[This  article  was  concepted  and  written  by  Chuck  Dando.    It  was  ghostwritten  for  Mr.  Bob  Rogers  of  *********  Software,  Inc.  after  an  interview  to  determine  the  topics  and  salient  points  needed  for  the  piece.    It  appeared  in  the  March  2003  issue  of  The  Logistics  Journal,  a  publication  of  the  Transportation  Intermediaries  Association]  

 

Are  you  a  Flintstone  or  a  Jetson?    

The  Stone-­‐Age  Fred  Flintstone  and  Space-­‐Age  George  Jetson  would  seem  to  have  little  in  common,  since  they  “lived”  thousands  of  years  apart.    But  look  closer  and  you’ll  see  that  they  do  indeed  have  something  in  common  –  both  live  and  breathe  as  truckers  and  transportation  brokers.  

What  we’re  talking  about  here  is  information  management  –  the  backbone  of  ANY  business.    Sure,  you  say  –  I’m  all  about  moving  freight.    Information  management  is  something  I  have  to  do  as  a  result  of  all  the  work  I’ve  done.    My  office  staff  has  been  managing  information  just  fine  for  the  past  10  years  –  I  know  everything  I  need  to  know,  pay  my  bills  on  time  and  make  a  decent  profit.  

Really?    Well,  Fred,  George  will  be  glad  to  hear  you  say  that  because  your  fossilized  remains  will  wind  up  as  roadbed  for  his  trucks  before  too  much  longer.    What  is  changing  in  the  transportation  industry  is  not  the  physical  business  of  moving  freight  –  trucks  pick  up  a  load  at  one  spot  and  take  it  to  another  and  they’ve  been  doing  it  that  way  for  a  long  time.    Real  change  is  occurring  in  the  economic  efficiency  of  finding  and  moving  those  loads  from  one  spot  to  another  and  how  a  firm  deals  with  all  of  the  information  that  goes  along  with  that  move.  

TRUTH:    Whether  you  are  a  trucker  or  a  broker,  speed  and  accuracy  in  moving  information  is  now  the  critical  component  that  determines  your  competitiveness,  your  speed  and  accuracy  in  moving  freight  and  your  profitability.  

The  keyword  you  should  know  in  order  to  change  yourself  from  a  Fred  Flintstone  into  a  George  Jetson  is  INTEGRATION.    Integration  is  the  flow  of  information  throughout  all  of  the  systems  you  need  in  order  to  fully  process  a  transaction  from  beginning  to  end.    Remember  how  George  Jetson  walked  into  his  kitchen,  pushed  a  button  and  POOF!  –  out  came  a  complete  meal  ready  to  eat?    George  had  a  fully  integrated  kitchen.    Today’s  software  programs  can  afford  you  the  same  luxury  in  terms  of  putting  together  and  distributing  the  information  necessary  to  fully  process  a  transaction.    With  the  proper  software  programs(s),  a  one-­‐time  data  entry  is  all  that  is  necessary  to  take  you  from  load  dispatch  to  delivery  to  payroll  to  billing  –  and  more!  

Software  programs  that  lack  integration  (the  ability  of  information  to  flow  from  one  program  to  another)  are  the  dinosaurs  of  business  today.    In  order  to  make  non-­‐integrated  systems  work,  you  need  staff  that  knows  how  to  operate  each  system  and  you  need  people  to  repeatedly  input  data  into  each  system  (remember,  they  are  not  integrated).    Repeated  data  input  requires  more  time  and  increases  the  chance  of  errors.    In  addition,  information  contained  in  one  system  may  never  make  it  to  another  system  –  say  between  dispatch  and  billing.  What  can  happen:    Dispatch  sends  a  truck  to  pick  up  a  load  for  a  customer  that  is  way  past  due  on  paying  his  

bills  to  you.    With  software  integration  and  the  information  flow  that  it  provides,  dispatch  would  get  an  immediate  heads-­‐up  on  this  past-­‐due  customer  before  sending  a  truck  that  would,  in  effect,  incur  another  debt  for  you  company.    Dozens  of  examples  of  this  nature  abound  within  your  organization.    Non-­‐integration  means  more  people  accomplishing  less,  using  more  time,  costing  you  more  money  while  committing  more  errors.    All  this  equals  lost  opportunities  and  less  profit.          

If  you  had  a  truck  that  was  balky  or  a  driver  that  consistently  took  too  much  time  to  make  his  deliveries,  you’d  replace,  or  “upgrade”  them,  wouldn’t  you?    After  all,  they  are  affecting  the  bottom  line  with  unnecessary  repairs  and  delays.    Sure,  the  truck  is  expensive  and  a  new  driver  needs  training,  but  over  the  long  run,  you’ll  be  much  better  off  and  your  profits  will  reflect  the  increased  efficiency.  

Non-­‐integrated  information  systems  are  doing  the  same  thing  to  your  profits  as  your  balky  truck  and  your  errant  driver.    If  you  are  thinking  of  an  upgraded  software  program  as  a  luxury  for  your  business,  perhaps  you’d  better  re-­‐assess,  Fred.    How  much  time  have  you  lost  to  correcting  data  entry  errors?    What  is  your  turn-­‐around  time  for  billing  customers?    How  many  extra  people  do  you  employ  to  do  payroll,  fuel  taxes,  dispatching,  accounting  and  maintenance?    Do  you  really  need  all  these  people?    How  many  orders  have  you  lost  due  to  these  inefficiencies?      

Just  as  that  new  truck  and  that  new  driver  will  increase  you  efficiencies  out  in  the  field,  so  too  will  a  fully  integrated  software  program  do  the  same  in  your  office.    The  return  on  your  investment  will  come  quickly  and  allow  you  to  grow  your  business  while  reducing  you  overhead.  

So,  Mr.  Flintstone,  if  you  want  to  become  a  George  Jetson,  here  are  the  key  factors  you  need  to  look  for  in  a  good  software  program:  

1. INTEGRATION  /  AUTOMATION:    Helps  streamline  your  total  operations.    When  the  same  data  can  be  used  for  all  functions  after  being  entered  into  the  system  only  once,  it  not  only  lowers  your  operating  costs  (fewer  people  are  needed  to  input  information),  it  also  decreases  the  potential  for  human  error,  reducing  misinformation  and  re-­‐work.  

2. USER  FRIENDLY:    You  will  see  a  return  on  your  investment  sooner  when  the  system  you  choose  is  easy  to  learn  –  when  it  makes  sense  –  when  processes  flow  from  one  function  to  another.  

3. INTERFACES  WITH  PRESENT  TECHNOLOGY:    Even  if  you  do  not  use  them  now,  buying  a  software  system  that  can  be  used  with  mileage  programs,  satellite  tracking,  in-­‐cab  communications,  EDI,  or  just  downloading  daily  fuel  card  transactions  will  allow  for  more  growth  in  your  company  in  the  future.  

4. MULTI-­‐TASKING:    The  ability  to  view  other  areas  of  the  program  (or  other  programs)  while  still  in  an  existing  window  can  be  useful  and  time  efficient.  

5. STRONG  CUSTOMER  SUPPORT  TEAM:    Knowledgeable  and  friendly  people  who  understand  the  software  as  well  as  the  trucking  industry  in  general  should  just  be  a  phone  call  away.    The  true  test  of  how  good  a  software  program  is  comes  when  you  need  assistance.    The  program  is  only  as  good  as  the  support  staff  that  backs  it  up.  

6. DEVELOPED  BY  A  STABLE  AND  REPUTABLE  COMPANY:    You  want  to  know  that  the  company  you  buy  your  software  from  today  will  still  be  there  to  help  you  tomorrow.  

7. COST  vs.  FEATURES:    A  new  software  system  should  not  be  just  an  expense  to  your  company  –  it  should  actually  help  you  gain  efficiency  and  thereby  save  you  money  over  the  long  haul.    Again,  look  for  integration  to  achieve  maximum  efficiencies  and  return  on  your  investment.