth taking a moment and reading comments from truckers, or fleet managers on discussion forums where they mention the apps they find most useful. Take note also of the number of users of the app, often this will tell you all you need to know about how effective it is! There is no doubt that mobile apps can be a great way of gaining real time information, and putting you ahead on the road.
