Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/555101
COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | AUGUST 2015 81 TECHNOLOGY: PROFITABILITY ANALYSIS "Ctrl + F5" to refresh the data on their computer screens to look up orders, track shipments or monitor drivers' hours of service. Besides developing the new push architecture, U.S. Xpress created a seamlessly integrated suite of HTML5 Web apps that serve as XPM's user interface. These Web apps run on any device with an Internet connection and a browser, and they look and work like a full-featured Windows desktop application. The apps' menu options are arranged like Window tiles so as to be "fat-nger" friendly for any device. "We don't care what the operating system is," Odum said. "If you have a device that can run a browser, you can run our tool." One unique feature of XPM allows users to create their own custom control centers. Multiple Web apps can be linked together and displayed on separate monitors, which eliminates scrolling through menus. Many U.S. Xpress load planners and customer service representatives use dual monitors. On the left monitor, they can display a traditional grid-type planning screen. On the right screen, they can display a visual map application of trucks and loads. Any transactions on the left side are represented immedi- ately on the right side, and vice versa. "With a traditional TMS, you have to load data, refresh screens and go back into multiple systems," Odum said. "You end up spending a lot of cycles looking for things, whether you need it or not." The Command Center One key component of XPM is a responsive Command Cen- ter "engine" that runs in the background to monitor business activities for exceptions at a high level. U.S. Xpress has eet owners in its operations department who oversee the activities of eet managers who in turn are responsible for dierent groups of drivers. With the legacy XPM system, eet owners had a dicult time viewing the progress of their respective businesses. It was dicult to tell if eet managers were responding to messages from their drivers in a timely manner. Command Center prioritizes the workload for eet owners and managers and has features to distribute the work among multiple users, such as when a eet manager is at lunch. A visual cue identies who is working on what item. If a eet manager is responding to a driver request for home time, he might see an "eyeball" pop up on the screen next to a separate message in his queue. This shows that someone else, such as aeet owner, is working on that message. When the task is complete, the eyeball and the message disappears from the screen to avoid duplicate eorts. "This allows you to tag-team managing drivers and loads," said Je Seibenhener, chief information ocer. "It also gives that next-level view for a eet owner." Another recent update is the integration of XPM with the phone system. When a driver calls a eet manager, the software system will recognize the driver's number and automatically populate the screen with relevant information about the driver – name, location, load status, loads pend- ing, hours of service, payroll information, received messages and more. "They will not have to look at another screen," Odum said. Without this integration, the eet manager may not recognize the number and would have to ask for the driver's name and ID number. He also would have to ask the driver to wait while they searched for information to answer ques- tions. "It seems like this will not only create a more smooth relationship with drivers, but a more ecient one as well," Seibenhener said. Today, a conversation might go something like this: Fleet manager: "Hi, John. What can I help you with today?" Driver: "I was not paid for a load from Atlanta to Char- lotte." Fleet manager: "Yes, you're right. I see that's because you have not turned in your paperwork for that load. It looks like you're going to arrive early for your delivery in Memphis. Can you send it when you arrive?" No company wants employees to use social media while they are at work, but as U.S. Xpress has shown, the compo- nents of social media can have a place in modern business systems. Continued from page 74 It seems like this will not only create a more smooth relationship with drivers, but a more ecient one as well. – Je Seibenhener, CIO, U.S. Xpress Jeff Seibenhener, U.S. Xpress CIO, said the upgrades to its XPM transportation manage- ment system allow com- pany managers to tag- team driver supervision.