Moving Words – Mobile
Written by Timothy Brady.
“The most important impact on society and the world is the cell phone. Cell phones have actually been one of the primary drivers in productivity improvements.” – Fabrice Grinda (French entrepreneur, blogger for Business Insider and ‘super angel’; more than 200 investments around the world.)
Thirty-five years ago communications between the van operator and dispatch was limited to a pay phone at a truck stop or rest area. Twenty-five years ago, satellite communications was starting to be tested along with cell phones. Then June 29, 2007, the first I-phone ‘smartphone’ was introduced featuring quad-band GSM cellular connectivity with GPRS and EDGE support for data transfer.
As we look back at the nineties and compare the technology available then to what is ordinary 20 to 25 years later, it’s like comparing the horse-drawn wagon to the semi-tractor trailer. The biggest concern that any agency or van operator must have in considering any new technology tool is how the cost of the tool compares with the increased efficiency of their operation and, most importantly, their bottom line.
The name of the game is to create greater efficiency: maximizing the number of loads hauled at a lower cost per load, in the fewest miles possible, while ensuring safety and regulation compliance along the way. This can be summed up in three words, “Communications, Communications, and Communications,” whether it’s from the driver to dispatch, truck to driver, driver to customer, truck to mechanic, driver to mechanic, etc.
Cell Phones and Cellular Technology
This form of technology has been coming down in price by leaps and bounds, while the available features are continually leaping forward. The original purpose of the cell phone in the moving industry was to make it possible for the van operators to be readily available to dispatch without having to find a land-based phone essentially accessible by a truck. However, today’s cell phone has become more than a voice communication device. With GPS technology, it’s now possible to pinpoint the trucker’s location. The ability to send and receive e-mails has added to the information that can be transmitted between the trucker and anyone of his choosing (dispatch, safety, mechanics, customers, home, etc.). This creates another avenue of information available to all concerned. Add to this photos, Bluetooth® technology, weather and road condition information, voice routing; these devices have become more than a means of communication. They are an information tool and a lifeline for the person out on the road and away from the office.
As an example, companies from load boards, electronic driver logs, vehicle maintenance, recordkeeping and more are creating apps utilizing a smart phone (Blackberry™, IPhone™ or Droid™). These apps are software programs which allow a trucker to do many things he/she used to do on a laptop computer from a small handheld device. This device gives the trucker the power to download shipping documents, inventory the items to be loaded, capture the shipper’s and receiver’s signatures, or e-mail a PDF attachment of the signed documents back to the agency, van line or moving company. He is also able to plan the route he will traverse from origin to destination, check weather and road construction along the route, and have audio voice turn-by-turn directions to destination. It will provide anyone with a computer and the correct secure information to use GPS technology to track the location of the driver carrying the device.
These smart phones enable the trucker to book loads for his operation through a load board, determine profitability of a load before accepting it, and communicate through e-mail, voice, or text messaging to negotiate and accept a load; then receive the load documents for signature. The most amazing part is this device fits in the palm of your hand, can be carried on a belt, and can communicate through any computer, phone, or fax anywhere in the world. And this is but the tip of the iceberg.
‘Mobile’ doesn’t begin to describe it.
