Why fleet management and logistics companies can’t ignore SMS
Companies that manage large fleets and supply chains are responsible for coordinating thousands of deliveries every day across the U.S. Each moment a driver leaves or arrives at a store, supplier, or distribution center, there’s lots of time for communication to break down. Whatever the scale of a fleet management services, logistics, or supply chain management company, implementing communication features like SMS and voice can help improve operational efficiency and save your company time and money.
Building in-company apps for communication costs precious development time and money. Third-party communication apps have their own set of challenges and often can’t be tailored to the unique needs of a company. Tried and true SMS remains the best way to communicate with employees on the road and in the field.
Drivers can’t (and shouldn’t) text while on the road, so the use case involves texting drivers after their trucks are unloaded at distribution centers, allowing them to pick up their paperwork faster, get paid quicker, and get back on the road sooner. Whether your company’s drivers part of your fleet or contracted, getting their feedback helps promote efficiency. Companies can text drivers a survey or series of questions to ensure the experience at the distribution center was a good one (were they able to rest, take a shower, did the unloading and turnover process happen in a timely manner, etc.). So what value does it bring your company?
Improved operational efficiency
Your company’s time is paramount to its success, and saving time starts with streamlining processes on the road. Updates between employees in the field and those at home base create an environment where organization is a top priority.
Driver satisfaction and feedback
Tied closely to operation efficiency, drivers are on the front line of your business and understand where improvements can be made in the field. Their satisfaction is essential to efficiency. Two-way communication via SMS can be used to send and receive feedback surveys from the drivers, which in turn allows for improvements to be made to the distribution centers or headquarters. Drivers get paid faster and back on the road sooner. Plus, happy drivers = less employee turnover.
SMS communication can also help replace antiquated business practices, such as fleet offices still managing job schedules via a whiteboard. That process can be messy, confusing, and lead to missed shifts, deliveries, and ultimately affect your bottom line. Creating a system in which drivers continuously receive shift updates via SMS solves that problem.
Your competitors are doing it… or they will be
Texting isn’t going anywhere. The decades-old technology is undergoing a revolution. If your logistics company isn’t currently using SMS to manage fleet efficiency, ask yourself, “Why not?” A small amount of development time and cost upfront can lead to a big improvement on your ROI down the road. Companies including McLeod Software and Capstone Logistics are already seeing the benefits of utilizing a nationwide telecom carrier and API provider like Bandwidth by implementing SMS directly into their software and communications platform.
Interested to learn more about how SMS can benefit your fleet management business? Shoot me an email to get the conversation started.