Delivery drivers are in short supply these days. According to the American Trucking Association, in 2021 there was a truck driver shortage in the US of over 80,000 drivers. This number could grow to 160,000 by 2030.

Maximizing driver retention and happiness in these turbulent times should be a priority for every fleet owner, manager, and owner/operator, because attracting and retaining good drivers ensures your business stays running.

Paying competitive wages and maintaining safe working conditions will help with driver retention, but this is just the start. More is needed for your business to survive and thrive. Creating an optimal work experience that supports driver satisfaction is the new imperative.

Let’s face facts: drivers want to make the most money with the least amount of aggravation and cost. Just like consumers want a seamless buying experience, drivers want a smooth onboarding process, frictionless transaction assignments, and intuitive tools that support their work.

A key determiner of driver efficiency and productivity, for example, is optimized route planning. When drivers know exactly where and when they need to go, it saves time, money, and helps your business scale.

A delivery management system that is right for your business can help to ensure driver satisfaction. This will improve driver experience, reduce work-related stress, and make your customers happy.

Here are 26 tech tips Dispatch Science customers are using to help their drivers and their business:

Increase revenues and streamline payments

1. Provide drivers with easy access to their statements and payment information
2. Easily add extra charge services or fees
3. Make it easy for drivers to report, track, and monetize special activities or controls like ID verification, parcel inspection, documentation, etc.
4. Enable drivers to easily collect and track cash and CODs

Reduce drive times

5. Integrate mapping software (e.g., Google, Waze, Apple Maps) for turn-by-turn directions and traffic avoidance
6. Automatically optimize all daily stop lists into dense and efficient routes
7. Enable and automate route re-optimization to handle real-world changing conditions
8. Provide a live map view of each stop
9. Use geofencing to eliminate time-consuming and costly delivery mistakes

Improve communications

10. Streamline and centralize messaging between drivers and dispatchers with in-app chat
11. Provide apps and tools in the driver’s native language
12. Support the addition of notes and attachments to make instructions clearer, reduce misunderstandings, and avoid non-compliance with delivery requirements
13. Enable drivers to manage their work schedules or planned shifts
14. Offer alerts to warn drivers when they are falling behind schedule
15. Make it easy for drivers to call or text pickup or delivery recipients

Make proof of delivery and scanning more efficient

16. Ensure successful deliveries by supporting technology with offline operations; a poor connection or no signal won’t interfere with point of delivery (POD), scans, etc.
17. Provide the ability to gather POD in different ways (e.g., photo, signature, ID verification, barcode scan)
18. Integrate in-app barcode scanning – remove the need for a separate device
19. Support in-phone review of the bill of materials (BOMs) and other attachments rather than using paper documents

Support changes in orders and loads

20. Make it easy for drivers to transfer orders to other drivers while maintaining chain-of-custody
21. Go paperless by providing all order details on the driver’s app
22. Provide drivers with the ability to create their own orders (e.g., return orders)
23. Allow drivers to adjust the load/unload times and charges in the app
24. Offer visible notifications and alerts of new orders
25. Let drivers review order details and commission before accepting or rejecting assignments
26. Allow drivers to easily put orders on hold, with easy-to-understand reason codes and instant alerts to dispatch

Drivers continue to be an essential element of the delivery business. Due to the rise of e-commerce, the ongoing effects of the pandemic, and the constant competition for delivery drivers, it is becoming increasingly difficult to attract and retain good drivers. One critical way to make your drivers’ lives easier is by equipping them with technology that is configured and optimized for your business. Dispatch Science can help.

Get in touch with our sales team today to request a demo of our delivery management system.