Mobile Intranets: Connecting Logistics Company Staff

Logistics companies are fundamental to the US economy and are responsible for generating over $2b in net revenue. Transportation and warehousing of product is their bread and butter which means they have large numbers of staff out and about on the road, managing and delivering great volumes of stock. Being connected to head office is fundamental to these remote workers. Whether it’s to report a delayed delivery due to bad traffic, make a maintenance request or update a manifest schedule, logistics company personnel need to be connected at all times. If you work in a logistics company then you’ll be familiar with these issues and have probably been grappling with finding effective solutions for many years. Well, have you considered a company intranet that is fully mobile optimized? With a cloud-based company intranet not only will your head office staff be enjoying the great many benefits that are on offer, your remote workers will also be able to stay connected. Read on to find out how a company intranet can help your logistics operation.

Connecting Remote Workers

With a mobile-optimized company intranet, remote workers can still feel involved and informed. The intranet news feed and company calendar keep staff members up to date with the latest news and events. Safety is often a key consideration for these staff. The company intranet is the perfect vehicle for distributing those important safety bulletins and advising staff of any changes to legislation or industry guidelines that they need to be aware of. What’s more, the central knowledge management hub on the intranet with an easily searchable database means that staff members can quickly locate information even from the cab of their truck when on the road.

Connecting and communicating with remote workers isn’t just about news and updates either. Internal job vacancies can be advertised on the intranet and staff rosters can also be published and updated. Giving staff members control of rosters so that they can talk to colleagues directly, swap shifts and update the roster themselves will not only empower the individual employees, it will also free up head office staff from having to deal with what can be a time-consuming task.

The key for remote workers wanting to access information is accessibility and speed. Cloud intranets that are mobile optimized have been designed with just that in mind. As well as presenting information in ways that make sense to smaller screens, uploading and downloading speeds are also optimized for smartphones and tablets.

And for employees that work away from home for days and days at a time, staying connected to head office is really important. The intranet allows them to check-in to headquarters, report on their achievements and deliveries that day and pass on any information and requests that they may have. It’s often a lifeline for these personnel who otherwise can be out of the loop at best, and at worst can feel very isolated, which in turn can affect their morale and willingness to stay in the job.

Real-Time Reporting

The ability to pick up a tablet or smartphone and provide real-time updates on deliveries, schedules, freight volumes and manifests is a must for logistics company personnel. The mobile-friendly company intranet essentially operates as a dashboard, allowing staff to report back to head office on all these operational issues. And likewise, headquarters can instruct and update personnel out on the road in real time. The advantages to providing a seamless, responsive service to the end customers of the logistics company are obvious and are not to be underestimated. It is after all a very competitive world out there.

Automated Business Processes

The company intranet can help you to do away with old paper or email-based systems and procedures. If a staff member out on the road wants to report a near-miss incident under the safety and health policy, they can do so using the embedded Google Sheet or form on the intranet. One of the great benefits of having the Google Apps suite of office tools embedded directly in the intranet is the contextual and background information that is available. The staff member can refer directly to the guidance as they complete the form. What’s more, the intranet will automatically route the form to the right manager for action. Likewise, vehicle maintenance requests can be filed via the intranet along with time sheets and expenses claims.  The intranet makes for much more streamlined and efficient business processes and will, therefore, save time and resources.

Employee Self-Service

For employees that very rarely spend time at head office the self-service nature of the company intranet is a real advantage. For example, employees from time to time will need to access holiday request forms, sickness or absence notifications or simply advise a change of address or other personal information. The company intranet allows staff members to take control and find the information themselves which is very satisfying and motivating in itself. And it also means that head office staff are not spending their time responding to such requests, locating information and emailing or posting it out. As a result, they’ll have more time to spend on other key business tasks.

The self-service approach can even be extended to remote training. Sometimes it’s a logistically difficult and expensive undertaking to divert staff away from their everyday duties to participate in professional development. A staff member attending a safe handling of goods course for instance, will need to be covered by a colleague or a temporary staff member. And then there’s the cost of the tutor, venue hire and travel expenses to be factored in as well. It all quickly adds up to a significant investment especially when you times that by the number of employees that need to attend the training. With the company intranet, these staff members will be able to undertake the training remotely and at a time that fits in with their schedules, even outside of standard working hours. The training itself can take a variety of forms from webinars and quizzes to how-to-videos and podcasts. In fact, there are lots of more engaging possibilities beyond the traditional classroom set up to be discovered through your intranet.

Connect With Your Staff

If you’re looking for a way to connect with your remote workers and improve real-time reporting at the same time as doing away with email and paper systems, and empowering staff with a self-service approach, then the mobile company intranet will do just that. What’s more, all these great outcomes are possible in the intranet’s single platform. There’s no need for multiple systems doing different aspects of the job – the company intranet does it all.

If you’re interested in finding out more, then get in touch with us here at MyHub. We’d be happy to take you through the features of our intranet with a demonstration, or you can sign up for the 14-day free trial. Get in touch today.