You may be reading this article for one of three reasons. First, you're a dispatcher looking to improve task management. Second, you want to become a dispatcher or learn more about task management. Or thirdly, you're just looking for everything you need to know about scheduling controllers or task management.
Whatever the reason, you're reading the right blog! After this, you'll learn exactly what a dispatcher's job entails, the challenges it faces, and the task management tools and benefits of saving time from all dispatcher challenges.
First of all, what is a fleet supervisor and what are their tasks?
As a fleet supervisor, there may be an assumption that your job requires dispatching a driver while you sit back and relax and let time pass. This is a high underestimation of the work of fleet supervisors.
A fleet supervisor is an individual who oversees and oversees business operations from dispatch to delivery. This requires assigning tasks to drivers, optimizing drivers' routes, tracking the location of vehicles, collaborating with drivers, and communicating with customers.
So while fleet supervisors aren't on the front line on the road all day on a large rig, they work behind the scenes to coordinate and manage drivers' schedules and routes to ensure that cargo is dispatched and delivered safely and in a timely manner. Basically, fleet supervisors are the cornerstone of the transportation industry.
Let's see what the real basics of being a fleet supervisor are.
There is no "typical" day in a team manager's life, but here are eight things a team manager does every day:
- Manage operating costs: On a daily basis, fleet supervisors are responsible for coordinating and managing fleet operations to achieve set goals with maximum productivity and lowest operating costs. Fleet leaders need to quickly find creative ways to solve problems and optimize routes to save time, resources, and money.
- Proactively solve everyday challenges" As mentioned earlier, in the transportation industry, no two days are the same, nor are any deliveries made by fleet supervisors. Every delivery has unique needs, for example: shipping food and beverages is very different from shipping car parts or chemicals. Fleet leaders need to identify any special considerations, proactively address challenges, and anticipate and address future challenges.
- Stay organized and focused: A typical day in a fleet manager's life is busy. Coordinate deliveries, answer calls, and manage drivers, vehicles, and routes all day to make time fly. Between all the hustle and bustle, fleet leaders need to be highly focused, stay organized with to-do lists, and be able to manage drivers with high customer expectations and high stress levels.
- Optimization Techniques : TECHNOLOGY IS A TOOL THAT FLEET SUPERVISORS USE ON A DAILY BASIS, FROM GPSTrack devicesto smartphones to fleet management systems. Fleet executives in the transportation industry use technology every day to keep operations smooth, safe, and on time.
- Collaborate with drivers: As a fleet leader, communication and collaboration are essential. As a fleet supervisor, communicate with drivers and check in frequently on a daily basis.
- Ensure fleet compliance: It is the responsibility of the fleet supervisor to ensure that operations meet fleet requirements. Every day, fleet supervisors ensure that drivers are well-trained, well-rested, and vehicles are safe and fit for the road.
- Oversee the entire operation: The daily work of an effective fleet supervisor is a bird's eye view of the entire fleet operation, from the location of each vehicle to the driving performance of each driver.
- Keep customers happy: Unhappy customers can cause fleet supervisors to lose their jobs and damage the company's reputation. Ensuring customer satisfaction is an important part of the work of a fleet supervisor. The good news is that fleet management systems help dispatchers meet customer expectations.
Yes, this is a minority! With so much work to do, it's clear that fleet supervisors face challenges on a daily basis. Let's take a look at the challenges team leaders face.
What is work management?
Work management refers to the process of scheduling tasks and managing them with milestones and deadlines to ensure that work is completed on time. Dispatchers are responsible for ensuring fleet operations are as efficient as possible by planning how and when tasks are executed from start to finish. Work management is a major challenge for fleet supervisors.
Work management involves creating, prioritizing, delegating, and monitoring tasks to ensure they are completed within set deadlines. To do this, fleet supervisors need to organize fleet operations workflows to ensure efficient completion of tasks.
Project management has task management features, but they play two different roles. Work management focuses primarily on getting tasks on ground, executed on time and completed, while project management software focuses on meeting overall project milestones and deadlines. Therefore, project management is a core component of task management.
But why do fleet supervisors have to go through all this hassle?
Why is the management of work even important?
Fleet leaders must know what needs to be done, how and when the work needs to be done. This is called job tracing, and it's the main reason why project management plans are important.
Let's break it down.
Work management is critical to the success of fleet operations as it helps fleet supervisors keep everything on track. All fleet operations, from planning to reporting, analysis, evaluation, creation, and execution, require task tracking so fleet leaders can effectively control fleet operations, access real-time reports, and make strategic decisions.
Work management allows fleet supervisors to closely track tasks and know everything needed for each task to ensure they can manage customer and business expectations perfectly.
3 ways to manage tasks with project management software
Now that it's clear that project management is critical to running fleet operations smoothly, let's see how project managers manage tasks effectively. Here are three key categories, features, and ways to manage tasks to ensure teamwork:
- To manually use a to-do list:This is a basic form of task management that consists of physical elements, such as manually writing down tasks on a planner, whiteboard, or blackboard to track tasks and scratches when they're done. This way of managing tasks is best for people or teams that work on a small number of tasks in a task list that rarely changes.
- Use an app or spreadsheet electronicallyWith the rise of technology, computing has allowed for a shift from manual task management to electronic management through software. Electronic task management can be done in a variety of ways, from the basic use of spreadsheets to the use of task management applications. Unlike manual forms of task management like to-do lists, this form of project management is unlimited, so it can be used anywhere with a scheduling controller on a computer, laptop, or even smartphone.
- Online or cloud-based tools: This is an extension of electronic task management that includes unlimited scalability of the internet, so dispatchers can create and manage tasks online. This form of task management comes in the form of software tools or online applications that allow dispatchers to organize and monitor tasks from any location. By using the internet, online or cloud-based tools make it easy to store and share information, metrics, reports, analytics, or any other files. These tools work on the cloud so dispatchers can allocate storage space and even back up any critical sources of information.
Planning is a project management task, and we already know that without a plan is a plan failure. If the task is not well planned and managed, the business will be set to fail. Trucking companies need to use the most effective task management methods to ensure success and optimal performance. Let's learn more about task management tools.
What is a task management tool?
Work management doesn't have to be as complicated as it sounds, especially with selected work management tools. These task management tools are basically the answer to the challenges faced by dispatchers, the dream and basic need of every dispatcher!
Task management tools are software that individuals, teams, or organizations use to efficiently complete projects by organizing and prioritizing tasks. This software is used to streamline all the processes involved in creating, delegating, and completing task checklists.
Task management tools are designed to help task managers and even dispatchers get the most out of their teams by enabling each employee to work faster and collaborate better. A task or project management tool combines all the necessary features a dispatcher needs to create and manage tasks. These features include:
- Create, share, and assign tasks
- Identify and label related tasks
- Create subtasks from larger deliverables
- Track task progress and completion
- File storage and sharing
- Collaboration, teamwork, and communication tools
Using project management software, dispatchers can create the right workflow for the team. Whether dispatchers need to create simple to-do lists, assign tasks to each team member, or create complex timesheets to complete large deliveries, task management tools make the process easy.
8 Benefits of Using a Freight Company Task Management Tool
Every business, whether in the trucking industry or not, can benefit from using task management tools to manage employees, teams, assets, tasks, and other resources such as time and budget. Task management tools allow you to breathe life into new successful processes by:
- Organize all tasks on a single platform:With the right task management tools, dispatchers can put their entire workspace on one platform. Dispatchers can easily delegate tasks, monitor tasks at a glance, and resolve any delays or issues immediately.
- Prioritize tasks based on importance:Yes, all tasks are important, but not all are prioritized. With task management tools, dispatchers and teams can focus on the most critical tasks first, then turn their attention to less urgent ones.
- Foster teamwork:"Teamwork makes dreams come true" may be a cliché, but it's true for the trucking industry. Task management tools include features that facilitate collaboration, such as user mentions and comments in tasks, and help teams communicate efficiently.
- Break down complex tasks and manage multiple tasks:Managing multiple tasks at the same time can be laborious. Task management requires a lot of planning and seamless execution, otherwise slight delays or errors can cause major problems. Task management tools make the process of creating and completing multiple tasks easier and easier.
- Automated tasks : Some tasks, such as monthly reports or weekly meetings, occur on specific days of the year. Instead of manually setting up repetitive tasks, task management tools create tasks using automation on a monthly or weekly basis, depending on the dispatcher's needs.
- Access task progress in real time: The dispatch controller has multiple drivers, vehicles, customers, and deliveries at the same time. Manually trying to keep up with the progress and completion rate of tasks is time-consuming and daunting. With task management tools, dispatchers can oversee all tasks on one platform.
- To clear task delegation:When the entire team can view the latest project board with all tasks, they don't have to look for key information or bother their manager or team member about it. This is especially important for remote or hybrid teams with team members with different time zones and working hour schedules.
- Earn more profit: Profit is a benefit accepted by any business in any industry. Customer satisfaction and business profitability will be positively impacted by task management software like Cartrack, which provides the aforementioned benefits.
With the right task management tools, businesses can reap every benefit. A good task management tool includes features that lay the foundation for continued business success.
There are some task management tools on the market, but trucking companies need to make sure they choose the best.
The best task management tool
Cartrack has industry-leading fleet and task management software that enables fleet managers or dispatchers to seamlessly distribute jobs across the fleet and enable teams to complete and deliver tasks successfully, efficiently, and efficiently.
Let's take a look at Cartrack solutions and features that dispatchers can use to exceed customer expectations, grow fleet operations, and improve efficiency and profits:
- Easy-to-use all-in-one platform: Cartrack is a complete fleet management platform not only for transportation and logistics operations, but for all businesses that need fleet or task management. Cartrack's easy-to-use platform enables trucking companies (and others) to streamline operations from task management to operating costs on one platform.
- GPS tracking: GPS tracking is essential for effective mission management. With Cartrack's telematics equipment, dispatchers can know the real-time GPS location and movement of any of the company's trucks at any time. This feature will help the dispatch controller monitor the vehicle, understand the driver and vehicle schedule, and reduce unplanned downtime and time between jobs.
AND THAT'S NOT ALL. GPS TRACKING NOT ONLY ALLOWS THE DISPATCH CONTROLLER TO TRACK TRUCKS AND ASSETS, BUT ALSO TIME AND TASKS. WITH GPS TRACKING, DISPATCHERS CAN OPTIMIZE ROUTES AND ENSURE TIMELY COMPLETION OF TASKS. TIME TRACKING HELPS DISPATCHERS COMPLETE TASKS ON TIME AND ANTICIPATE ANY DELAYS. IN ADDITION, WITH GPS TRACKING, DISPATCHERS CAN ALSO TRACK TASKS, ALLOWING THEM TO MONITOR ACCOUNTABILITY, TEAM MEMBERS' DEDICATION, AND PROGRESS TOWARDS TASK COMPLETION.
Now, customers can enjoy better service and a faster delivery experience.
- Artificial Intelligence Camera : Cartrack's AI and live streaming camera technology features up to eight internal or external cameras to help dispatch controllers monitor driver behavior and ensure the safety of drivers, fleets, and cargo. With this feature, dispatchers can gain insight into which drivers are speeding, distracted, driving heavily, or fatigued. This can help dispatchers improve driver road behavior through safe driver training, reducing accidents and cargo damage, as well as unnecessary maintenance and fines costs.
- Actionable insights: With Cartrack, dispatchers can immediately pinpoint challenges, know how to address them, and improve fleet operational efficiency with actionable insights to help them keep their business growing. This includes seamless, automated reporting and insights on:
– Fleet size optimization
– Fleet costs
– Driver scorecard
– Driver productivity
– Fuel
– Cost and kilometers per jobReports can be sent directly to dispatchers' inboxes, ensuring they have all the information they need, when they need it.
Choose the best, choose Cartrack.
With Cartrack, you can manage tasks, track progress, and collaborate seamlessly from one platform.
Contact Cartrack today and put the best task management tools at your fingertips!
