Saia LTL Freight operates 194 terminals across the country and employs nearly 14,000 people. Saia has been recognized as a leading LTL carrier by Mastio and by the American Trucking Associations Safety Management Council for its outstanding safety record.

Saia LTL Freight, a prominent national LTL carrier, faced the perennial challenge of optimizing routes to improve efficiency and productivity for pickup and delivery. Recognizing the potential of emerging technologies, the company sought a solution to enhance driver workflow, route optimization, and overall modernization of its fleet operations. The challenge was to streamline operations, reduce wasted miles, and enhance safety measures while keeping up with the industry's evolving demands.

The solution

To address these challenges, Saia LTL Freight embarked on a journey to develop a mobile app that could function as an electronic logging device (ELD) and offer a comprehensive suite of tools to drivers to increase service, efficiency, and safety.

Over two years, the two companies enabled extensive collaboration between Optymers and Saia fleet drivers to create a solution that met the needs of driver workflows. Driver feedback and evaluation ride-alongs played a crucial role in shaping the features of RouteMax. The app incorporated advanced route optimization technology, graphic map representation, and an intuitive driver interface. It aimed to consolidate various driver productivity tools into a single, user-friendly device, eliminating the need for multiple devices in the truck cab.

“Using this new app, our drivers can now do everything on their smartphones, when we used to have two separate devices in the cab of the truck,” Saia Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer Rohit Lal said. “Now, with their smartphones, our drivers have a fully compliant ELD that also allows them to take a photograph of a delivery and get a signature from the recipient. So, what we really have here is all our driver productivity tools coming together in single device.”

Results

Fleets who use the app have reported a reduction in the need for drivers by up to 12%, a decrease of 15% in miles driven per delivery, and a remarkable 50% reduction in route-planning times. The app provided an overall modernization effort, particularly benefiting city drivers who now had access to a graphical map representation on their smartphones.

The RouteMax app not only optimized routes but also served as a fully compliant ELD, allowing drivers to seamlessly capture delivery details, take photographs, and obtain recipient signatures. The integration of safety features such as speed limit alerts, off-course alerts, and compatibility checks for route structures further enhanced the overall safety of operations.

"We recognized quite early that these tools gave us the ability to be more efficient and more productive.

And early on, we saw that this was a game-changer for us on those fronts. We really see this move as more of an overall modernization effort, particularly for our city drivers.”

Rohit Lal‍

Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer

SAIA

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