{"id":13879,"date":"2022-06-16T12:17:55","date_gmt":"2022-06-16T10:17:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/?p=13879"},"modified":"2022-06-16T12:17:55","modified_gmt":"2022-06-16T10:17:55","slug":"app","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/2022\/06\/16\/app\/","title":{"rendered":"There\u2019s an app for that"},"content":{"rendered":"

Having decent trucking technology at decent prices\u2014and with proven results\u2014is only the beginning.<\/span><\/p>\n

New technology is making a difference in the supply chain. The transportation sector, where I have spent my career, has been especially resistant to change, more so than other parts of the supply chain. Primary barriers were cost (note: average profit of about 6% equals no budget for experimentation) and user acceptance.<\/span><\/p>\n

But, as costs recede, apps proliferate, and many have proven quite useful. So now there is an app, many apps, for every imaginable area of this thing called the supply chain.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, we\u2019re good right?\u00a0I can find software and hardware to automate any process and get all the data I want, so life is good!\u00a0Well yes, you can \u2026\u00a0but having decent tech at decent prices, and with proven results, is only the beginning.<\/span><\/p>\n

Innovators, from their garages and dorm rooms, have created the most life-changing devices and software of our time: Apple, Dell, Uber, etc.\u00a0My implication is not that any of these were an easy feat, but they had to also conquer the next two hard parts.<\/span><\/p>\n

Integrations are hard<\/span><\/h3>\n

Why should I care about integration?\u00a0Let\u2019s start at the beginning.\u00a0When a customer orders an item I need to advise them whether that item is in stock, when to expect it on their porch, and then keep them updated throughout the process.\u00a0To do these things, my warehouse software must talk to my brokers\u2019 software, must talk to the carriers\u2019 software, must talk to the fleets\u2019 TMS, must talk to the driver facing apps, must talk to freight visibility services, ad infinitum.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now the app providers must also want their apps to talk to each other and undertake the effort to make that work.\u00a0It\u2019s not easy, quick, or cheap.\u00a0However, demand is finally driving this one forward.\u00a0Now on to the third puzzle piece.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

User adoption is hardest<\/span><\/h3>\n

Let\u2019s say we have the right apps, delivering accurate data to all endpoints and back with acceptable speed and accuracy.\u00a0Let\u2019s even say we have one portal in the office and one app in the hands of the warehouse worker, dispatcher, and driver. Still, the following questions arise: Do my end-users see the value? Is it intuitive and easy to learn? Does it deliver the data back to the portals in usable, actionable ways as opposed to dumping the data and leaving me to figure out how to use it?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Where to start?<\/span><\/h3>\n

Where do I even start to find the right solutions that talk to all the other right solutions accurately, speedily, and deliver data that helps me make business decisions?<\/span><\/p>\n