trucking software advice

As a note, I am a member of a "survival preparedness" forum which talks about situations where certain events lead to catastrophic situations and the need to "survive" rather than live. Imagine a Katrina situation or something of that kind.

What I would like to do with this software is create a fail-safe system in which OO will become the backbone of the nation, along with other major trucking companies.

I feel that two of the weakest links in our nation are the electrical grid and the trucking system, meaning if you take out one of those, the nation is in a very bad state. Now, I don't see an event causing all the trucks to stop running but I can see the possibility of them not being able to communicate with dispatch to find loads, this could be because utilities are down or the grid/electricity has failed.

If this situation happens, we would need truckers to be there to help get things back up and running by transporting their loads. The problem is how do they know where their loads are and if their are more important loads which are critical (say a new transformer needs delivered to a power sub station. Do you drop a load of windshield washer fluid in order to deliver the transformer??). How would you get this load info?

I know that all this can be over come very easily with modern software. But how do you do it without a computer and internet connection? You will have to make your truck your temporary office. Most truckers have power inverters and you can power a laptop or a netbook. With this you can use either a cell phone to get Internet connectivity or there are even satellite connections which can be easily mounted on a cab.

If a situation such as this were to happen, you would not be able to contact a broker for loads and there would not be any way of accurately determining importance of shipments. If a system such as mine were in place, truckers would be able to get the important loads shipped and delivered in a much more timely manner than the old archaic way which is almost like using "smoke signals".

Do any of you guys ever wonder about this type of thing? I know that you are all critical when natural disasters hit, such as Katrina, and are invaluable! Have you ever wondered how you would do what you do if communications were to go down or power were to go out?

 

Sort of a next generation "smart" load board? That will eliminate many brokers and dispatchers?? I LOVE it already!!

 

I think that is what it would be like. While I don't want to give away all my ideas, that is the jist of it.

What is the average broker fee per load and how much work do they actually do? Can anyone point me to or give me an overview of what a broker and a dispatcher actually does?

Also, if you could answer this question it would help a lot. If the OO gets "awarded" a load via a broker, what does the driver do? Just show up at the load/pickup location, then transport the load to the destination, drop-off/unload and then return home, possibly picking up a load on their return? I'm sure there is paperwork involved at each location but this can be taken care of easily. If the driver needs paperwork prior to arrival at either location, it can be sent wirelessly to him before arrival (he/she would need a printer in the truck, but that is a very simple matter and you can find a very small printer that is smaller than a notebook computer for less than $100)

If that is the case I could easily design a program and database that could eliminate the broker from the loop.

What is the average broker fee or how do they charge? In my vision, I see there being standard fees per load, type of load, priority loads, etc. This would be charged directly to the shipper and the driver would get whatever it is that they have pre-set as their fee or mileage. If there are any surcharges or "extras" that the shipper is providing say due to the increase of fuel costs, these are automatically passed on to the driver. There would be absolutely no way that my service would take anything away from the driver.

My goal is to provide a service and get paid for that service. I am in it to make a living for myself and emplyees but they would not be able to benefit from with-holding any extras the shipper is offering and it would be impossible for them to access these "extras". My concept works on volume and timeliness, not rates and percentages. This is the benefit of using a computer vs people. For every transaction between shipper and driver there will be three copies of paperwork, Shipper, Driver and my service (Maybe one for the recipient of goods as well, I guess it all depends upon who is paying the freight charge). There will be total transparency so everyone knows who that there is no money being with-held as I have read is often a problem with Brokers/agents (or is that not the case?).

Anyway, does something like this sound like it would be accepted in the industry? It sounds a little complicated but it isn't. Once the OO has input his information into the system the first time, he is pretty much good to go. There will be a need for them to update their schedule and if they need to change anything it is always best to do it as soon as they know the information. I all information will be accessible via the internet and I will probably have a setup where you can call a 800#, and make changes there via automated menus (yeah I know I hate these robo-phone operators, I may offer a premium service that has human staffed phones for the update info). If you can check your cell phone voicemail, you will be able to use our system.

Anyway, that is the basics of it. I guess the hardest part would be to get OO's to sign up for the service as well as shippers to adopt it. I would think that it would be a no-brainer for both if it would mean less work on both sides.

I don't know what the costs are for a service like this, but there may be an initial setup fee for the OO because our company will have to do a lot of checking on the driver, pulling records, getting copies of licenses etc. Basically whatever would go into hiring a driver plus a good bit more b/c we would do a fairly extensive work history review so we can match you with the loads for which you are best qualified.

Thoughts?

 

This is already in with the company I work for. We use a cadec with proprietary programs. All my loads and needed info is in this. When I deliver I enter all info in the cadec, it then goes to the corporate office and the customer has access to this info. I give a copy of bol to customer and off to the next load. 95% of the time I never talk to anyone since we are tracked and preplaned. Also run a paperless log book on this. You have a good idea for o/o but it still takes people to make it work, not to mention the computer probles I have sometimes when out wasting time gettin that junk fixed. Just an example from our latest stats. every 12 seconds someone where I work is making a delivery and the cadec makes everything move much faster. Their is also a big**** jumbotron in a room with a little red (me) dot watching all the trucks move across the good ole usa.

 

Running windows XP here...

There are already lots of on line load boards out there, how about an app that runs multiple on line load boards within a single application. Keep posting here, and getting the board members to bounce ideas. Eventually you will stumble onto a multi million dollar idea.

 

Thank you for the replies to the above posters! I really appreciate the advice you have been able to give about your industry. I'll keep reading and see if anything sparks my interest.

Thanks again for the suggestions!

 

Also you can use truckstops plus as an add on to MS streets and trips. It shows fuel stops, scale locations, truck friendly rest areas and low clearences plus a whole lot more.

 

What software do owner operators use to track and maintain your expenses while on the road? If you don't use software, how do you keep records?

 

i use quicken home and business. i have used it for years and have never had any issues.

 

I am old fasioned and just use a notebook that I only use for expenses and I keep the reciepts in an envelope. The envelopes are kept by month.