Every October, we spend a lot of time and money trying to scare ourselves. Whether it’s taking the kids out to Trick or Treat or teenagers heading for the local haunted house/factory/school, we seem to like being frightened. Until it comes to business. When you’re an owner-operator, being scared is as simple as finding out that your transportation management system isn’t doing its job.
Every trucking company needs a transportation management system.
Whether you run one truck or 1,000, you need an effective way to keep on top of invoicing clients, dispatching trucks, tracking vehicles, and paying your people. Manage these aspects of your business wisely, and you’ll enjoy greater profits and a growing enterprise. Fail to do so, however, and the results can range from needless aggravation to financial bankruptcy.
I can’t even say that one part of a transportation management system is more important than another. If you don’t have dispatches correct, you can’t have the right billing. When you don’t have the invoices correct, you can’t get paid. Don’t get paid and then you can’t maintain your rig. If you can’t maintain your rig, you can’t get a dispatch to haul a load.
See? It’s a giant circle.
Fortunately, things rarely go wrong in the business world without sending out warning signs first. You don’t have to be a college graduate from a big-name business school to know these signs.
You’re constantly struggling to stay on top of your obligations.
Here’s a short list:
- Filing IFTA taxes past the deadline,
- being late for deliveries,
- not sending out invoices in a timely manner,
- begging your people to wait until you have money to pay them, and
- living on credit cards month after month
are all alarm bells that may be telling you, “Something’s wrong. Time to pay closer attention to how you’re tending shop before it’s too late.”
You’re still using old-school methods to do business.
What worked even 10 years ago is outdated. The computer age has revolutionized the way the world works. While no technology is perfect, as a whole, the Internet has been a life-changing blessing for billions of people. But if you’re not incorporating the benefits it offers into your transportation management system, then you’re giving your competitors an edge over you.
Just look at modern billing practices. Back in the day, we used printed invoices and copies of bills of lading. We had to stop and calculate the fuel costs by hand.
Now we take pictures of the bills of lading and send them with our smartphones before we even pull out of the dock. Our invoices are emailed and arrive faster than a teenager can scream at a scary movie.
Companies want to work with contractors who use systems that work with theirs. If you’re still doing things the old way, you shut out a lot of opportunities.
Your people are unhappy.
Of course, simply working in the transportation industry can be stressful. Budgets are tight, deadlines are unforgiving, and the future always contains uncertainties. As an owner-operator, you’ve got a team working with you to help you – your mechanic, your bookkeeper, your family. If they’re not happy with how things are going, it’s a sure sign that you’ve got problems. However, many of these problems can be avoided or minimized with the right transportation management system. When you’ve got recurring problems causing low morale on your team, then perhaps it’s time to take a good, hard look at your current system. However, many of these problems can be avoided or minimized with the right transportation management system.
You find yourself wondering whether the challenges you face are more than you can handle.
No one wants to really be scared. We want “fun” scared, not really frightened. But when you’re awake at night and the gremlins of worry are poking at you… Nobody wants that.
The fact is, most people with average intelligence and a good work ethic can succeed in business.
The key is having the right tools on hand, such as an efficient transportation management system. That’s exactly what TruckingOffice software provides. Our product’s cutting-edge features automate hundreds of processes that once required tedious attention to details. TruckingOffice frees you from the little things, giving you more time to do the one thing that actually puts money in your pocket: driving a truck.
Find out how good our software is by taking it for a free 30-day test drive starting today. You’ll soon find it’s the ideal transportation management system for your needs.
Recent Comments