The Local Trucking BlogWelcome to the online community for local trucking, cartage, and P&D companies in North America

A number of TMS providers now offer local trucking companies a variety of alternatives to the traditional in-house installation. In the more traditional setup, both the software application and your TMS data reside on a physical server in your company’s office building. For many local P&D companies, this method of hosting data in-house may still be the best one.

However, there are some other newer options for TMS hosting that you may want to consider.  They include the following:

1.   Data in the Cloud, an App on your Desktop (“Managed Hosting”)

In this scenario, you would launch your TMS by clicking on an icon on your desktop, just as if you’re launching Excel.  The TMS application appears on your screen, just as it would if your data lived on your local. The only difference from the traditional in-house model—a difference that is invisible to the user—is that your data lives offsite, hosted by your TMS provider or one of its trusted providers such as Rackspace.

2.  Data in the Cloud, App in the Cloud (an “All-Cloud TMS)

With this alternative, the TMS application itself lives “in the cloud” and is a web-based application.  You get to it by going to a website and logging in there.  You may already have experienced something like this if you use an offsite login to get access to your Exchange e-mail server.

How to Decide?

As usual, there are advantages and disadvantages to any setup. For example, some add-on TMS options (such as GPS or route optimization) require you to have an in-house TMS, so that its database can talk to your TMS’s database.  In some cases, the cloud-hosted database works just fine with third-party vendors.  Check with your current and potential future vendors and see which is the best option for you.

Happy Shopping from the Local Trucking Blog!

–The Editors

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We hear all the time that communication between dispatchers and drivers is a huge problem in local trucking.  This is what our customers are complaining about:

• Most handheld devices are prohibited while driving.
• Driver/dispatcher communication is a huge bottleneck in the office.  When only one person knows critical ETA or POD information, customers don’t get the info they need when they need it.
• Drivers aren’t reliable in reporting arrival and departure times.

The best way to manage your communications between dispatchers and drivers is to eliminate the need for so much talking.  Now you can cut down dispatcher-to-driver talk and still provide superior customer service.

OneTerminal TMS from JSY Software eliminates risky talk in the following ways:

• It updates actual arrival and departure times for each pickup or delivery with no talking to drivers.
• It separates pickup from delivery so that you have accurate data for each action.
• It lets everyone on your network see all POD information in real time.
• You simply push out updates (like new pickups) to drivers with a click.
• Best of all:  no talking required.

You will be able to get every job done safely without talking to drivers when you are using OneTerminal TMS.

For your free hands-on consultation, fill out the short form below, or contact us at jmiller @ jsysoftware.com (Jonathan Miller) or 877-540-0030.

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There was an interesting question posed by Deborah Lockridge, editor at Heavy Duty Trucking, early this week, which sparked a discussion thread:

http://www.linkedin.com/groups/What-tips-do-you-have-134135.S.107106598?qid=44123cd7-93fa-474f-9c4e-55590cc41bbd&trk=group_most_popular-0-b-ttl&goback=.gmp_134135

While some people commented on fuel efficiency, reducing accidents caused by sloppy backing up, and so on, we feel strongly that having the right TMS is the #1 way to cut costs in local P&D, by reducing bottlenecks and redundancies in the office environment and by making drivers more productive.

If your staff never had to put people on hold to answer a POD request, how much time would that alone save you, not to mention how much your customers would appreciate it?

As one person commented in the replies:  “The wrong software is wrong, even if free, and the right TMS is golden, no matter the cost. The money spent is insignificant compared to the personnel savings and increased productivity of the drivers.”

—The Editors

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We found this article on TruckingInfo.com that discusses the possible options and benefits of deploying GPS in a smaller fleet:

Click here to see the full article.

Depending on what works best with your TMS, there are a variety of GPS packages that can give you the functionality you need.  In addition to watching GPS “breadcrumbs” on a screen, dispatchers can benefit from systems such as Actsoft’s Comet Tracker, which has simple drop-down forms for drivers to enter arrival and departure times; this can be used as an alternative to geofencing.

Keep in mind that EOBR rules that usually apply for OTR fleets are waived for local trucking because of the 100-mile exemption.

–The Editors

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Welcome to The Local Trucking Blog. This blog is the hub of an online community that speaks to the interests of local trucking companies, their owners and managers, and the wider community that they serve.

Depending on your part of the country, local trucking can have different names. We publish content that is designed to meet the needs of:

• local trucking companies;
• local cartage firms;
• local companies with in-house trucks;
• and local pickup and delivery (P&D) companies.

We invite you to check back frequently. Our posts cover a wide range of topics, including:

• management issues:  legal, tax/accounting, delegating succession planning, and more
• insurance issues:  liability, worker’s comp, and more
• software and hardware:  what to look for in a TMS, in power units and trucks, in smartphones, and more
• legislative matters:  HOS, EOBR, and more

If you’re an owner, GM, or manager in local trucking, we want to be the one-stop online resource for your concerns.  Click “subscribe” to join our community and receive notification of new postings.  Please check back often, feel free to post comments, and be sure to tell us if we’re covering what matters to you most (and if we’re not).

Thanks, and welcome!

–Jonathan Miller, Editor

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