10 Reasons to Consider a Transportation Management System

If your business is involved in transportation, retail, distribution, manufacturing, e-commerce, or third-party logistics, you are probably already aware of this. A Transport Management System (TMS) is a logistics platform that enables customers to monitor and improve their transportation fleets’ everyday operations. Its major responsibility is to organize and execute the actual transportation of products.

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Read Also: “Best Transportation Management Systems in 2022”

How can I choose a transport management system?

The following are some of the characteristics that a Transport Management System normally includes and that you should examine before making a decision:

  • Route Optimization — We will use logistics management software to determine the most cost-effective routes. It does this by using existing traffic data, maps, road speeds, fuel prices, and modal constraints, saving you time and petrol.
  • Carrier Selection – A typical TMS will automatically choose the best carrier and method of delivery for each delivery, hence streamlining your procurement process.
  • Contract Management — Additionally, the platform should enable real-time tracking of your existing terms and agreements with specific carriers. Additionally, some will indicate the entire cost, enabling you to choose the most cost-effective carrier.
  • Consolidation of Shipments – You may further reduce transportation costs by scheduling and organizing shipments in the most efficient sets possible, increasing load consolidation.
  • Freight Estimates, Settlements, and Payments — Your TMS software should also be capable of calculating delivery charges depending on the shipment method, distance traveled, and weight of the goods. Similarly, it should enable your accountants to work on all bills, produce payments and vouchers, assign expenses, minimize associated mistakes, and account for match-pay settlement tolerances.
  • Tracking and Tracing Capabilities — Your TMS platform must provide real-time data sharing between the carrier, the customer, and the distributor.
  • Product Visibility and Shipping Support – Complete product visibility is critical since it enables you to monitor the progress of your shipment from start to end. Additionally, you may be able to rate and route your deliveries in certain circumstances.
  • Warehouse and Yard Management – The package should also provide real-time warehouse facility information in cargo dispatch. Similarly, the system should allow you to monitor truck and trailer travel across your production, distribution, and storage sites.
  • Risk Management – By automating your auditing procedures and enabling the creation of cross-border reports, you can eliminate needless national and international shipping risks.
  • Business Data Analytics – This system should also have analytics capabilities to help you spot patterns and optimize operations and processes.

Read Also: “Top Features of Employee Transportation Management System”

How can I choose a transport management system?

Apart from these basic characteristics, certain Transportation Management Software may contain more sophisticated capabilities. These may take the shape of big data analytics and cloud-based SaaS applications that enable you to outsource freight data and third-party logistics.

Similarly, a TMS may increase cooperation between departments and team members, increasing ROI and lowering shipping costs. As previously said, you should choose Transportation Management Software that complements and expands on your present skills.

What is the importance of logistics management?

Proper logistics management entails optimizing procedures to increase income, decrease manual work, make educated choices, and surpass customer expectations.

Enhancement of consumer pleasure

Consumers want improved service, necessitating the need for shippers to ensure quick, accurate, and high-quality delivery. A sound management approach focuses on optimizing transportation procedures and minimizing interruptions. As a consequence, customer satisfaction suffers as a result of this. Improved customer service may help a corporation’s brand develop a good reputation and create more revenue.

Additionally, a well-organized and efficient freight transportation procedure may dramatically improve the customer experience and surpass shippers’ expectations. Finally, well-managed logistics leads to a pleasant client experience as a whole.

Enhances efficiency

Logistics planning improves your company’s productivity. Your business can appropriately store supplies with on-site logistics planning while easily finding them. As a result, you’ll be able to increase transaction speed and company activity.

Visibility

It is critical to establish visibility across a business’s supply chain. Advanced transportation management systems (TMS) evaluate past data and monitor the in-and-outflow of commodities from enterprises in real-time. Logistics managers may utilize this data to guide optimization decisions and avert interruptions. TMS data analysis helps a business run more effectively while acquiring operational knowledge.

Savings on costs

Managing logistics enables a business to maintain control over incoming freight, maintain ideal inventory levels, coordinate the reverse flow of products, and route freight to the most cost-effective means of transportation – all of which may result in considerable cost savings. Inbound freight may account for around 40% of total supply chain expenses, implying that effective logistics management enables shippers to capitalize on hidden cost reduction potential.

Which type of ERP is better to maintain a logistics company?

ERP systems help businesses manage their logistics, finance, operations, and inventories more effectively via a centralized system, eliminating mistakes and increasing efficiency.

Optimization of Inventory

Both underproduction and overproduction are bad for any business. To save expenses, it’s critical to have the correct mix and amount of goods on hand. An ERP system enables you to plan production and supply requirements efficiently.

Visibility

As a well-integrated and comprehensive solution, ERP software can make it simple and fast to extract critical information from the system to acquire real-time insight into the health of a firm. Additionally, it may share this information with other third parties, such as suppliers.

Savings on costs

Bear in mind that coordinating various inventory management procedures saves time by smoothing out production bottlenecks and helps a business save money via improved inventory planning. Additionally, an improved organization might result in increased customer satisfaction.

Accurate Financial Reporting

It’s worth mentioning that inventory is a critical component of a business’s financial reports and statements at practically every stage. Whether it is work in progress, completed commodities, or raw materials, all inventory types have a monetary value that must be properly accounted for. In this aspect, ERP systems ensure that yearly reports and corporate tax returns are current and correct. 

Read Also: “Top 5 Ways to Reduce Employee Transportation Cost Using a Management System”

How can I choose a transport management system?

How does ERP drive the transportation industry?

ERP software helps a transportation organization handle critical business operations such as resource management and customer satisfaction, transportation optimization, logistics management, and procedures for optimal efficiency, customer loyalty, and profitability. ERP is altering the transportation and logistics business in the following ways:

Vendor/Customer Portal: To keep vendors and customers connected and informed, ERP software includes a vendor/customer portal that enables fast account access and visibility into the status of all logistics. All communication is connected to ensure that consumers/partners are informed through SMS or email.

Scheduling Maintenance: As previously said, transport vehicles and infrastructure are assets that need regular maintenance. The only maintenance issue is that if it is not scheduled correctly, it may significantly impact the company. ERP software enables you to maintain complete control over all critical business activities.

Real-Time Tracking: While traveling, it must monitor cars in real-time to keep consumers informed. It provides vital business insight to a logistics company. Additionally, real-time monitoring becomes simpler and quicker with smartphone integration.

Optimize Inventory Control: Inventory management is critical for every transport operation. The introduction of an ERP system allows the transportation business to examine orders, delivery, and sales from a centralized place. It even shortens the time between order and shipping. Transport organizations may use these technologies to manage incoming and outgoing orders and detect out-of-stock goods. Additionally, mobile ERP may make it simple and enjoyable.

ERP Simplifies Distribution: ERP also simplifies distribution. It helps freight forwarders to manage their distribution flows effectively. ERP takes advantage of data gathered from social media and internal databases to expedite delivery. It enables suppliers, distributors, drivers, and merchants to communicate in real-time regarding traffic, client addresses, and so on.

Human Resource Management: ERP is a wonderful tool for human resource management. As such, freight operators may use the program to monitor work hours and break periods and gather data for evaluating employee performance. Additional security features such as data backups for personnel, payroll, and attendance are included in the mobile ERP system for the logistics business.

Employee turnover is often higher in the logistics business than in other industries. ERP systems have evolved into a critical component of freight operators’ operations, streamlining distribution flow, inventory management, and personnel management.

Read Also: “Top Employee Transportation System Companies in the World”

Why is a transport Management System necessary?

Instant gratification is ingrained in the consumer’s mindset nowadays. Whatever the customer wants, he desires it in stock and immediately.

Overhead shipping expenses have surpassed even basic expenditures such as direct and indirect salaries or utilities for most multi-channel enterprises. The bottom line is significantly impacted whether a corporation has sophisticated logistical or simple transportation requirements. According to a recent Pitney Bowes estimate, package shipments would increase at a pace of 17% to 21% per year between 2017 and 2021.

By 2022, same-day delivery will raise logistics expenses as a proportion of revenue by up to 50%. As a result, businesses are increasingly searching for every possibility to contain rising transportation costs while maintaining overall service quality.

With supply chains scrambling to keep up with the Amazon Effect, selecting an efficient Transportation Management System (TMS) is critical.

TMS systems come in various flavors, ranging from more typical on-premise TMS solutions to network TMS solutions. A well-implemented TMS may streamline your core processes and completely revolutionize how your organization operates.

Here’s how:

1. Enhancement of cash flow

A solid transportation management system may significantly assist a corporation in lowering shipping expenses. The appropriate system will do a financial analysis of each logistical route. It will provide user-specific recommendations on saving costs in certain areas, such as fuel use or driver overtime.

2. Planning and Execution Integrated

The latest generation of transport management systems interfaces seamlessly with current systems critical for efficiently managing a company’s transport demands. These include the following:

  • Systems for purchasing and order management
  • Management of warehouses
  • Relationship management with customers
  • Management of Supplier Relationships

This connection enables the organization to ship orders via the most cost-effective carrier available. It provides the organization with improved route planning and load optimization. Order planning and execution will be improved and accelerated.

3. Minimal Documentation

Administration costs are significantly reduced. Automating all accounts with a TMS saves valuable time and money wasted on cumbersome paperwork. Incorrect billing or invoice mistakes are avoided while overall efficiency increases.

4. Inventory management

Businesses may track the progress of orders and shipments in real-time with TMS. It provides users with an accurate prediction for inventories and increases the supply chain network’s responsibility. Additionally, some network-based TMS systems include additional inventory management solutions (such as VMI and MEIO) that operate in conjunction with the TMS, enhancing the efficiency and intelligence of both the inventory solution and the TMS.

5. Visibility of the supply chain

Transport Management Systems of the future, which integrate across the supply chain, give a bird’s eye perspective of the complete supply chain system. Having complete operational insight and real-time data from all systems is a significant benefit. It allows managers to take immediate action on any opportunities or concerns that may develop. It maintains you in the good graces of your clients without jeopardizing performance.

6. Enhanced Routing through Pool Distribution

Order cycles have decreased in length, while shipping quantities have decreased in size. As a consequence, routing has never been more crucial. The correct TMS enables customers to deploy pool distribution, a more cost-effective and time-efficient form of delivery that provides more visibility and control. The user determines which shipments should be picked up or delivered by selecting the optimal pool location. Complex orders are decomposed and routed independently, which saves time and money.

7. Tracking Drivers While They Are on the Road

Driver monitoring allows users to evaluate the efficiency of various routes used by drivers, which may aid in the creation of a more effective timetable. Additionally, we may evaluate individual drivers. The user may monitor their efficiency and offer input on areas for improvement. Additionally, real-time monitoring offers significant safety advantages, particularly in the event of an accident.

8. Accurate Order Fulfillment

With a dependable transport management system, shipping becomes more precise. With real-time monitoring and complete insight into the supply chain, order fulfillment accuracy improves significantly. Shipping problems and inconsistencies are eliminated using the program. And even if small snags occur, we may fix them without adversely affecting the consumer.

9. Enhancing the Customer Experience

Today’s clients expect lightning-fast delivery, order revisions at the last minute, and tailored delivery timeframes, among other things. They do not only expect it; they see these services as an integral component of each order they make. It’s a significant challenge for firms to change their processes to match customer expectations. TMS, more precisely next-generation tier-1 transport management systems, come into play. TMS will connect order management and warehouse management systems. It will assist in consolidating all client orders to identify the most cost-effective carrier. Customers and businesses alike benefit from this arrangement.

10. Recurring Clientele and Referrals

A properly configured TMS saves you time and money. It increases the overall productivity and efficiency of your business. Increased customer satisfaction with TMS also increases the possibility of recommendations. Most significantly, each factor above adds to your firm’s ultimate goal: recurring business. You want clients to pick your services continually, and the correct transport Management System will guarantee that they do.

Conclusion

A Transportation Management System is a critical piece of equipment in every business’s armory. A TMS is required to stay up with the ever-changing corporate environment. While the pace of savings may initially be moderate, the incremental gains will snowball into better company operations and fulfillment of consumer expectations.

Employee Transportation Manager App – Savior of Transport Managers

Transportation managers have plenty of responsibilities on their shoulder comparing to the other jobs associated with employee transportation. But with the help of a transportation manager app managers can manage tasks, set up routes, schedules  & track the entire movement of the fleet from their finger tips.

They have to oversee the entire working process of the fleet and have to make sure that it’s being run efficiently and securely. Moreover,  flows should be designed by him to ensure maximum efficiency.

Being a transport manager is indeed a headache. If it is in the case of big organization (1000 plus employees) the pain would be unimaginable.

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Luckily technology has now come to their rescue in the form of transportation manager app.

Let’s see how it helps a transportation manager

  • Tracking the vehicle:

    Tracking vehicles in a transportation manager app is a piece of cake. The details and visualized route map can be availed in a hand held the device and complete details regarding the journey will be on the tip of a manager’s finger. Unscheduled halts and deviation will be notified to the manager so that he can take swift action.

  • Communication:

    Driver’s mobile phone which has the driver app can be connected to the Bluetooth communication system inside a vehicle so that directions of managers will be audible and won’t cause any hindrance to the driving.  Managers will be able to communicate with drivers as well as employees through this app. Improved communication will ensure that unfortunate incident won’t happen.

  • Organized and optimized travel experience for the passengers:

    The Transport Manager App ensures that each and every pick up and drop off point is in accordance with the schedule.  The number of passengers inside the bus and their whereabouts can be easily tracked via the app. Routes optimization is the key aspect of employee transportation to ensure safety as well as to save money for an organization.

  • Assigning pick up and drop off point:

    Pick up and drop off points can be manually set in the software so that drivers will be able to efficiently carry out the transportation.

Read Also: “How To Tackle Major Issues That Are Affecting Your Fleet Business”

  • Security Check:

    Transportation management system can be integrated with RFID card reader for security check and to ensure that an employee has used company transportation or not. This feature assures safety for the employee and can prove to work wonders on employee satisfaction feedback survey.

  • Notifications:

    Various notifications can be sent to the employee as well as the drivers regarding sudden alteration in route or even the vehicle. Updated pick up points can also be notified to them in accordance with the change.

  • Cut down the cost:

    Transport Manager App can be the key to cutting down the cost of employee transportation of any organization. What the app does is that it will increase the efficiency of employee transportation by optimized route, reduce vehicle engine idling, notify proper maintenance etc.

  • Control over the hardware:

    One of the astounding features of a Transport Management system is that it can be integrated with hardware of choice. The hardware will be able to send data to the app and the Transport manager app with its complex algorithm can convert this data to a simplified form for the user.

Employee Transportation & its Impact on Productivity & Business

Be it any sector, Employee Transportation and its Impacts has always played a cardinal role in the success of it. But that doesn’t mean that employees will work in maximum productivity despite bad transportation facilities.

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Imagine starting your day with fatigue and negativity, obviously, productivity will be affected gravely. Added to that, Employee transportation plays a major role in burn out percentage and in employee satisfaction survey.

Good Transportation facilities are crucial for employee retention

However, there are organizations that beg to differ and still wonder why their employees are sluggish or maybe leaving their company.

Let’s discuss how Employee Transportation and its Impacts can affect productivity in detail and throw some light on the issue.

Ways hectic commute will affect an employee

Hectic commute, the kryptonium to the super man in you: Every employee has been through that cursed day where everything goes wrong from the punch-in time to the punch-out time. By the time when you are about to leave you will feel that u were in the midst of a battle.

This is the exact feeling when an employee is caught in between the hustle of a bad transport in the morning. The hectic morning journey will poke a hole in the positivity inside you, slowly draining it to the full by the time your reach office.

Thinking about going back home: Latest research has found that issues in transportation raises absenteeism by 16% and is the main reason why employees arrive late and leave early. It was also mentioned in the research that employees who arrives late will be thinking about going back home to get leisure time and to avoid the hectic traffic that’s common in the evening.

The slow poison: According to an article published in Time, employees who have been through bad transportation in a long run will suffer from,

  • High blood sugar
  • High cholesterol level
  • High depression risk
  • Anxiety attack
  • High blood pressure
  • Cardio vascular issues
  • Back pain
  • Shorter sleep time

The zombie: Disruptive sleep will affect a person’s mental health adversely. It has been scientifically proven that irregular sleep will result in slower response time than that of a normal person.

Read Also: “10 Things That Can Go Wrong in Employee Transportation”

Issues like this are harmful inside an organization as employees who are affected mentally will tend to not work or even cause great damage to the existing work.

How will your business get affected?

Increased Absenteeism: An employee missing a working day is expensive for a company. If the work is urgent, companies often have to find replacements which will be an added expense

Higher turnover rate: If the transportation is bad or even not up to the mark. Employees will go for other options resulting in frequent resignation by employees. Finding a new employee and training him is an added cost and a waste of time.

High error rate: Drained of their energy, employee will be sluggish in their work and will cause great deal of errors in their day-to-day activities. Since they are tired they will tend to think about their life after office and will be more concentrated on that.

Decrease in Employee Engagement: As mentioned earlier fatigue and disinterest will hit them if they are subjected to a bad start in the morning. So it is obvious that employees would not be interested in their work and as a result productivity will be affected a lot.

Potential employees rejecting offers: If the commute of a company is bad or even average. Potential employees who have passed all the interviews and tests might reject the offer. Thus, money spent on the interviews and the chance of hiring a skilled employee will be lost.

Subpar performance of the team manager and HR: Increased turnover, high rate of employee disengagement will put pressure on both HR and team manager. They often will fall prey to the pressure from the top and will search for better options.

Why do Employees Prefer Automated Transportation?

All of us know that corporate automated transportation is now one of the most important tools of an organization when it comes to employee retention.

Latest studies backed with research have proved that commute issues have a direct impact on employees and their productivity.

Above all that, we are living in a world where safe transportation has become one of the major concerns of women. WHO has recently done a study on women safety and found out that around 35% of women globally undergo some kind of violence on their daily commute.

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These scenarios are the exact reason why employee automated transportation has flourished globally.

Assure Safety and Productivity

GPS aided Transportation Management system ensures that employees and vehicles are continuously monitored real-time by authorized personals.

One of the perks of installing the system for corporate transportation is that they can be integrated to mobile platforms so that monitoring both for the company and the employees can be done with the help of a portable device.

Employees can even send SOS messages to higher authorities with the help of a panic button incorporated in the apps of these devices.

Long commute has a negative impact on employee productivity. Transportation Management system can optimize routes to ensure minimum distance in traveling.

Mostly transportation offered by the companies is free of cost. Companies offer these kinds of services as a way to retain their employee and to make them feel that they are being valued in the organization.

Health Benefits

Hectic commute according to research can induce fatigue in an employee and can make him sleep abruptly in office or at home. Abrupt sleep, if they occur for a long time can cause serious health issues like low blood pressure, concentration issues, headache etc.

To Avoid Traffic and Pollution

The world is evolving and progressing day by day. The side effect of such development is congestion. Our cities have become overcrowded and polluted. Employees often choose their company transportation to avoid such conditions. Mostly, transportation provided by companies nowadays have air-conditioned vehicle so that employees would not have to breathe in the toxic air and fall sick.

Unreliable and Unsafe Public Transport System

Despite the location public transport has always been notorious owing to their inability to keep time and safety. Since they are mostly crowded employees have to go on a tug of war with other passengers on each day.

For Marking Attendance in the Easiest Way Possible

Manual attendances are hectic and time consuming. In the case of an Employee Transportation Management System, especially a robust one, mostly uses RFID based attendance marking system so that employees can punch-in and punch-out by just showing their RFID card or even tag to the reader.

Driver Rating System

Stories are in plenty on the internet regarding bad driver behaviour. Passengers especially women nowadays are scared regarding the whole situation. Transportation Management System has rating system through which drivers can be reviewed and rated.

Read Also: ‘”How Employee Transport Management is Revolutionizing Employee Transportation”

Above all that there is hardware integrated to the system that can track and monitor any irregularity in the driving of a driver and can notify authorized personals.

Route Prediction System

Protests, bad weather etc. can cause hindrance to the smooth running of fleets. A robust Transportation Management System can link with the internet and predict these issues and can show the driver alternate routes so that employees would not be late for work or going back home.

Saving Money

Mostly, automated transportation is offered by companies on free of cost. Since transportation requires a great deal of money. Employees find it as an added benefit for working in a company.

Business analysts nowadays say that it is foolish for a business firm to value their customers as kings and to treat their employees badly. Employees nowadays are equally important as the customers. We are in a world where people have plenty of option if they do not like a company. So companies have to do what it takes to retain their employees.

10 Ride Sharing Companies that Can Ease Your Work Trip

Ride sharing can be a relief to people who don’t want to ride their own vehicles to work. There are various ride sharing companies that strive to provide a service that lets you share a ride with other people who are going to the same place as you are.

Many of these ride sharing companies have become a household name and is familiar with a lot of people who are using this service. The advantage behind sharing rides is that it will develop communities that trust each other more.

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Ride sharing, car sharing and car pooling have become a simple and efficient way to achieving this.

You are already introduced to various companies that enable ride sharing or car pooling. Ride sharing is not just economic it is also convenient.

It can also be an arrangement between a group of vehicle owners to take drives in turn to drive their children to and fro from a particular place. More than one person sharing a ride is the main aim for car pooling.

The stress involved in driving through traffic can be reduced as each person can take turns to ride their cars to work or school.

Listed here are 15 ride sharing companies that can ease your trip to your workplace.

The advantages of car pooling are that it saves fuel and money, causes lesser pollution, reduces traffic, reduces the stress of driving, you get to make new friends, is more convenient and is safer.

1. Shared EV Fleet 

A company based in New Jersey is figuring out how to employ charging stations and manage their fleet of electric vehicles. As a car sharing service of the future it is first of its kind and promises a brighter eco friendly future.

The company that is into it is the Princeton power systems which has unveiled a plug in EV fleet at Los Angeles. There is an added advantage of using electric vehicles. It reduces pollution and saves on fuel.

2. Car2Go 

This is mostly used in the cities in Europe and North America. This service is used by people who register with Car2Go to receive a card by mail. For this one has to register online to the service.

There is one time fee of 35 dollars along with that it is charged for the time you spend in the car. It is a fleet of eco-friendly smart cars that can be accessed with the card you receive by mail.

You can check the availability of a car by swiping the card on the card reader on the windshield.

You can follow the instruction on the computer screen once you hold the member card on the card reader and wait to unlock the card.

3. Zimride 

These ride payouts are made through PayPal. This ride sharing is done by enterprise rent a car.

People going to the same destinations are connected by using social media networking. Zimride also has other features like similar music interests, hobbies and a lot more before signing up to offer a ride or ask for one.

This is a rather interesting site to someone who likes to add pep to your ride.

4. JustShareIt

In this website you need to register with a valid license and a credit card. One can either use their website or the app.

It is an hourly rental service for vans, cars, trucks etc. With this application you can rent vehicles whenever that you are travelling.

Be it work or for leisure. Also these are available at your neighborhood. Another advantage of this service is that it has insurance too. There is an on demand app and an express version.

5. Getaround

This is one popular peer to peer car rental and sharing services. There are also options for daily and hourly rental rates which you can make use according to your convenience.

However insurance is not covered in the cost. It is a social car sharing in which you can search for nearby cars and enter your license number and credit card details to book the car.

In case you have a car you want to give for rent you can use this application to make some money too.

6. JoyRide 

This company has recently launched an app and is available in the Bay area and also in many other cities in the United States.

Through this app you can share the ride expenses with whoever is riding with you or you are riding with. Another bright feature of this application is that ifs you have an extra seat while going for a trip you can list it on the website and interested people will join you.

7. SideCar

Sidecar is a ride sharing company that is based in San Francisco and is now available in 10 of the cities in United States. Drivers fix the price themselves and this is much cheaper than many other companies.

The payment is done using the application. The rides are GPS tracked and the drivers are pre screened. Another added advantage is that it is covered by insurance.

All the vehicles were made in the year 2000. Sidecar involves finding another person who is headed in the same direction as you are and who us near to you. This ride sharing service is getting more and more popular.

It’s been reported that SideCar has it has shutdown their services and General Motors has acquired the company’s assets, intellectual property, and 20 other employees.

8. BlaBlaCar 

Through this application you can simply enter your arrival and departure destinations at the approximate time and choose a driver that is headed your way.

Yes, you can contact them over the phone or send in a text message to book your seat. Appear at the meeting place and share your ride.

But this ride isn’t for hire if you haven’t noted. This company is a ride sharing service in the UK and connect drivers that have a spare seat with people looking for a ride. BlaBla Car is from the United Kingdom.

9. Turo

Formerly known as Relay Rides, Turo is a cart rental service where car owners can rent out their own vehicles. They can also set their own prices. This is a peer to peer car sharing market place.

How the application works is that they notify car owners in case someone needs their car. The owner has complete control over who to give the car. The car has its own insurance.

This is of use to people who need a ride to the airports. You can use the car and just leave it there.

10. Carma

This is a ride sharing company in San Francisco, Texas, Bergen and Austin. The application begins logging your journey once you start it. It happens once you get in the car that you are sharing.

The driver is paid once you hit the end trip. The company aims to target the work trip commutes that are made by people.

Conclusion

Carpooling is an arrangement between a group of vehicle owners to take drives in turn to and fro from a particular place.

More than one person sharing a ride is the main aim for car pooling. It has a lot of advantages and as it saves a lot of fuel and helps to decrease pollution.

Moreover if everyone starts to make use of ride sharing there will be a significant decrease in the traffic when compared to everyone taking out their car out for a ride.

Autonomous Vehicles – How Will It Change Public Transportation

It is said that autonomous vehicles are the future of transportation. There won’t be much time before autonomous vehicles take on the road and become a part of public transportation.

However, there is concern that it might lead to road congestion as more and more people resort to riding them. On the other hand, if they are used for public transport then autonomous vehicles can solve every bit of traffic problems that ever existed.

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Using autonomous driving for public transport is not only cost efficient but also a way to avoid mishaps like harsh driving or inefficient fuel usage.

Autonomous vehicles are inevitably going to change a lot of things for everyone around. Here are some things that will happen when autonomous vehicles take over public transportation:

1. Less Traffic

While a few people argue that it might increase traffic, many believe that it will solve all traffic problems.

Even buses and trucks will work on the technology and will completely take road accidents out of the picture. It will also reduce traffic congestion because the vehicles will be able to drive side by side, without dashing into one another.

And apparently, since computers are better drivers than humans and are more systematic too, there won’t be random fights because one wasn’t driving well.

It is excellent news for the government since they’ll cover up the one percent gross domestic profit they lose because of traffic.

2. Shift in Ownership Model

A likely ownership model that might come along with the entry of autonomous vehicles is shared ownership model. Multiple people will own the same autonomous vehicle and will replace the private ownership model.

However, you can’t be confident enough that this will happen because every person who can afford will try to own an autonomous vehicle exclusively. This is where the government might need to step in and start some tax rebate for people sharing cars.

3. No More Driving Long Distances

Remember the time you drove for six hours straight and couldn’t feel your legs after getting out of the car?

Well, once autonomous vehicles are a reality, you wouldn’t have to worry about that. You can eat, watch movies, or sleep while the self-driving car takes you to your destination.

Also, it will cover a six-hour distance much faster than you, so you end up saving a lot of time.

4. Maybe an Urban Nightmare

It can be an urban nightmare if every family buys an autonomous car and go around shopping and on trips, it will only cause traffic congestion.

Since these vehicles will be electronics, it will cost a lot lower than fuel-based cars. People won’t have to spend money on refilling gasoline. All they will need to do is charge it overnight and they’ll be good to travel around.

The cost comes down a lot and is a one-time investment. People will be ready to put money at once. If anything goes as the situation described, then traffic will increase by 25 percent than right now.

5. Will Not be a Supplement

Autonomous vehicles aren’t a replacement for traffic congestion because it wouldn’t change much. More and more people will switch to autonomous vehicles for its low cost.

However, one can confidently say that self-driving cars will significantly reduce road accidents and increase safety.

Governments should start supplementing with autonomous vehicles at public transportation level. But they can’t expect that it will be a solution to all their traffic problems.

6. Combination of Sharing Services

Apart from sharing ownership of autonomous cars, ride-sharing like Uber and car-sharing scheme will take over the majority of the road. People won’t find it necessary to own a car when services like ride-sharing cost a lot lower than it does now.

What do Experts Think About Autonomous Vehicles

Christy Wegener, planning and operations director, LAVTA, feels that no one exactly knows the future. People are making assumptions and developing theories as they experiment and find new things.

They are as unknown to the technology as everyone else. Wegener said that there is fixed roadmap or tutorial to do it, so unless it is a reality, nothing much can’t be talked about it.

However, Wegener is confident about taking risks, and she praised the head of LAVTA for going ahead with the idea.

Government’s Take on It

One of the reasons LAVTA hasn’t tested its autonomous vehicle technology on the roads if because the federal government hasn’t given them the authority to do so.

Along with LAVTA, many other companies are stuck in the same situation including CCTA. They are waiting for the US House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit to give them the approval.

Both companies only have two options. One is getting a waiver from the US Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Other is they don’t need any waiver to do so. Just recently, the House Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection subcommittee announced that they pushed the US government to clear the guidelines as that would permit driverless vehicles to debut on the road.

In the end, as common people, we all are very excited about watching this new technology development. As millennials, we’ve seen the internet become a reality, watched a Nokia phone grow into a full-screen touch smartphone, and now autonomous vehicles.

Public transit is every city’s backbone and developing it gives everyone an opportunity to experience science at its best.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, the technology is going to be sustainable, beneficial to the national economy, and a significant step towards the limitless future.

10 Things That Can Go Wrong in Employee Transportation

There are a lot of things to take into perspective while you are part of an organization’s management team. The more the employees of the company, the more responsibilities to be taken care of. Employee benefits and well being inside the company is one of the major factors to be considered in the employee transportation service.

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Here are a few points to be pondered while discussing employee transportation.

1. What if the employee does not turn up?

The situation mentioned above is aplenty. This happens when the assigned company’s cab/bus driver is not informed of the employee’s absence.

A situation wherein a driver has to go all the way to pick up just a single employee from a remote location and when he/she does not show up is bad. Commuter benefits are being misused here also resulting in revenue loss.

2.  Misbehavior towards employees

At times if there is a shortage of staff buses, the company may resort to bus rental services from an external vendor. Many of them would obviously be on a temporary basis. There are chances that the drivers of these bus rental services might misbehave with the employees.

3.  Reckless driving

Alcohol inflicted driving is more common among temporary staffs. Consider the case of bus rental services in case of shortage with the permanent cab or company bus drivers. This seriously affects the employee environment and makes a dent in the scheme of affairs.

4.  Poor handling of daily shifts

The human resource team and in general the manager would be responsible for allocating the proper time shifts for the transportation based on the employee time shifts.

Especially when it comes to the lady staffs, security and proper planning is an inevitable factor. A foolproof system has to be implemented without trial and error methods since a small fault can tarnish the company’s reputation.

5. Depending on pen & paper

With the advent of digital technologies, it would be non-pragmatic to resort to using pen and paper to track down the routes & schedules.

Implementing a web-based solution integrated with the HR management system of the company to track down the assigned routes, drivers, the name of employees to be traveling on the designated vehicles would be a good choice.

Implementing a mobile-based GPS solution would be very handy for both the drivers and the employees. The employees need to be ready only when the cabs or bus are nearby their locations.

These could act as one of the better commuter benefits while thinking on the whole perspective of employee transportation service.

6.  Employee productivity

While dealing with employee transportation, the key thing to be tackled is employee productivity. This could take a heavy toll if timings are improper or if a driver does not show up at the right time.

The revenue leakage, if the commuter management is not done properly would cost the company dearly.

7.  Traffic congestion

Dealing with traffic is one of the most difficult issues when it comes to transportation. If the management can tackle it efficiently, then half of your employee transportation conundrum is solved.

Heavy traffic can seriously mess up the whole schedule. It can affect employee productivity resulting in extended work hours to meet tight deadlines. Most of the companies have started offering ’work from home options’ in case of heavy traffic days.

Drivers have to be made aware of the traffic situation pre-hand. With the help of applications like Google maps and Waze, rerouting and locating heavy traffic timings can be done in a jiffy. Planning the rides accordingly could save a lot of time and revenue for the company.

8.  Maintenance

Cabs and buses should be maintained in proper working conditions so they remain mechanically efficient, and the devices, such as global positioning system (GPS) function properly.

Vehicles such as buses with large seating capacity must be thoroughly monitored by a competent examiner and reports kept. Planned monitoring is a critical part of preventive maintenance.

These include daily safety drills carried out by drivers, staff and proper maintenance monitoring based on time, mileage and performance.

Drivers and the accompanying staff should be provided with a checklist of the daily inspections to be signed off at the start of each shift. This should be monitored to ensure the checks are carried out properly.

9.  Driver inaccessible

A situation wherein the driver’s phone is switched off or unreachable when the employee calls will create a sense of uneasiness,

Especially when the employee has not located where the driver of the company cab or bus is. The driver either has to keep an extra phone that has to be supplied by the company or the employee has to be notified by the management authorities that the cab has been dispatched to pick him up.

10.  Rude employee behavior

There are situations wherein a frustrated employee might take out his anger on the staff handling the employee transportation. This is better to be avoided. Always maintain the courteous behavior while traveling inside company cab or bus.

Top 10 Issues Faced by Business Travelers & Their Solutions

Business travel has become a norm in many companies these days. With business going global and companies operating from multiple locations, executives need to travel quite often. Sometimes, executives and top management people may have to travel to visit clients or vendors. Business travelers face a lot of difficulties during their travel.

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Nearly 50% of business travelers say that the quality of travel determines the business results. In other words, if the executives have a safe and comfortable journey, they are more likely to get better results from the trip. Let’s take a look at the top issues faced by business travelers and how we can find solutions for them.

Problem 1: Safety Concerns

More than 80% of business travelers with a majority of this percentage being women cite not feeling safe as one of the biggest problems while traveling. A major problem is the fear of being mugged while in an unfamiliar place.

Airline safety is also an issue that many travelers are concerned about. One repeating refrain related to safety issues is that the executives don’t know who to contact in case of an emergency. There are also other unexpected safety problems like natural disasters, political unrest, racial tensions, accidents, and such.

Solution:

It can be difficult to find a complete solution to safety issues. However, companies can reduce safety issues by ensuring that the hotel is in a safe location. They can also arrange for reliable transportation for the duration of the stay.

It will also be a good idea to have a local person to contact in case of emergencies. The person can be a travel agent or preferably, a representative of the company that the executive is visiting.

Problem 2: Stress

The second major problem for business travelers is stress. A study by the World Bank found that 75% of executives reported high-stress levels because of business travels. The staff needs to simultaneously deal with deadlines, work issues, conflicts, travel, and client management.

At the same time, constant travel could wreak personal life, leading to other issues. All these problems can pile up, leading to a lot of stress and strain.

Solution:

Many of the issues that cause stress can be removed with proper planning and organization. While preparing the travel schedule, it will be a good idea to leave the first and the last day free to relax and unwind. If the company’s travel policy allows, executives may be allowed to travel with family.

Problem 3: Adjusting to time zones

When executives travel abroad, the time zones are different. So, all day long, they will be working with the client and then they need to stay up all night to work with the team back home. Also, it takes time for them to adjust to the different time zone. It can cause stress or even make the person ill.

Solution:

While working on different time zones, executives can delegate tasks to others in the team to reduce the stress. Also, as suggested earlier, the schedule can be prepared with a day free for the travelers to get used to the new time zone and get over the jet lag.

Problem 4: Delayed Flights/Cancelled Flights

One of the biggest problems that business travelers face is flights being delayed or cancelled. Sometimes, flights are overbooked, which can lead to further complications. If a flight is delayed, then the entire schedule may go askew.

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The problem is worsened if the flight is cancelled. Then the executive needs to check if there are any other flights and make the arrangements. It gets even worse if the delay is overnight and they need to look for a safe and comfortable place to stay.

Solution:

A smart way to overcome the problem is to book flights at least a day or two before the actual meeting. So, even if there are any delays or cancelations, you will still have ample time to make it to the meeting.

If the company works with a travel agency, then managing the problem gets a little easy. The agent will take care of rescheduling and rebooking the flight while the executive can relax and prepare for the meeting.

Problem 5: Expense Tracking

Expense tracking is a huge problem for business travelers. In most cases, the company or travel agency takes care of the flight and hotel booking. Sometimes, even transportation. However, the executive may have other travel expenses.

They need to keep all the bills and receipts and submit them when they return. There are also times when the executive needs to spend from his/her pocket and claim reimbursement from the company. The reimbursement process can be long and tedious, making it more difficult for the employees.

Solution:

In most cases, when the company takes care of travel, stay, and commute expenses, the financial burden on the employee is reduced. It will help if the organization uses a portal to monitor and streamline all the travel expenses. The executives can upload the details and check the approval status on the portal itself.

Problem 6: Health problems

If the person has health issues, then traveling may aggravate the condition. Also, the different climate, weather conditions, food habits and more can make one fall sick. Continuous travel and not having proper sleep can also make a person fall sick. Business executives who travel often face health issues because of such problems.

Solution:

It can be difficult to deal with a sudden bout of sickness while staying in a new place or a new country. The company needs to ensure that the employees have a clean bill of health before they travel, especially abroad.

It will also be helpful if the staff have medical insurance that can reduce the financial burden of dealing with the treatment expenses. However, the best solution is that the employee follows good health practices to stay fit and healthy.

Problem 7: Unhealthy food

Traveling to new places and trying out new cuisines can be exciting at the start. But then unhealthy eating habits can take a toll on health. Also, airport food is very expensive and the food delivered on the airplanes is not very delicious. So, in many cases, the executive may not have a proper meal until he/she reaches the destination.

Solution:

While traveling, it can be difficult to stick to a specific diet. Research the restaurants near you to find ones that serve healthy food at affordable prices. You can even ask the locals for suggestions. Another suggestion is to stick to simple foods and not try exotic foods unless you are sure you have the palate for it.

Problem 8: Uncomfortable or unsafe stay

This problem is associated with the safety and well-being of travelers. Sometimes, companies book in budget hotels to save on hotel expenses. But then if the hotel is located in an unsafe area or if the conditions in the hotel are unhygienic, it can become very difficult for the traveler.

Solution:

The best solution is to book a hotel that is in a safe location, close to the client’s office. If the hotel is not good, then the employee should provide the feedback to the admin or travel agency so that they don’t book in that hotel again.

Problem 9: Lack of support

A common gripe of regular business travelers is not being able to get proper technical support when they’re traveling. It can be very frustrating when they want to access a portal or download some files and find that they are not able to do it.

Sometimes, the laptop may have a technical failure or the server may be down. At such times, the executives will have a lot of difficulties.

Solution

The executive should have the laptop checked by the company’s tech team before they carry it on the trip. Also, they should have all the necessary files they need for the meeting on their system. A tech person should also be available online to help out with any technical issues that may arise during the business trip.

Problem 10: Data Security

Executives need to carry the laptop and phone when they go on a business trip. But these devices will have confidential business information and other data. So, if the devices are hacked or lost, then the critical information could go into the wrong hands. Also, the executive may need to use public or client networks, which may put their data at risk.

Solution:

Employees need to be made aware of possible cyber threats and attacks. The laptops they use should have state-of-the-art security systems to prevent data breaches. Also, executives should follow safe practices to ensure data safety.

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Conclusion

Business travel is inevitable as it plays an essential role in the growth and development of the business and the organization. The 10 problems that we discussed here can be solved with proper planning and scheduling. Companies should also look for ways to make business trips less stressful by providing a positive work environment and a safe travel experience. Have you faced any other problems during business travel? Share them with us.

Say Hello to Optimized Employee Transport Management: Here’s Why!

Productivity is one of the key parameters used to evaluate the success of any business. To ensure optimum productivity, employees need to come to work on time. And at the same time, they should be able to travel comfortably so they don’t feel fatigued when they reach the office.

One way you can ensure this is by organizing transport for all your employees. While employee transport management can be an effective solution, it also comes with a suite of challenges. So, how can you optimize employee transport management such that both the employee and the management are benefited? Let’s discuss the salient points in this blog.

The Need for Employee Transportation

These days most companies have employee transportation. Though managing transportation takes time and money, it is cost-effective in the long run. The many reasons why companies have an in-house transportation system or outsource to a vendor are:

Multiple Shifts

A lot of companies work on shift systems. The shifts could start as early as 5 or 6 in the morning and end after 10 in the night. Multinational companies work round the clock as they have clients in other parts of the globe.

Read Also: Top 10 Benefits Of Employee Transport Management System

This means that the shift timings are erratic and could start and end during times when there is no public transportation. Organizing employee transport is the best solution to help employees reach office on time and go back safely.

Safety

The other reason for having an employee transportation system is the safety of the employees. It is safer to pick up and drop employees, especially during night shifts and early morning shifts.

Convenience

If employees come to the office in their own vehicles or public transport, they will be tired by the time they reach the office. Battling the traffic while driving or managing to find a seat in the crowded buses or trains while commuting can make them tired even before they reach the office. So, it is more convenient to organize transportation for employees.

On-time arrival

One of the biggest reasons why companies prefer to organize transportation is that they can be assured that employees will reach the office on time. They will also be fresh and ready to start working immediately after clocking in.

Optimized Employee Transport Management

We’ve seen that companies and employees greatly benefit from a transportation system. But then, there are also numerous responsibilities associated with the same. You need to have a team handling the transportation system or outsource it to a company that offers fleet management.

If you are planning to manage the transportation in-house, then you should definitely think of automating the system. A fleet management system can help you schedule the trips, track the location of the vehicles and the drivers, and at the same time ensure safety compliance.

Benefits of Automated Routing And Scheduling Application

Multiple Shift Management

The most common shifts followed in companies are morning shift, afternoon shift, and night shift. The type of shift is changed weekly, biweekly, or monthly. The automated schedule system allows you to set default rules for scheduling trips and routes based on the employee shifts. It will also have an option to customize shifts and vehicle schedules. 

Reduce manpower with fleet management technology

The fleet management system automates most of the repetitive scheduling tasks based on pre-set parameters. It also sends alerts and notifications to the drivers as well as employees.

The management can track all the vehicle movements and details of the employees using the transportation system on the application’s dashboard.

Decrease dry runs with effective transport management

Faulty route planning, errors in schedules, no-show, and other manual errors could help reduce the number of dry runs. With effective transport management, you can reduce unwanted expenses due to improper route planning.

Real-time monitoring of drivers and vehicles

Smartphones with GPS and vehicles embedded with motion sensors allow real-time monitoring. The app also helps track driver behaviour and improve driver efficiency. The real-time data helps monitor staff downtime and vehicle movement at any point in time.

Reports

The automated transport management system generates reports that you can use to gain insightful information. The various reports that the software generates include daily/weekly/monthly run reports, trip reports, stop reports, employee reports, tracking reports, maintenance reports, historical movement reports, driver behaviour reports, and driver duty roaster.

The app collects data such as fuel usage, distance traveled, number of vehicles, number of trips, safety procedures, and other parameters. All the data can be used to prepare a strategy. It can also be used to optimize the route based on employee shifts and reduce expenses.

How Automated Transport Management Helps

Management

The company management will have a clear picture of the transportation details, thanks to the numerous reports that are generated. The software will also give all the vital data that they can use to plan an effective transportation system for all the employees.

Above all, the dashboard will enable the top management to get real-time information on all the vehicles and drivers at any point in time. It also helps ensure the safety of the employees.

Employees

The app sends notifications to the employees so they will know the exact time they need to come to the pickup point. So, they don’t need to wait for a long time to board the vehicle.

It further enhances the safety of the employees. Also, employees can change the point of pickup or drop by updating the details on the app.

Drivers

Drivers will know details of the route, stop points, and pick up points in detail. The entire trip manifest can be updated in the vehicle’s navigation system so the drivers don’t need to keep worrying about the route or the pickup and drop points.

Features of Our Optimized Employee Transport Management System

Our employee management system has plenty of user-friendly features, so even non-technical persons can set up the system and use it. The system offers live trip statistics such as employee attendance, vehicle details, driver details, number of employees in each vehicle, and complete trip manifest.

You can also easily upload all the employee and shift details using an excel spreadsheet. The reports generated by the system help keep track of the fuel and maintenance cost. Enjoy the convenience and savings of a fleet management system.

To know more about our optimized employee transport management, contact us

Top 10 Benefits Of Employee Transport Management System

Nowadays more and more organizations are trying to crack the secret of having a happier workforce. With high attrition and employee engagement going hand in hand, organizations need to take that extra step and focus on the little things to help their employees feel valued and cared for.

We can start from relieving them of their daily commute stress

In major cities, office goers work in dynamic shifts meeting clients and project deadlines. Many of the workers waste time waiting for their commute in public transport with no clue of pickup and arrival leading to anxiety and worries which overall affects their productivity.

Employees should be worry-free during their office hours so that their organization can drive growth. Even though the daily commute is a trivial matter you can take a huge load off the back of your employees by ensuring that they feel more committed to the company they work for by implementing an Employee Transport Management System.

Here are 10 Benefits of Employee Transport Management System

  • Stress-Free Commute
  • Women Safety
  • Cost & Time Saving
  • Health Improvement
  • Dynamic Reporting
  • Protects Data & Increases Usage
  • Better Workplace Environment
  • Less Missed Workdays
  • Retention of Talented Employees
  • Better Workplace Environment
Top 10 Benefits Of Employee Transport Management System