In trucking, Murphy is riding shotgun. If something can go wrong, it will, sooner or later.
Non-driving tasks usually go smoothly, from trip planning and ELD entries to completing arrival or departure forms and scanning delivery documents. However, they do fail. A driver might veer off route. A document might not be scanned. A compliance task could remain unfinished.
Even small mistakes like these can quickly become costly issues. They occur more frequently when using disconnected systems and manual processes.
That’s why more fleets are adopting custom mobile apps. The technology’s structured workflows and built-in checks ensure drivers complete tasks accurately and on time, inside and outside the cab. This keeps critical information flowing seamlessly between drivers and the office, without reminders or interventions.
Below are four ways fleets use custom mobile apps built on the Eleos platform to gain complete control and visibility of driver workflows, saving significant time and money.
1. Integrated Trip Planning
Poor or misguided trip planning puts drivers and their companies at risk. Mistakes are inevitable when drivers must gather routing details, fuel stops, traffic updates, weather forecasts, and hours-of-service limits from various apps and websites.
Each switch adds time and increases the risk of bad assumptions and misjudgments.
With Eleos’ integrated trip planning feature, fleets can consolidate all route variables into a single workflow. When a driver opens a new load assignment, all trip-planning information, including traffic conditions, weather alerts, HOS availability, and ETAs, can be configured to appear instantly.
Drivers can adjust their routes within parameters set by fleets, then proceed directly to turn-by-turn navigation.
The trip planning functions enable fleets to oversee drivers’ choices without micromanaging. Drivers see recommended routes and fuel stops based on cost, proximity, and remaining drive time, while retaining flexibility to make real-world adjustments.
Dispatch can step in, as needed, to reduce miles and fuel costs and prevent service failures. When configured correctly, drivers can complete their deliveries with little need to contact HQ.
2. Load-Specific Workflows
Each load has unique requirements. Hazmat, reefer, flatbed, fuel hauling, and specialized freight each have distinct compliance tasks, customer-specific check-in procedures, and documentation requirements.
Traditional workflows rely heavily on training and memory. When instructions aren’t delivered precisely when needed, steps get missed.
Custom mobile apps embed load and customer-specific tasks into the driver workflow. If a load requires temperature checks, the app prompts the driver to complete this task at designated times and locations. If hazmat is involved, required compliance steps appear automatically. If a customer has specific arrival or proof-of-delivery requirements, the workflow also enforces them consistently.
Solar Transport, a petroleum hauler, adopted a custom app from Eleos to help the Des Moines, Iowa-based fleet prevent fuel cross-drops, in which product is delivered to the wrong tank.
Its Eleos-powered app has loading and unloading checklists that prompt drivers to verify product types. It also has tank maps, hazard alerts, and site-specific instructions. This disciplined workflow resulted in a 52 percent decrease in cross-drops and a 33 percent reduction in driver turnover.
3. Automated Communication and Compliance
Costs and frustrations mount when managers handle driver calls to verify load details or resolve issues with paperwork, pay, and compliance.
Custom mobile apps eliminate this friction with structured, time- and location-aware workflows. Instructions appear exactly when drivers need them. Tasks follow a defined sequence. Required fields are validated before information reaches the office.
The Eleos platform links mobile workflows to back-end systems to digitally manage all steps of the load lifecycle, from dispatch updates to compliance tasks.
NAPA Transportation, a dry van, refrigerated, and flatbed hauler based in Mechanicsburg, Penn., leveraged an integration between its Eleos app and its telematics system to address a recurring compliance issue.
The fleet’s app hides trip details if drivers do not certify their electronic logs within 48 hours. Once they certify their logs, the trips reappear. This simple workflow adjustment immediately raised daily log certification from 25 percent to over 93 percent.
For safety-critical communication, fleets can use the Eleos platform to ensure drivers acknowledge vital messages. K&B Transportation, based in South Sioux City, Iowa, uses its custom app to issue severe-weather alerts that require confirmation, thereby increasing driver awareness and accountability. The fleet credits this system with helping reduce DOT-recordable accidents by 80 percent year-over-year.
4. Instant Document Capture
Delays in getting delivery documents from drivers directly affect billing and cash flow.
With an Eleos custom mobile app, fleets enable drivers to capture documents within their workflow and prevent them from advancing to the next load until all required documents are submitted. Built-in scanning tools ensure paperwork is accurately captured on the first attempt.
Eleos’s document scanning automatically cleans and straightens images before they enter billing systems, reducing exceptions and rework. Visual confirmation instantly lets drivers know when a scan meets standard.
Groendyke Transport, a bulk tank transporter based in Enid, Okla., uses this streamlined process to bill immediately after delivery. Drivers submit signed documents via their Eleos-powered app. If any fields are missing, the app prompts the driver to complete them before continuing. The result is faster billing cycles, on-time payroll, and improved cash flow.
Taking Chance Out of the Operation
Missed steps and preventable errors don’t have to be part of normal operations. With custom mobile apps, fleets can manage execution without micromanaging drivers.
This happens through workflows that automatically ensure critical actions are completed in the correct order, at the right time, every time. Drivers operate with clarity instead of guesswork.
With Eleos, you can quickly and easily create custom mobile workflows that guide drivers step by step to prevent missed tasks and automatically update your office systems.
Schedule a personalized Eleos demo today to see how your fleet can:
- Establish a clear structure for the driver’s workday
- Prevent missed steps, paperwork delays, and compliance gaps
- Improve execution without micromanaging drivers
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