4 Ways Top Fleets Use Custom Apps to Digitize the Driver Workload

Are your drivers using modern office tools to handle the growing volume of trip data and documents? If not, they could lose productive drive time and make costly errors when handling proof-of-delivery receipts, load permits, and other safety, compliance, HR, or vehicle maintenance tasks.

Drivers need to access documents and media inside and outside the cab. The best way to maximize their productivity and job satisfaction is to provide a single app with everything they need to complete non-driving tasks quickly and efficiently.

This blog explores four ways fleets do just that by using custom apps to simplify and streamline the daily workload for drivers.

1. Centralize Information Access

Many fleets use a custom app platform to consolidate their tech stack and provide drivers with all the tools for the job. The platform’s pre-built components and connections with back-office and third-party systems help accelerate development and deployment.

For example, Knight-Swift Transportation built its custom app with the Eleos platform. One of many features in the app is a document library that gives drivers fast, convenient access to information about their loads, equipment, and other topics.

“With our custom app, drivers can get the information they need, when they need it, without it being in some cryptic macro message system that’s not formatted very well. The Eleos app has a nice visual format and has been a real game-changer for our drivers,” said Jim Field, VP of Mobile Communications for Knight-Swift at the time.

After using the Eleos platform to solve numerous business challenges at Knight-Swift, Field recently joined Eleos Technologies as President.

2. Simplify Training

Fleets with custom driver apps can also facilitate on-demand training by creating integrated workflows with other systems. For example, when a driver is assigned a new trailer with a refrigeration unit that he or she has not previously used, the fleet’s custom app could have access to instructional videos about operating the specific make and model of equipment.

This is precisely what NAPA Transportation does with its custom app. The Mechanicsburg, Penn.-based fleet has over 400 trucks powering its mix of dry van, refrigerated, and flatbed operations. NAPA’s custom driver app has an extensive media library, and the company leverages the app’s media APIs to automatically retrieve specific files for drivers based on their truck or trailer type and display them on a simple webpage in the fleet’s mobile app.

If dispatch assigns a different tractor or trailer unit to a driver, the content the driver sees in his/her app changes to align with the new assignment.

3. Digitize Documents

One of the most significant benefits of using custom apps is eliminating manual, paper-based processes. This accelerates return on investment on several fronts.

Ezzell Trucking developed a custom app on the Eleos platform using pre-built components, such as document scanning, to automate processes. The app provides real-time messaging and shipment tracking information to help dispatchers keep drivers moving. Since the app’s implementation, Ezzell drivers have eliminated as much as 60 minutes of dwell time per load, reducing engine idling and increasing revenue by getting drivers back on the road quicker.

Another fleet that has benefitted from going digital is Groendyke Trucking. Before using a custom app, drivers often took three days or more to return paperwork, slowing the billing cycle and requiring follow-up from dispatch. Groendyke built a custom app with Eleos that allows drivers to scan and submit their documents in real-time, improving the process and getting everyone paid faster.

“We now have a feature to automatically message the driver within 12 hours that we didn’t receive their paperwork—and which pieces we did not receive,” said IT Director Cory Nakvinda.  “They will see a to-do task with a scan button, and it will also bring in the document ID. So, all the driver has to do is hit the button, take a picture of the document, hit send—and go on with their job. The paperwork is submitted in real time, and we can accurately match the data in our TMS and kick off our back-end billing processes. The platform has improved our efficiency.”

4. Overhaul Compliance

In addition to speeding the billing process, custom driver apps assist fleets in digitizing compliance-related documents. Fleets can use pre-built integrations with ELD systems to identify drivers out of compliance and create proactive workflows that ensure drivers verify their logs among other routine tasks.

At NAPA, nearly 75% of drivers were not verifying their logs within the required timeframe. This created risks for the company and drivers. NAPA needed a creative solution to ensure drivers verified their logs on time and remained compliant. By pulling data from its telematics system into its custom driver app powered by Eleos, NAPA quickly identified drivers who were out of compliance. They could then quickly and automatically remove upcoming trip details for non-compliant drivers. Once drivers submit log verifications, their trip details reappear so they can be on their way.

“This has resulted in a new habit where drivers now understand if they don’t verify their logs, they’re not going to be able to move trips,” said NAPA’s IT Director, Jim Brighton. “Drivers out of compliance is approaching 0%.”

Fleets can also use custom apps to alert drivers to expiring documents for licensing, load permits, and more to boost compliance and safeguard Compliance, Safety & Accountability (CSA) scores.

The Benefits of Using a Custom App Platform

Custom apps offer seamless, integrated solutions for drivers and fleets to manage various data, documents, and media content. With a centralized app platform, fleets can eliminate paper and simplify processes for driver training and compliance to give drivers more time behind the wheel earning revenue.

The success stories of companies like Knight-Swift, NAPA, Ezzell, and Groendyke underscore the benefits of embracing custom driver apps powered by an innovative, cloud-based platform.

The Eleos platform offers numerous pre-built components, such as high-quality document scanning, for drivers to accurately submit load documents and trip receipts. Features like real-time reporting, automated workflows, and easy log verification can improve operational efficiency further.

Schedule a demo to see how the Eleos platform can be tailored to your needs to streamline document management, reduce administrative costs, improve compliance, and enhance fleet and driver performance.