Motive

Expressway Logistics, a family-owned trucking and logistics company based in Columbus, Ohio, was facing challenges in scaling its operations. The company was seeking a solution to prevent violations, improve compliance, and lower costs. The existing system they were using for compliance management was not user-friendly and did not provide a comprehensive view of the fleet's operations. The company was also spending a significant amount of time managing compliance, which was hindering their growth. The challenge was to find a solution that could automate compliance, improve safety, and enhance the efficiency of the fleet's operations.

Roush Industries, a global engineering solutions provider, faced significant challenges with its trucking division. The company's electronic logging devices (ELDs) were malfunctioning, leading to connectivity issues and incorrect driver-trip matching. This resulted in drivers sitting idle, leading to financial losses for the company. Furthermore, the inability to track hours of service (HOS) due to the faulty ELDs led to several HOS violations, tarnishing the company's reputation and causing legal complications. After 18 months of disruption, Roush decided it was time for a change.

Sabel Steel, a family-owned steel and scrap enterprise, was facing growing driver dissatisfaction with their electronic logging devices (ELDs). The ELD solution they were using from a well-known provider was proving to be costly, unreliable, and complex. The hardware was not dependable, and the user experience was complicated, leading to frequent complaints from drivers. Moreover, getting assistance from the provider's customer service was a time-consuming and difficult process. This situation was causing frustration for the DOT compliance and safety manager, Diane Woodruff. The company also faced a significant challenge when one of their trucks was forced off the road and into a ditch by a pickup truck, causing damage exceeding $120,000. Without video evidence to confirm their driver was not at fault, they had to rely solely on the driver’s testimony and the accident report.

Biagi Bros., a leading full-service trucking, warehousing, and 3PL company, was facing significant challenges with their existing fleet management solution. The company was dissatisfied with the evolution of the product and was experiencing issues with integrations, which was slowing down operations. They recognized the need to switch to a new provider but were under a tight timeline as they didn’t want to lose money by having drivers off the road during the onboarding process. The two main challenges they faced were the need for a high-performing integration with their transportation management systems (TMS) provider and a short window of less than three months to find the right solution and get it deployed.

Cargo Network Solutions, a truckload transportation service provider, was facing significant challenges with their electronic logging devices (ELDs). The ELDs were returning inaccurate results, leading to discrepancies that the drivers noticed immediately. The situation worsened when a malfunction led to the company being wrongly charged with an hours-of-service violation. This indicated that the ELD failures had become too expensive to ignore. Furthermore, the company was experiencing connectivity issues with their ELD and GPS devices, which was affecting their customer service. The inaccurate feedback from the fleet's technologies was interfering with driver performance and location accuracy. Fleet managers were having difficulty tracking vehicles over GPS, and drivers were reporting faulty ELDs.

Trade Star Energy, an oil and gas company based in Saint George, Utah, had a fleet of 196 drivers spread out over several states. The drivers recorded their logs on paper, which presented significant challenges for DOT compliance. The company's Senior Operations Manager, Kari Gibb, had to wait until the drivers returned to Saint George to drop off their logs. He then manually audited each log, checking for Form & Manner errors or Hours of Service (HOS) violations. The distance the drivers traveled, coupled with the slow audit process, resulted in many errors in the logs. Kari had evaluated electronic logs throughout his career, but found them either too expensive or not meeting the needs of an oil hauling carrier like Trade Star.

Sierra Mountain Express, an automotive hauler with a fleet size of 260 vehicles, was an early adopter of Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs). They had been using Rand McNally's ELD for years. However, when Rand McNally required a hardware change, Sierra Mountain Express decided to explore other options in the ELD market. Their goal was to find a modern, easy-to-use solution at a fair price. They evaluated five different ELDs before deciding on KeepTruckin.

Flying Star Transport, a company in the oil and gas industry, had been using Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) for 15 years. However, the proprietary environment of their former ELD provider was starting to limit their opportunities to integrate and innovate operations. Additionally, the hardware was becoming outdated and required a significant investment to replace. This led Flying Star to evaluate the current offerings in the ELD market. They found that many of the solutions lacked product maturity and felt like they were teaching trucking to some of the vendors.

ARL Transport was in search of an Electronic Logging Device (ELD) solution that their 450 owner-operators would find easy to use. They had previously worked with another ELD provider, but were dissatisfied with the lack of customer support. The company's high standards for customer service were not met by the previous provider, leading to the need for a new solution. The company's IT Director, Tom Lioi, and Logs and IFTA Professional, Ben Bonasso, began the process by asking their owner-operators what they wanted out of a solution. The overwhelming response was ease-of-use, with many stating they were already using the free KeepTruckin elog application for this reason.

Carolina Logistic, a general freight company with a fleet size of 450, initially adopted the Transflo Hours of Service app for their Electronic Logging Device (ELD) needs. However, they encountered issues with the mobile application during the rollout. As the mandate for ELDs was approaching quickly, they felt the need to find a solution they were more confident in. This prompted Carolina Logistic to re-evaluate their ELD options. They were looking for an easy-to-use and reliable mobile application with excellent customer support.

Miller Expedited Freight, Inc., a family-owned company with 21 years of experience in the trucking industry, was facing challenges in monitoring and improving the driving habits of their drivers. Before the implementation of the KeepTruckin Smart Dashcam, the company had to rely on the driver's description of any event or accident, which could be imperfect due to human memory. The company also faced safety concerns at certain facilities that were reported to be hazardous for entering and exiting their docks. The company needed a reliable and effective solution to these challenges.

Duncan Oil, a family-owned and operated company supplying fuel and lubricant products across the United States, was facing significant operational challenges as its fleet grew. The company needed a reliable fleet management solution to improve driver safety, especially given the environmentally hazardous materials they transport. They also sought to streamline compliance, fuel management, and dispatching to allow technicians to focus on customers rather than administrative tasks and workflow management. The company was grappling with issues such as vehicle theft, missed customer timelines, compliance fines, safety violations, vehicle downtime, and rising fuel costs. Their previous fleet management provider, Omnitracs, was not only failing to solve these challenges but also adding to the costs and causing significant vehicle downtime due to the need for hardware installation.

Interstate Power Systems (IPS), a company that sells high-quality services and products for physical industries, was facing a significant challenge in terms of fleet safety. The company was spending a large amount of money on an external safety consulting agency that was only storing driver files, rather than helping the company improve its safety measures. The company's safety manager, Bill Boyle, recognized the need for a better fleet safety solution. The challenge was further compounded by the Department of Transportation's Federal ELD mandate, which made it crucial for IPS to find a solution that not only improved fleet safety practices but also ensured compliance with DOT regulations.

JMS Transportation, a family-run trucking and logistics business, was facing a significant challenge as the ELD mandate was about to go into effect. Their original provider wanted them to purchase new hardware and undergo a time-consuming installation process. This was not feasible for JMS Transportation as 90% of their drivers were owner-operators. Additionally, the company was struggling with driver safety and coaching. Without the use of dash cams, they had to manually pull telematics reports every morning and coach drivers on events from the previous day. This reactive approach was inefficient and failed to prevent one or two accidents every month. Furthermore, the company was having difficulty tracking their large number of trailers, which was affecting their asset management.

Joseph Distribution, a logistics company based in Hanover, Maryland, was facing challenges in managing its growing fleet. Initially, when the company had only a few vehicles, it was manageable to log hours of service on paper logs, manually input data into an Excel spreadsheet, and update vehicle statuses on whiteboards. However, as the company and its fleet grew, these manual processes became time-consuming and inefficient. The company had split its operations between two teams, fleet and dispatch, which operated mostly independently of each other. David Wilkins, Director of Operations at Joseph Distribution, recognized the need to move beyond these manual processes to maintain the same level of service and communication.

Page Trucking, a family-owned and operated business for over 50 years, prioritizes driver safety and regulatory compliance. However, when the U.S. ELD mandate came into effect, the company faced a significant challenge. The mandate required the installation of Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) across its fleet to improve driver safety and ensure compliance with the Department of Transportation (DOT). However, this move was met with resistance from many of the company's drivers, who were veterans accustomed to paper logs and wary of new technology. Additionally, the Hours of Service (HOS) criteria for assigned routes did not account for certain safety nuances, such as the need for drivers to stop and sleep to avoid drowsy driving, or the option to take longer but safer routes to avoid traffic.

QFS Transportation, a trucking and logistics company with a fleet of around 700 drivers, was facing operational challenges. The company was struggling to streamline operations and improve efficiency with a small office staff. In addition to this, QFS was dealing with around 300 hours of service (HOS) violations each year, a problem they were keen to address. The company had tried a different ELD provider, but found the solution to be cost-ineffective and difficult for drivers, who had to figure out how to purchase their own compatible ELD hardware. This resulted in a lackluster driver retention rate and a higher-than-desirable number of HOS violations. QFS needed a solution that was cost-friendly, easy to use, and reliable to improve efficiency, reduce HOS violation rates, and improve driver retention.

Rosendin Electric, a leading electrical contractor in the United States, faced a significant challenge in ensuring the safety of its over 7,000 employees who frequently travel to and from hundreds of job sites across the country. The company, which prioritizes safety, recognized the need for a solution that would provide visibility into their projects and workers' driving behaviors, such as idling or personal usage of the vehicle. They also sought a way to provide real-time coaching to correct any risky behaviors, including cell phone usage, drowsiness, and speeding. Additionally, Rosendin needed a technology partner that could provide exoneration evidence when their employees were involved in an incident but were not at fault. With a fleet of over 1,200 vehicles, tracking the location and maintenance of their fleet was also a focus for Rosendin, as unauthorized use and theft of assets could be a costly challenge if not addressed.

Smart Chemical Solutions, a company that creates custom chemical solutions, was facing several challenges in managing their fleet operations. The company was struggling with managing fuel expenses, tracking vehicle expenditures, and streamlining administrative processes. Their previous spend management provider was unreliable, often leading to unexplained card declines or software issues that affected card usability. The lack of a centralized platform made it difficult to manage fuel and maintenance costs related to fleet management, including fuel consumption and compliance. The process was time-consuming and frustrating, especially when administrators needed to make updates to spend controls and had to rely on a third-party customer support line. To address these challenges, Smart Chemical Solutions was in search of a reliable fleet card solution that would provide discounts, comprehensive insights into fleet performance, and the necessary controls to manage their cards.

Southland Steel Fabricators, a family-owned business with a reputation for timely project completion and superior customer service, was facing challenges with its manual logistics operations. The company, which serves numerous prominent clients in industries ranging from oil and gas, chemical, refining, and power generation, to space exploration rocket structures and more, deploys as many as 10 trucks to carry out their operations. Despite investing heavily in its facilities and procedures, Southland Steel relied on manual logs and reports for its operations and brokered out its logistics. This led to important information falling through the cracks or getting misplaced, resulting in disorganized processes and unnecessary logistics costs. The pain of manual dispatch was particularly felt when the company landed a large contract for a job in Corpus Cristi, TX, necessitating a dispatch tool that could track their vehicles and assets across the 525 miles between the new job site and the company’s fabrication and galvanization plant in Greensburg, LA.