Staff shortages propel fleets to TransVirtual technology

After a COVID inspired explosion in e-commerce, has a return to normal caused a drop off in digital transformation of delivery fleets?

Certainly not, said Murray Phillips, operations manager of transport management solution group TransVirtual. Staff shortages, particularly of drivers, is propelling freight forwarders and other transport operators to find labour and cost savings in technology.

“There’s still elements of people moving from paper onto something electronic, but a lot more of our sales are to people looking for efficiencies in their processes, so that they can do more with less, so that drivers are a bit more efficient and their runs are a bit more efficient,” said Phillips.

TransVirtual software integrates with national carriers including DHL, Mainfreight, and Border Express, allowing agents Australia wide to fulfil deliveries transparently and efficiently. The software schedules deliveries, allocates drivers and daily routes, tracks freight and drivers, produces point of delivery confirmation and has automatic invoicing capabilities.

“Business can be administered more efficiently, and they can maximise their income and their revenue, and they’re not leaking anything because they’re using outdated processes,” said Phillips.

Phillips, in an interview with Fleet News Group, talked about the incredible transformation in retail of recent years, when technology was available to enable the rapid escalation of online shopping amid the pandemic.

While Transvirtual’s software covers a full gamut of logistics, it’s found its sweet spot in last-mile delivery of parcels.

The technology to track and trace parcels was introduced by big national transport companies, but they aren’t everywhere and rely on smaller transport fleets and agents to complete deliveries, especially the so-called last-mile delivery — from the final depot to the customer in the home or at work.

“As soon as you get out of large metro locations, the visibility and the trackability of freight drops significantly. That’s where TransVirtual comes in,” said Phillips, adding the platform’s integration with the software of national carriers has enabled regional and remote deliveries with the same transparent customer experience expected in metro locations today.

“If we rewind 10 years, there’s when technology had caught up and TransVirtual was created to allow anything from a small business up to really large enterprises to run a platform that was accessible,” said Phillips.

Also, people may have forgotten but just a few years ago people needed to sign with a pen on paper to receive a parcel.

“There’s still a lot, especially at that time, that was being delivered using pen and paper.”

A key attribute of TransVirtual’s software is visibility for both the senders and receivers. Today, people expect to sign electronically, or not at all. Special rule changes introduced to manage COVID restrictions, such as a photo of a packet left on a doorstep, have remained in place. Transvirtual drivers can upload photos, via an app, of the package to prove delivery.

TransVirtual is headquartered near the Newcastle, NSW freight hub that captures both the Pacific Highway and the New England Highway routes. It was founded in 2010 by Troy Searle to bring to market software he’d written for his family-run refrigerated transport company. The software had proved popular with national freight carriers, who recommended it to their agents. Searle has continuously developed and improved the product.

The next iteration of the TransVirtual platform is designed to incorporate warehouse and storage functions and meet demand from client transport companies expanding into storage, and vice versa. This is presently, in early 2023, in beta testing with some existing clients of Transvirtual.

“Transport companies with sheds and depots scattered across the country, with potentially space in their depots, will be able to do some warehouse and storage,” said Phillips.