Building the Future of Freight

A Guest Blog from Shoaib Makani is KeepTruckin’s co-founder and CEO

Ryan, Obaid and I started KeepTruckin with a clear mission — to improve the safety of America’s trucking industry by building reliable and easy to use technology for drivers. Fast forward 5 years — more than 50% of American trucking companies use KeepTruckin products, including our ELDs and Smart Dashcams. Our technology has made drivers’ lives easier and roads safer.

Now we are excited to expand the mission; to not only help carriers be safe and compliant but also help them grow their business. For too long, carriers have had to manually find loads that minimize deadhead and maximize revenue. All while balancing the needs of their drivers and the constraints of the hours of service rules.

With more than 200,000 trucks and 50,000 for-hire carriers using the KeepTruckin ELD, the information that allows for better matching, reduced deadhead, and an improved bottom line is now available. To help our customers fully realize the value of ELDs, we are excited to announce that we are building the KeepTruckin Smart Load Board, enabling carriers to access the best loads, customized for them based on their lane preferences and current availability.

This is how it works:

1. Brokers and asset-based carriers in need of capacity can post loads to the KeepTruckin Smart Load Board via API, EDI or manually.

2. KeepTruckin matches loads to carriers based on an understanding of their drivers’ lane preferences, current location, and hours of service. Carriers can accept or bid on loads electronically.

3. Once a carrier has accepted a load and gives consent, brokers can track the load in real time.

To build the load board of the future, we needed to better understand how freight is moved today. That led us to acquire a small freight brokerage out of South Carolina — One Point Logistics. The development of the Smart Load Board is being informed by One Point, however, all freight brokers will have equal access to the Smart Load Board when it launches later this year.

But better matching is only half the story. Knowing if your driver is going to be detained excessively is critical to making smart load decisions. The trucks that use KeepTruckin ELDs stop at every major shipping facility in America. With insight into when trucks arrive, how long they dwell, and when they leave, we can help all of our carriers work with shippers of choice.

In a major step forward for the trucking industry, we are incredibly proud to announce KeepTruckin Facility Insights. For the first time, carriers will know exactly what to expect at a shipper and consignee facility before accepting a load. To protect the privacy of our customers, we anonymize all location data, and only include facilities that have received visits from more than five carriers.

The One Point team has used these insights to screen for the best shippers and help them improve their own performance, so that our carriers get access to the best loads. The early feedback from carriers has been exceptional.

KeepTruckin Facility Insights will be available to all carriers and shippers this summer.

Category: Connected Fleet News, Featured, Fleet Diagnostics & Software, General Update, News