After the Senate passed the “Infrastructure and Jobs Act” last week, businesses are now gearing up in anticipation of the forthcoming construction projects. Many trucking and third-party logistics in particular are no longer delaying plans of integrating a truck routing software into their systems, as there will be greater challenges ahead in meeting intense competition that could potentially be cut-throat.
Trucking firms have to do everything in their power to keep their exclusive contracts intact, as well as to attract and bring onboard new clients. Leveraging technologies to prevent or avoid unexpected disruptions caused by worsening weather conditions and new construction zones, will be critical once the government rolls out the massive infrastructure projects.
Unavoidable issues can occur without warning and could be costly if not taken into account when the truck routes were mapped out. Having a robust truck routing software can aid dispatchers and fleet managers in making decisions in a fly when determining new routes. While on time delivery is the main goal, it’s also important to make certain that the spur-of-the-moment adjustments are still cost-effective in terms of fuel efficiency.
How Can a Truck Routing Software Help Maintain Fuel Efficiency
In having the ability to plan and at the same time monitor optimized truck routes, drivers will be able to avoid slow moving traffic and other fuel-wasting behaviors such as running the truck engine while parked. An idling engine while in the midst of a heavy traffic is bad enough, keeping the engine running while waiting to load ur deliver a shipment makes matters worse.
Studies show that a considerable amount of fuel is wasted during idling as the truck is unnecessarily burning fuel at the rate of one gallon per hour. Since idling is problematic, this can be avoided via the following solutions offered by the route planning software:
Providing truck drivers with real-time updates not only about traffic and weather conditions but also of any last minute customer requests. Relaying timely updates are important, especially if the turn of events makes route modification necessary to prevent a truck from getting stuck in the middle of a slow moving traffic. .
Analyze drivers’ behaviors when plying the optimized routes during and after executing the collection or delivery processes. Driver efficiency is also important as some practices or behaviors tend to involve unnecessary fuel use. while after a When you analyze the behavior and exact routes of your drivers after they are completed, you can discover any trouble areas and help your drivers perform more efficiently on future routes.
Improving customer relationship by way of constant interaction. A truck routing software gives trucking managers the ability to monitor the movement of each truck, whilst maintaining clear and constant communication with truck drivers. Such capability enables interaction with customers by providing quick and accurate updates about their goods. If in case an unavoidable delay has caused a truck driver to fall behind schedule, informing the affected customers beforehand will in turn enable them to make adjustments at their end.
Bear in mind that the forthcoming construction projects will entail closing down of bridges, road excavations, pipe-laying and building of freight and passenger rail transits in different geographical locations across the country. Gearing up for all possibilities can help a trucking and transportation company keep up if not stay ahead of the competition. .
