Many people who don’t work in the sectors initially fail to realize how instrumental the Trucking and logistics sectors are to modern society. When people arrive at stores and see fully stocked shelves, both industries had major roles to play in making that happen.

However, as trucking professionals have to meet tight deadlines and contend with numerous factors outside of their direct control, it has become more popular for some decision-makers to invest in connected technologies to help organizations stay profitable and keep customers happy.

Getting Better Gas Mileage

Joseph Sarcona, the president of JJS Transportation and Distribution Company, used his Twitter profile as a platform to illuminate how the prices of diesel fuel are substantially higher now than in past years. For example, he cited a statistic that indicated the rates for early September 2021 had reached the highest level since 2018.

Since people in the trucking industry cannot count on fuel prices to plunge anytime soon, the next best thing is to consider using advanced technologies to track Gas Mileage on individual trucks. For example, smart sensors can confirm how often a driver has to fill up the tank and show historical logs of how fuel economy has changed over time.

If a company leader sees a major decrease in that metric in a relatively short span of time, that information may encourage them to have maintenance done on the truck or get a specialist to investigate the root cause of the decline. Alternatively, keeping tabs on gas mileage can help a fleet manager see if certain organizational changes or truck upgrades have had the desired effects.

Preventing Accidents

Professional drivers spend hours on the road each day. Those prolonged periods behind the wheel can result in fatigue that could lead to operating a huge vehicle while feeling drowsy. Statistics indicate that approximately 87% of road crashes are preventable incidents, however.

Drivers can be proactive by stopping to get coffee or take rest breaks to avoid getting into dangerous driving territory. However, their supervisors must be open to the reality that tiredness can affect anyone and not try to push their trucking team members too hard.

Additionally, emerging technologies are available that use artificial intelligence (AI) to detect incidents of drowsy driving. After all, people can become more tired than they realize rather quickly. Once the AI picks up on signs of trouble, it can urge the driver to pull over, alert their supervisor, or both.

Teaching New Team Members

It’s also increasingly popular to use virtual reality (VR) to train truck drivers and people in the logistics industry. It can be overwhelming for a person with little or no experience to get started in a massive warehouse or steering a large commercial vehicle on a busy road.

VR lets people learn in a safe and controlled, yet realistic, environment. It allows them to make mistakes without disastrous consequences. This type of training cannot and should not substitute time on the road in real life. However, it can be an excellent substitute, particularly in a time when many trucking and logistics companies are trying to recruit more people.

Bringing VR into the training curriculum can also give candidates the impression that a company is on the cutting edge of technology. Many people had their first experiences with virtual reality in the gaming world. However, it’s also proving its worth beyond entertainment as an educational tool.

These are just a few of the many ways that technology can help trucking and logistics brands stay competitive in an increasingly challenging marketplace. Getting the best results with these options or other possibilities requires assessing to see where room for improvement exists, and then determining how advanced technologies could help company executives meet their goals.