Nov 10, 2022

Trucker Path Now Offers Geotab ELD and Telematics Solutions

ELD and telematics capabilities are the latest additions to Trucker Path’s comprehensive ‘business in a box’ of trucking solutionsPHOENIX – November 8, 2022 – Trucker Path, the most comprehensive and most used mobile app for North American truckers, today announced the addition of Geotab ELD and telematics technologies to its growing suite of products and services. “We are excited to be adding ELD and telematics capabilities from Geotab to our ever-expanding set of offerings at Trucker Path,” said Chris Oliver, CMO. “With a growing combination of strategically aligned and integrated products, we now offer a comprehensive set of solutions that includes all the essential technologies and services trucking companies need for successful, profitable operations.” Geotab has once again been ranked the #1 commercial telematics vendor worldwide by ABI Research and continues to be recognized for their innovative technology and solutions. The company currently has over 3 million devices in operation and processes more than 55 billion data points per day. Branded as Trucker Path ELD Powered by Geotab, the solution’s ELD technology provides hours of service and DVIR compliance while the telematics adds vehicle utilization, performance and health assessments along with a wealth of other telematics-driven capabilities. The new offering is available in conjunction with other well-known services from Trucker Path, including: ● The Trucker Path app relied upon by over a million drivers throughout North America ● TruckLoads, a digital freight exchange that connects drivers, carriers and brokers ● COMMAND™, an Operations & Driver Relationship (ODR) platform that provides small to mid-size fleets with TMS technologies ● DISPATCH, a full-service dispatch service designed specifically for small carriers and owner-operators “With this new, affordable offering, Trucker Path customers can get everything they need to run their trucking company all in one place,” added Oliver. “Our “business-in-a-box” approach now includes regulatory compliance, load sourcing, operations management, truck navigation, parking availability, weigh station statuses, dock insights, fuel savings, document scanning, customer invoicing, factoring and even a Dispatch service that combines it all to handle all the back-office work for owner operators and small fleets.” Carriers and fleet operators can visit www.truckerpath.com/eld to learn more about Trucker Path ELD Powered by Geotab.About Geotab Geotab is advancing security, connecting commercial vehicles to the cloud and providing data-driven analytics to help customers better manage their fleets. Geotab’s open platform and Marketplace, offering hundreds of third-party solution options, allows both small and large businesses to automate operations by integrating vehicle data with their other data assets. As an IoT hub, the in-vehicle device provides additional functionality through IOX Add-Ons. Processing billions of data points a day, Geotab leverages data analytics and machine learning to help customers improve productivity, optimize fleets through the reduction of fuel consumption, enhance driver safety, and achieve strong compliance to regulatory changes. Geotab’s products are represented and sold worldwide through Authorized Geotab Resellers. To learn more, please visit www.geotab.com and follow us @GEOTAB and on LinkedIn.About Trucker Path Phoenix-based Trucker Path is the provider of a wide range of truck driver-centric mobility products. Its Trucker Path app is currently in use by over 1 million professional truck drivers. Offering best-in-class navigation with truck optimized routing, the Trucker Path app also provides access to vital up-to-date information about truck stops, real-time available parking, fuel prices, weigh station status, and truck scales and wash locations. The company also offers TruckLoads, a digital freight exchange that connects drivers, carriers and brokers; COMMAND™, the industry’s first and only Operations & Driver Relationship (ODR) platform that provides small to mid-size fleets with the necessary driver and TMS technologies to successfully run a fleet; and DISPATCH, a full-service dispatch service designed specifically to serve the back-office needs of small carriers and owner-operators. For more information, visit www.truckerpath.com.Media Contact: Susan Fall LaunchIt Public Relations858-490-1050 susan@launchitpr.com

Trucker Path Solutions Earn Platinum and Gold Awards for Excellence PHOENIX – <a href= "https://truckerpath.com/">Trucker Path</a> has received four 2022 TITAN Business Awards from <a href= "https://iaaawards.org/">International Awards Associate (IAA)</a>, acknowledging its achievements in several categories and industry segments, according to a news release. For the 2022 TITAN Business Awards, Trucker Path was named: <ul> <li>Platinum Winner for the Trucker Path Driver App in the category of Products & Services, Logistics </li> <li>Gold Winner for the Trucker Path Driver App in the category of Products & Services, Transportation </li> <li>Gold Winner for Trucker Path COMMAND in the category of Business Technology Solutions, Operation Management Solution </li> <li>Gold Winner for Trucker Path COMMAND in the category of Business Technology Solutions, Supply Chain Management Solution </li> </ul> Trucker Path was chosen for recognition from among more than 1,000 nominated entries from more than 55 countries, the news release stated. Award winners were selected by 27 jurors from 15 countries. The competition used a blind judging process, under which jurors assess an entry entirely on its individual merits, without being compared side-by-side with other technologies. “It is very gratifying to be acknowledged for our achievements with these four 2022 TITAN Business Awards,” Chris Oliver, CMO at Trucker Path, said. “This recognition for excellence validates how the Trucker Path app and our COMMAND Operations & Driver Relationship (ODR) platform provide drivers, and small and mid-size fleets with the tools and services they need to succeed.” The Trucker Path app provides real-truck mapping and navigation to over 1 million drivers in North America. Trucker Path COMMAND, launched in March 2022, is a full-scale, advanced transportation management system that fully integrates with the Trucker Path app, providing operational efficiencies and unparalleled synchronization between the back-office and drivers. “The TITAN Business Awards’ primary goal is to acknowledge the achievements of entrepreneurs and organizations globally,” according to the news release. “The competition does not differentiate between small or big players in the market, and honors excellence impartially on the level playing field they have created. Only those who qualify can become honorary TITANs.” The competition was organized and hosted by the International Awards Associate and opened submissions to entrepreneurs, small and medium businesses and large organizations alike. The chance to participate was offered equally to all available industries in the market, and it did not discriminate between private or public, and for-profit or non-profit entities. “Despite this being the second season for this competitive year, we received a staggering number of entries, all of which demonstrated remarkable qualities of excellence,” Thomas Brandt, spokesperson of IAA, said. “It is particularly motivating to see so many parties still actively engaging in excellent practices in their businesses. It really does come through clearly from their submissions.”

Nov 01, 2022

Free Fuel Sweepstakes Supporting National Truck Driver Awareness Week

Aug 30, 2022

Should owner-operators enlist a dispatch service or stick with load boards? The popular image of the owner-operator as a modern-day range rider, free and self-reliant, doesn’t always jibe with the idea of using a dispatch service. It’s a fair point. Load boards enable truckers to do-it-yourself dispatch pretty easily. There’s another side, though. Dispatch services free owner-operators to haul freight while sparing them from much of the business of trucking. There are a lot of considerations in the dispatch service versus load board debate. The following is an objective tally of the pros and cons of a load board-only strategy versus the dispatch-service strategy. We at Trucker Path think we can toggle the debate pretty fairly as we offer both a <a href="https://truckerpath.com/truckloads/free-load-board/">load board</a> and a <a href="http://truckerpath.com/dispatch">dispatch service</a>. So whatever side you choose—no offense. Cost Considerations On the surface, self-dispatching is a no-brainer. It’s primarily free to use load boards. Dispatch services, on the other hand, charge for their services. Essentially, they charge for doing something an owner-operator can do themselves by checking the load boards, negotiating and booking freight. In working with a dispatch service, you’ll be giving up a portion of your hard-earned revenue. These companies typically charge from 5 to 10% of the income for the load. Other dispatch services charge a flat fee per load or per week or month. The flip side of this is that self-dispatching takes time which carries its own cost. For example, if it takes you three hours to find, negotiate and book a $3,000 load, it could cost you less to let a dispatch service do it for you. For example, if they charged a 5% fee or $150, based on the standard operational cost of trucking of $70 per hour, self-dispatching would cost you $210—$60 more!* On top of that, popular load boards are only free up to a certain number of loads, like five per day, for example. If a carrier wants to access more than that, they often have to pony up for a subscription. The Issue of Control With a load board, you have complete control in booking your own freight. You say where and when you’ll run. In contrast, a dispatch service decides which loads they bring you based on your preferred commodities and lanes. You may lose some say when it comes to the details but you can always reject the dispatch service’s load offers. You’ll also lose control over relationships. The dispatch service is interfacing with the shipper or broker so they in effect “own” the relationship. The trade-off is that in using a dispatch service you’ll gain more control over your schedule and how much time you spend on the road. The dispatcher handles the details of the load and manages customer care. If you want to just focus on driving, you may be happy to give up control of these chores. Negotiating Rates With load boards, it’s easier than ever to find freight, bid and book loads. But easier doesn’t always mean better. Consistently charging competitive rates still takes time and effort. The only way to do that is by maintaining a pulse of the market and knowing how far to push brokers. Someone who handles negotiations for a living is always going to be better at it than someone who does it less often. It’s a matter of experience. So a dispatcher has an advantage when it comes to getting the best rate from brokers. It’s not uncommon for a dispatcher to negotiate a load with a rate per mile 20%+ more than the national average, and that can more than cover the 5 – 10% cost of using a dispatch service. Dispatchers have the advantage of knowing going rates. They’re watching multiple load boards all day. Maintaining this breadth of vision is time-consuming for an owner-operator to achieve. Dispatching services work for the carrier, so it is their mission to make sure the carrier is paid top dollar in rate and maximizing accessorial fees according to industry standards. Business Development Load boards expose carriers to shippers and loads en masse. They make it possible to find new freight and be found by shippers by being listed on the load board. For an owner-operator to significantly grow their business, they need to take it to the next level by developing lanes and solidifying repeat loads. That takes time and effort that a small carrier may not have the stomach for. When it comes to business development, dispatch services provide an advantage. A carrier can save time and effort by plugging into a dispatcher’s existing network. By leveraging dispatchers’ connections, carriers can quickly establish themselves in lanes and land repeat loads. With a dispatching service, carriers also get someone to advise them on the lanes with the most opportunity and to help them navigate the ebbs and flows of the market. The Administrative Load If you’re running one or two trucks, a sticky-note system may work just fine—and it’s free. That can quickly change as you add drivers and vehicles and things get more complicated. One of the last things an owner-operator wants to become is a paper jockey. Especially for small, ambitious carriers, the burden can limit growth. A dispatch service can be worth its weight in gold when it comes to the additional services most provide. These include: assigning loads and scheduling drivers, maintaining hours of service records, managing weather delays or other issues, handling track & trace check calls, and ensuring drivers equipment and drivers remain in compliance. Billing and Cash Flow Any owner-operator knows cash flow is the key to success—but bill collecting is exhausting work, strains relationships with shippers and just wears on the independent soul of a trucker. With a self-dispatching strategy, you’re on your own unless you hire a bookkeeper or factoring company and then oversee them. In contrast, dispatch services often wrangle the paperwork associated with delivering and billing for a load. This paperwork duty can include getting invoices to the shipper or a <a href="http://www.tafs.com">factoring company</a>, doing collections follow-ups, and payment processing—perhaps the biggest load on carriers’ minds. What’s best? What’s best comes down to a business decision. The success of any owner-operator hinges on the numbers. If you opt to dispatch-it-yourself, just make sure you record how much time you’re spending and use our handy $70 per hour as a rule of thumb. You’ll know when it’s time to corral your costs, and there are plenty of dispatch services out there waiting to help. *American Transportation Research Institute’s 2021 estimate for the operational costs of trucking is $66.87 per hour, which we increased to $70 per hour to adjust for inflation.

Aug 31, 2022