Connecteam – No.1 Choice for Logistics and Operation Companies

Running a successful logistics and operations company can be hard work. Everyday, you are faced with new challenges. We decided to take a dive into what logistics and operations face on a daily basis. 

Technology is growing by leaps and bounds throughout every industry. Manual processes simply don’t work in 2024! Logistic and operations companies have a lot of data to process and ensure they are handled in the correct manner. The end customer is also changing, along with their expectations. Technology is speeding up processes and the customer expects efficiency. New entrants are able to make a wave provided they are technology ready. 

We noticed a trend where more companies are choosing Connecteam as their number one choice for combatting these challenges. Below will discuss why they are choosing Connecteam and how it benefits the everyday running of their business.

Challenges Logistics and Operations Companies Faced Before Connecteam

• Endless Piles of Reports

“Every time an equipment repair request comes in, we can spend hours going back and forth because an employee made a mistake – if we can even receive these reports on time, it’s a miracle.”

• Safety Protocols 

“Informing every employee about hazards or incidents takes a lot of time and that time can put our employees in danger – this is something we must correct. We waste too much time calling employees to ensure they are aware of safety protocols like if working at height regulation is changed, we need to make sure they are aware of proper protocol.” 

“Scheduling meetings that work for every single employee, across many locations, to address safety protocols takes too much time and often not everyone shows up so we are always chasing after a handful of employees to bring them up to speed. Not to mention the complexity of tracking who attended those meetings”

• Scheduling Employees Takes Hours

“Every week, I lose full days just creating the schedule for the week ahead – from checking availability and time-off requests, I can barely stay on top of this task!”

“If someone calls in, finding a replacement is a nightmare because I have to dig up the current schedule to see who is on the clock and who isn’t, then I need to check if a replacement can come in or not. It’s exhausting.” 

• Internal Communication Is Rocky

“Communicating updates and announcements take a lot of time and is a messy process – whether it’s an email or a text message or I’m calling everyone individually, or setting up a conference call, it’s just so time-consuming. Even something as simple as changing someone’s shift on the day is hard to do.”

“I have no way to track if everyone got the message and read it, I literally spend days chasing after everyone to make sure we’re all on the same page” 

• Onboarding and Training Is Complicated

“A full day can be wasted because I’m too busy organizing a day and time that works for all my employees to come in and learn a new method or learn how to use a new piece of machinery. The employees don’t like these training days and we lose a lot of time organizing them.”

Connecteam Helps You Tackle Common Challenges

Organizing Daily Checklists and Reports

Day-to-day operations are a key aspect of logistics and operation companies. Checklists and reports are commonly used to help reduce tension from daily activities, automate information flow, and gain better oversight. 

• Pre-trip truck or vehicle inspection checklist 
• Pre-drive checklists for forklift
• Driver checklists for loading and unloading procedures 
• Driver trip report, including loading information 
• Daily crane inspection
• Repair order ticket
• Speed and parking tickets 
• Field and job invoice
• Accident report form
• Incident report form
• Hazard observation report
• Customer complaint form
• Post-delivery and job form 

All entries submitted by employees are digitally logged. They can then either be automatically sent to a predefined email address as a PDF copy or exported as an Excel file.

 

Streamline Communication

Communication needs are a fundamental element for all logistics and operations companies. With Connecteam, it’s easier than ever to achieve efficient and trackable communication. The features include:

• Realtime push notifications and updates: easily send formal and informal announcements, such as safety alerts, letters from the CEO, travel updates, report reminders, and much more.
• Employee directory: search for work contacts via the in-app directory. No need to save, edit or delete work contacts from your personal phone.
• Chat groups and channels: Online team chat streamlines day-to-day communication. Easily and efficiently send messages to specific smart groups for example supervisors, warehouses, etc.

Improved Safety Awareness and Standards

When it comes to safety, logistics, and operations companies use Connecteam to raise awareness and level up safety standards company-wide. The best practices include:

• Quick and easy reporting: each employee, whether they’re in the warehouse, shop, or on the road is able to report in real-time. Automatically send reports to the supervisor for further evaluation and response.
• Ongoing safety training: allows managers and safety officers to keep an eye on each employee’s progress.
• Safety first communication: update safety-related procedures and protocols instantly. For example, responding to a report, procedure updates, potential hazards such as closed roads or harsh weather conditions.
• Safety digital resources: safety protocols are available at a click of a button. In addition, ‘lessons learned’, incident findings, and periodical safety tips.

 

Sops and Company Protocols Are Always Available

Logistics and operations companies need to make certain that their employees have access to the following materials. This is especially important as they are remote these include:

• Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) 
• Safety and emergency protocols
• Employee handbook
• Code of ethics
• Sexual harassment policy
• Uniform policy

 

Job Scheduling Is Easy

Logistics and operations companies often require the ability to manage complex scheduling needs. Connecteam is their first choice for an employee scheduling app as it’s so simple to schedule and plan for the future.

• Assign employees to shifts based at different locations
• Schedule many shifts at one time.
• Allocate the correct workers according to the customer.
• Dispatch teams or individuals to specific missions. Furthermore, add notes for the shift (address, contact name, etc.)
• Record employee clock in and clock out with added GPS stamp. 
• Employees can add shift notes and attachments with videos, pictures, and free text. 
• Allow employees to accept or reject shifts. This is optional as you can disable this feature.

 

Time Tracking Is Easy

Connecteam makes it simple to track working hours and handle payroll sheets. To help you achieve this we have the following:

• Clock in and out of shifts with an added GPS location stamp.
• Connecteam acts as a clock in and out app so you can send push notifications to remind employees to clock in and out. As you have a full view of everyone’s hours, it lowers the amount of overtime you are providing.
• Utilize notes and tags, to address specific needs for example filter customers or specific dates.
• Easily view current or past timesheets.
• Export payroll sheets accurately, per shift or as a total, to Connecteam’s QuickBooks Online and Gusto integration.

 

Onboarding and Training Is a Smooth Process

Knowing that a third of new employees felt they didn’t have a proper onboarding process quit, a smooth transition into work is achievable with Connecteam. In addition, Connecteam helps improve efficiency as employees have the following tools to feel part of their team:

• An employee welcome letter
• New employee checklist
• Personal information form 
• Confidentiality and non-disclosure agreement
• New employee startup form
• Criminal record application
• Getting a copy of ID and other relevant documents
• Health and safety training
• Uniform, badge, and other equipment signings

With Connecteam’s employee training app, you can easily assist every new hire with training, right from their phones. Tracking their progress is made easy, and training includes:

• Health and safety training
• Driving related training 
• Sexual harassment training
• Equipment usage and maintenance
• Test and quizzes.

 

Compliance Purposes

Connecteam is used by logistics and operations companies for compliance purposes. ‘Read and sign’ forms are common, as well as periodical refresher training courses. All documents are logged and are automatically sent as a PDF copy to predefined email(s). Each form is customizable and can be exported as a summary report at any time. The following report examples include:

• Employee handbook acknowledgment
• Uniform agreement 
• Sexual harassment policy
• Incident findings report
• Periodical refresh training
• Winter driving
• Working at height
• Sexual harassment training
• Loading safety tips
• Protocol refresher training

Human Resources Requirements

Logistics and operations HR use Connecteam to automate processes and gain better visibility over workforce-related issues.

• Recommend a friend: easy for the workforce to recommend friends for a position, increasing their recruitment reach.
• Personal information form for on-boarding new employees: new hires fill out the following: personal info, contact info, emergency contact, documents such as tax forms and photo ID, etc.
• Updating contact information: update contact information straight through the app. For example address, name change, mobile number, email, bank account number, and more.
• Employee satisfaction quarterly survey: know employee satisfaction levels. This includes asking about their role, manager, company culture, and more.

Connecteam – Logistic and Operations Companies First Choice

Technology is the way forward to improving productivity and efficiency. Furthermore, it’s the gateway to reducing costs and most importantly errors. Connecteam does it all from reporting to scheduling, it’s no surprise that it is a leading employee app with desktop capabilities. Connecteam is affordable

Connecteam is a leading all-in-one employee app with many capabilities that help scale your business. Easy reporting so what are you waiting for? Start with a free plan now!