Trucker Tools Teams Up With EROAD To Enhance Shipment Visibility Data

Integration will enable users of Trucker Tools load tracking to incorporate permission-based location data from truckers that have installed EROAD’s electronic logging devices (ELDs)

Reston, VA and Portland, OR (PRWEB) - Trucker Tools announced today an agreement with EROAD, which provides fleet management and Electronic Logging Device (ELD) solutions to the trucking industry, for real-time truck location data generated by vehicles equipped with EROAD’s ELDs. EROAD is one of the transportation industry’s largest ELD providers with tens of thousands of trucks utilizing its equipment and services.

Portland, Oregon-based EROAD’s technology solutions provide a variety of hardware and software resources and services including fleet tracking, fleet telematics and maintenance, in-cab cameras, electronic hours of service (HOS) recording, driver safety monitoring, coaching and management, and compliance with Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration reporting requirements.

Under the agreement, Trucker Tools and EROAD are building out an integration that will deliver real-time GPS-based truck location data from EROAD ELDs, along with vehicle and driver information, into the Trucker Tools visibility and carrier relationship management platform. The integration is being designed with opt-in permission-based rules which enable drivers and fleets to control data sharing, noted Norm Ellis, president, North America for EROAD.

Ellis cited proactive outreach from customers as the incentive for the collaboration. “We have many shared customers who asked us to pursue this integration,” he said. “Real time freight visibility is absolutely top of mind with shipper and brokers. The demand for constantly updated insights into delivery status and load sourcing is more intense than ever. They want any and all accurate data they can get on trucks in transit, especially with logistics networks as crammed as they are today.”

EROAD’s customer base includes a large number of mid-market truckload fleets, typically those with 20 trucks or less, both for-hire truck lines as well as private fleets. That market focus aligns well with Trucker Tools, which also has targeted the same truckload fleet demographic, as well as independent owner operators, for its digital freight matching, one-click simplified automated booking, automated load tracking and carrier relationship management, explained Prasad Gollapalli, Trucker Tools founder and chief executive.

“ELDs are yet another source of visibility data that can improve and enhance intelligence about shipments in transit, and how to manage them,” he noted. “This initiative responds implicitly to requests of customers who want to gain additional utility and value out of the rich data gained from their investment in ELD technology.”

Currently, Trucker Tools brokers and participating carriers collaborate over the Trucker Tools Mobile Driver App, which was launched in 2013 and to-date has been downloaded by more than 1 million truckers. Among the app’s features is a visibility function which, utilizing the embedded GPS capabilities of the driver’s smartphone, provides automated in-transit location updates as frequently as every 15 minutes.

With the EROAD integration, truckers and fleets that have installed EROAD devices will be able to choose the EROAD ELD or the Trucker Tools app as the platform for transmitting tracking data. It also introduces into the Trucker Tools network, visibility data from carriers who have EROAD ELDs but are not utilizing the Trucker Tools mobile driver app for tracking, Gollapalli explained.

“Our overall objective is to continue adding integration partners and services that make it that much more convenient for truckers to provide accurate, comprehensive and timely tracking data, within a secure network, while allowing drivers and fleets to maintain control. This addresses one of the most common complaints of drivers -- getting ‘where’s my load’ check calls from brokers at all hours of the day,” Gollapalli added.

The truckload market has some 500,000 small carriers operating 10 trucks or less, as well as tens of thousands of independent owner-operators. In this highly fragmented, capacity constrained market, drivers want “all in one” mobile-based platforms that provide broad connectivity, reduce downtime, and cut down on manual response to shipper and broker requests. The Trucker Tools Mobile Driver App addresses this imperative, featuring 17 of the most sought-after tools and resources dispatchers and drivers want for managing their business. It remains one of the transportation industry’s most downloaded apps each month.

The Trucker Tools mobile app is available for both Android- and Apple-powered smartphones and is provided free of charge to independent truckers and small fleets.

About Trucker Tools:
Trucker Tools, based in Reston, Va., is the leading provider of trip planning, shipment visibility, predictive freight matching and automated booking solutions for the transportation industry. Its ground-breaking Smart Capacity® platform uses accurate, real-time data and powerful algorithms to optimally match freight by predicting when and where capacity will become available, days in advance. The company’s popular driver smartphone app has been downloaded by over 1 million owner operators and small-carrier fleets to access information and services conveniently while on the road. Included in the smartphone app is Book It Now®, the industry’s first digital load booking app that automates and streamlines the load search and booking process for drivers and brokers, saving time and money. Trucker Tools load tracking solution is a robust feature in the app that connects drivers with carriers and freight brokers, automating the provision and collection of real-time shipment tracking and eliminating manual check calls. Visit Trucker Tools at http://www.truckertools.com or contact us directly at: sales@truckertools.com.

About EROAD:
EROAD’s purpose is safer, more productive roads. We develop and market technology solutions to manage fleet operations, support regulatory compliance, improve driver safety and reduce the costs associated with operating fleet vehicles and assets. We create applications that improve visibility into operations, reduce paperwork and help businesses operate efficiently and profitably. EROAD has operations in New Zealand, North America and Australia with customers ranging in size from small fleets through to large enterprise customers. For more information visit http://www.eroad.com.