Freight and logistics companies must accelerate digital transformation to meet ever-growing customer expectations and survive volatile market conditions.
Outdated IT systems with limited connections are holding many companies back. A recent survey by Accenture found that more than three-quarters of freight and logistics leaders say the industry needs to catch up with innovation. Few have a roadmap for integrating and automating business and logistics processes to improve data accuracy, quality, and speed.
When evaluating technology suppliers, the speed of deployment is a crucial factor to consider. If a platform takes months of development and integration to fit your existing tech stack, it will likely be equally challenging to meet your changing business needs.
Fleets can quickly deploy a customized driver app using a SaaS-based platform, making adding new features to meet changing user needs and business demands easy.
This article explains why Prime, Inc. and US Xpress used a custom app platform rather than developing mobile software with internal resources. The platform is scalable for fleets of any size and seamlessly integrates with existing IT systems, giving fleets an agile and responsive way to adapt to ever-evolving needs.
A Swift Response to Driver Needs
Prime, Inc. is known for its commitment to excellence and customer service. As a large fleet, they were experiencing a growing backlog of driver requests for its custom app. They had the familiar challenge of prioritizing work for their internal software development team. They needed to respond to driver feedback more quickly to improve the driver experience and help them feel heard and understood.
Prime solved the problem by partnering with Eleos to create a custom app using its SaaS-based platform. The app platform allows non-technical team members to make impactful changes without extensive development efforts. Brianne Madura, Assistant Director of IT at Prime, highlights the transformative power of using the Eleos app editor.
“Eleos has made it super easy for us to give the drivers the features they need when they need them. We take their feedback and turn it into an actionable item,” says Madura. “I can rearrange the fields. I can make sure the colors fit our company’s needs. I can add buttons. I can target information to specific drivers. I can do all this informational work without using developer time.”
The Eleos web-based app editor is intuitive. Any changes from Brianne and other system admins, such as tweaking the driver interface or adding new features, can be immediately rolled out to the drivers without requiring lengthy prioritization meetings and development time. It keeps their team agile and lets them respond instantaneously when something changes. The platform helps Prime foster a communication culture by streamlining the update process, resulting in higher job satisfaction among drivers.
Building vs. Buying: A Cost-Effective Decision
US Xpress has internal development resources, so creating a new app from scratch was a viable option. However, after further evaluating the costs and benefits, management engaged Eleos.
The app platform from Eleos would be quick to deploy. US Xpress favored running a custom app in days rather than waiting weeks or months for a traditional build. Updating the app on the Eleos platform would be much easier. It would not require development resources to add features and functions they need now and in the future.
The fleet’s former senior director of IT credits the flexibility and integration strengths of Eleos for allowing US Xpress to develop sophisticated workflows and integrations without using internal resources. The ease of ongoing system maintenance was another cost-saving factor.
US Xpress deployed its technical resources on other projects since fleet administrators can handle app updates. The app’s scalability and ease of adding new functionality to meet the needs of drivers with prebuilt components and integrations were deciding factors.
The former IT director stated: “The result is an amazing custom application built to our specifications that our drivers love using, so it’s a win on all levels.”
Eleos Custom Driver Apps: A Catalyst for Efficiency and Profitability
The Eleos custom driver app platform shows the transformative power of combining digitization with speedy deployments and easy updates. The platform empowers fleets of all sizes and technical abilities to gain a competitive edge by responding promptly to all stakeholder needs.
Because the Eleos app is tailored using prebuilt components and existing integrations, a fleet can deploy it to all its drivers faster than building one from scratch. Additionally, the web-based app editor allows fleet administrators with minimal technical skills to update the app with new functionality as needed.
For example, one carrier using the platform quickly updated the app after a phone conversation with a driver. The driver mentioned how nice it would be to have weather alerts in the app to inform them of potential delays or inclement weather. A fleet admin on the call immediately got to work on the request and pushed the update through the app editor to all drivers before the call was over.
Another benefit to the speed and ease of updating the Eleos app is that carriers do not need to worry about including everything on their wish lists when first deploying their new app. They can update their apps as they go. For example, adding weather and traffic alerts, hours of service visibility, trip planning tools, or a rating system for drivers to find the best lunch spots or truck stops can be done anytime. The possibilities are endless.
The unique features of the Eleos platform give fleets a strategic advantage by responding to the needs of drivers, customers, and other stakeholders faster and more efficiently than competitors.
See for yourself how easy the Eleos platform is to deploy and update.
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