Choptank Transport uses the Load Track platform from Trucker Tools for real-time shipment visibility.Choptank Transport, one of the nation’s top third-party logistics firms, announced it has chosen the automated Load Track platform from Trucker Tools to achieve higher levels of shipment visibility, customer service and carrier satisfaction.
Choptank Transport is a full-service logistics provider that specializes in truckload and less-than-truckload shipments of refrigerated and dry freight as well as flatbed shipping and intermodal transport.
“Trucker Tools understands the fast-paced, rapidly changing logistics industry. They have been very responsive to our needs as we continue to evolve our supply chain visibility technology,” said Geoff Turner, president and chief executive officer of Choptank Transport, based in Preston, Md.
Turner is the immediate past Chairman of the Transport Intermediaries Association (TIA), an organization for 3PL professionals in North America.
Choptank Transport recently added Load Track to its freight tracking service options and found the platform offered more frequent location updates with precise tracking methods as compared to some of the others it has used.
The Load Track platform is embedded in the Trucker Tools driver smartphone app to capture real-time shipment locations using the GPS on drivers’ phones. The tracking process begins when a driver is dispatched to pick up a load and continues, uninterrupted, to the final delivery.
“We don’t want to track drivers,” explains Paul Wood, director of Carrier Services at Choptank. “We want to track our customer’s freight. That is an important distinction to make.”
The frequency and precision of the tracking information has allowed Choptank Transport to proactively ensure on-time customer service and decrease manual “check calls,” explains Adam Wheatley, director of logistics.
Choptank Transport uses Load Track as an integrated feature with its PowerBroker transportation management system from McLeod Software to give users instant visibility of locations, arrival and departure events, among other advantages.
The company also uses custom forms in the Load Track feature of the app to prompt drivers to capture shipment data for case counts, trailer seal numbers and trailer temperatures. Drivers can also instantly message dispatchers with exceptions or concerns about the shipment and capture images of proof-of-delivery documents.
“The ability to communicate with drivers through the app has been very nice,” Wheatley says. “For example, we have had drivers send us pictures of the loading or unloading facilities to let us know they are backed up at the gate and what time they expect to depart.”
The free Trucker Tools app has been downloaded by more than 420,000 drivers and offers trip planning features to locate truck stops, truck washes, weigh scales and fuel prices along routes as well as truck-specific navigation. Choptank Transport said the features have helped the company gain fast adoption of Load Track technology among carriers and drivers.
“We are honored that Choptank Transport, one of the most respected 3PLs in the transportation industry, has chosen Trucker Tools as a trusted technology partner,” said Prasad Gollapalli, founder and chief executive officer of Trucker Tools. “We embrace the challenge of meeting the ever-changing and evolving technology needs of our customers in the transportation and logistics industry.”
