Tablets Transform Transportation

A few years ago, sales representatives were usually spotted carrying bulky, leather portfolios to their customers’ offices. Forward to 2012, these same sales representatives are seen carrying a thin, sleek tablet.

Tablets have transformed the way business is conducted. The Pew Research Center reports that as of the end of October 2011, 11% of U.S. adults now own a tablet computer of some kind. Businesses are coming out with both Apple and Android Apps in order to be at the forefront of providing convenience and ease to customers. As reported by the Jacksonville Business Journal, Apple is expected to have sales of 82 million iPads this year, which is 42% about previous estimates.

In the transportation and logistics industry, tablets are the new must-have for professionals. Many international transport companies and 3^rd party logistics providers are planning to or already investing in iPads for their employees. Regardless of whether the tablet has an android or apple operating system, tablets are useful for many reasons.

Greg Wellstead, the Director of Sales & Global Services at Spectrum Logistics, is a road warrior and a new iPad user. His reaction after using the iPad for a few months—“Bye bye laptop!” As a professional in the transportation and logistics industry, we asked Greg to give us the top 5 reasons why transportation professionals should invest in a tablet.

1. Mobility

24/7 email and internet access with a 3G connection and wifi? Need I say anymore for those of you who are obsessed with your emails. You can even buy a keyboard for your apple or android tablet in case you need to type something lengthy. You can even jot down quick notes and memos and access your documents—perfect for you tree huggers! Furthermore, you can access your work computer through remote desktop programs.

2. Polished Presentations

If you are selling international logistics solutions or even truck load service to potential customers, one can download apps like Prezi or even import powerpoints to their tablet device to conduct beautiful, professional presentations. You can access these presentations whenever you like, and even email them to the customers on the spot once you’ve completed your presentation.

3. Resources at your fingertips

Ever been asked questions about your company that you don’t know? You can now pull up your company’s website on the spot and get the info you need. More and more companies are optimizing their websites for mobile interfaces in an effort to drive more web traffic to their website. Tablets have hundreds of apps, and those can be great tools. For example, if you need a sailing schedule, you can just look it up on the JOC app. Even more so, you can access your company’s track and tracing system to update customers about their shipments.

Tablets are also great outlets to providing answers to expedited freight service. The Spectrum Logistics website has a very user-friendly request a quote form that allows one to upload documents and images; I frequently fill this out for customers when I’m on the go and submit it on the website so I can get a quick and accurate quote for them.

4. Video Chats

When I’m halfway across the world, I can always skype my team back home. The camera feature is also quite nice for taking pictures of new contacts that I meet so that my team and I can put a name to a face when we are following up with contacts.

5. It’s fun!

You can customize your tablet to your needs. You can setup certain types of news alerts, listen to music, play games, or doodle whenever you’re bored in those endless meetings (just kidding!).

No matter how technologically advanced you are, tablets have something for every user. For professionals in the transportation and logistics industry, the payoff of a tablet is small in comparison to its multiple uses and efficiency.