November 27, 2019 Fuel Theft by any other name

Call it ‘Fuel Congestion.’ Call it ‘Fuel Padding.’ Call it ‘Fuel Stretching.’ No matter what you call it, it all boils down to ‘Fuel Theft.’

When a contractor tells you they need 300 gallons of fuel when they really only use 100 gallons and pocket the difference, that’s fuel theft.

Now you have a way to stop fuel theft that is draining your profit. Do it the same way one of our customers is doing it.

They use Photector to photograph and document the fuel gauge at all stops from point A to point Z. They want photographic proof using Photector between those stops to make sure that the fuel gauge was reading correct.

Photector is perfect for this situation because every photo taken automatically stamps the date, time, and GPS location on it. Then Photector instantly and securely stores the photos so that no one can alter them.

With Photector, you can ensure that contractors aren’t bilking you with extra fuel charges. Contact us for an easy solution.

November 20, 2019 Got Relectors and Mudflaps?

One of Photector’s customers is a high-volume roadability maintenance and repair facility. They repair hundreds of trucks and trailers every day to make them roadworthy again.

Most are small repairs that they do quickly, like replacing a reflector or mud flap. Or changing a tail light or blinker bulb. Or a broken mirror. They get the trucks back on the road fast.

In order to bill for their services properly, they use Photector.  First, they take “before” photos showing where the equipment was broken. After the repair is finished, they take “after” photos to prove the repair with completed properly.

Since Photector stamps each photo with the date, time, location and stores them securely in the blockchain where no one can alter them, there is ironclad proof to back up their invoices.

This is just one more way folks in transportation are using Photector to solve issues and improve efficiency.

Contact us today to see how Photector can make your company’s operations easier.

November 13, 2019 101 Ways Photector improves the transportation industry

There are countless ways to use Photector to protect the bottom line of your business.  Here are just a few to wet your appetite.

Photector “before and after” photos are time, date and GPS location stamped so they are perfect to…

  • Stop ‘he said, she said’ arguments in their tracks
  • Provide factual condition of assets for disaster insurance claims
  • Report tire damage
  • Prevent fuel theft
  • Document insurance claims
  • Prove intermodal container damage claims
  • Document and show OSHA safety violations
  • Bill for trailer damage repairs
  • Document reefer temperatures
  • Confirm merchandise shipping conditions
  • Show equipment damage at depots and gates
  • Invoice customers for equipment cleanliness (or lack thereof)
  • Display equipment condition for sale or lease
  • Fast roadability repairs
  • Manage inventory and assets
  • Document maintenance and repairs
  • Avoid paying for damage you didn’t cause

The uses for Photector are endless. How can your company use Photector to improve your operations and bottom line?

Let’s talk. Tell us what troubles your organization faces and we’ll show you how Photector can help.

November 6, 2019 Recovering Tough Claims Just Got Easier

In the five steps to recover tough claims mentioned in  3PL Perspectives’ article, step 2 is…

“Document the Exception…Once the trailer is open, receiving needs to be on the watch for any signs of damage. If there are signs of damage, such as pallets fallen over or wet or damaged cartons, this is the time to take pictures. Photos should be taken right away – before the products are unloaded.”

Documentation just got easier. Using Photector is a new best-practice for documenting damages with photo facts. With just a few clicks on your smart phone, Photector creates high-resolution, time stamped photos complete with GPS location.

Photector instantly stores the photos in the Blockchain and uses OCR technology for easy search and retrieval. That eliminates all the headaches of organizing, labeling, uploading, storing and searching the photos. It is simple to retrieve the correct photos in seconds and share them with other parties in the claims process.

Step five in the article is “Start Your Paper Trail.” Since a Photector photo is worth a thousand words, describing the damage just got a whole lot easier. Just add your Photector photos to your claims for faster recoveries and fewer disagreements.

Try a free Photector Test Drive and see for yourself or schedule a 1-on-1 demo today!

To learn about the other steps in the freight claims process, here’s a link to the full “Recovering Tough Claims” article.

October 30, 2019 How To Finally Get Paid for Filthy Rental Returns

When rental trucks, trailers and equipment come back in unfit conditions, it disrupts your whole operation.

You can’t rent it right back out in that condition. You’ve got to take it out of the rotation, pay someone to clean it, and then put it back in the lineup.

Often, the down time costs your business even more than the cleaning crew.

Some companies have increased their rental fees to cover these extra costs. But that makes it hard to stay competitive.

There is a better way!

Let’s stop the unfit behavior at the root cause–the drivers. Let’s not penalize all the customers with higher prices but instead charge only the culprits that are leaving excessive trash, garbage and other unfit conditions in the rentals.

To do that, you’ll need irrefutable proof that the rental was clean when it was picked up and unacceptably unfit when it came back.

That’s where Photector comes in.

In order to charge these customers for the cleaning and downtime successfully, you’ll need good records–photos of the clean condition when the driver took it out and photos of the unfit conditions when the driver brought it back.

Photector is a quick and easy way for rental agents to document the condition with up to 20 photographs when the rental leaves, complete with GPS location, time and date stamps, all saved in the Blockchain where no one can alter them. When the rental comes back in, agents take more photos of the condition.

Photo evidence removes all doubt about who is responsible. The “before and after” photos are key to stopping any “he said, she said” arguments.

With Photector in place, you can institute a new billing policy with cleaning fees and have the factual proof to share with customers about their drivers’ behavior to make the fees stick. Even a $100 fee will get their attention.

If a driver knows that “eyes are watching,” you are going to charge $100 to the company, and their boss is going to see the photos, then the driver will be more likely not to leave behind any unwanted conditions.

Schedule an appointment today to see how Photector can stop these unfit conditions in its tracks.

October 25, 2019 FreightWaves names Photector for the 2020 FreightTech 100

This week, FreightWaves announced the winners of its 2020 FreightTech 100 award and among the winners, Photector was selected again for the 2nd year in a row. The FreightTech 100 highlights the most innovative and disruptive companies across the freight industry, featuring both cutting-edge upstarts and top-notch traditional powers.

This year’s list includes 70 returning companies from last year’s awards and 30 first-timers.  This year’s FreightTech 100 list is the result of over 1,200 nominations for 255 unique companies.

“We are pleased to announce the 2020 FreightTech 100, and we are excited to reveal the 2020 FreightTech 25 at FreightWaves LIVE in Chicago next month,” FreightWaves Executive Vice President of Events Arlen Stark said. “These game-changing companies are driving the freight industry toward greatness.”

Companies named in the FreightTech 100 will be judged by an external panel of industry experts, with voting conducted and overseen by accounting firm Katz, Sapper & Miller (KSM). Each member of the panel will rank their top 25 companies on a 1 to 25 point basis. The companies generating the most points will comprise the FreightTech 25.

Congratulations to Photector for winning this important and prestigious award for a 2nd year in a row.  Photector’s contributions to innovating the freight processes have improved our industry.

Read last year’s announcement article for 2018’s FreightTech 100 award

October 23, 2019 How To Reduce Truck Rental Damages with a Simple Pattern Interrupt

Let’s face it. Many folks who rent trucks drive cars. They aren’t used to the big trucks that take more room to maneuver, turn and park.

That’s why equipment damage is such a big line item expense in our industry.

More awareness could be built into the rental process, encouraging renters to take the transaction more seriously. Reminding them that trucks aren’t tanks and that they can be damaged just as easily as cars.

Photector’s photo documentation system acts as a “pattern interrupt” to a typical rental experience. A pattern interrupt is a technique that changes a person’s thought, behavior or situation.

With Photector, the counter agent quickly snaps photos of the rental driver, their ID, and all sides of the truck, trailer or equipment while the customer watches. The agent explains that more photos will be taken again at the end of the rental and they will be responsible for any new damage.

By increasing awareness and setting these expectations up front, customers will drive away with safety at the forefront of their mind. It’s a win-win for everyone.

See how easy Photector’s photo documentation process is by scheduling an appointment.

October 16, 2019 Cash Customers, Expensive Rental Trucks and Blockchain Evidence

Cash customers can be a curse or a blessing when you consider that a customer gives you a few hundred dollars and drives off in a brand new, 5-figure box truck.  Here’s how one disaster played out at a well known national rental company.

A woman came in to rent a 16-foot box truck for what she said was a one-day, in-town move. She paid her $200 deposit and $40 rental fee in cash. Should that have raised a red flag? Probably, but it gets worse.

They gave her one of the brand new trucks, because the trucks stay in local inventory when it’s an in-town move.  The next day, their customer didn’t show up at her scheduled return time. She didn’t show up late–she never showed up at all!

They began calling the first phone number she gave them with no answer. Next, they would’ve charged her credit card… but she had paid in cash!  They then called her second phone number. It turned out to be the business phone number of their other rental office down the street.

Now, here’s the best part: The rental rep forgot to scan her driver’s license. There was no G.P.S. installed on the truck. They had no idea where their brand new truck was, and all evidence pointed to a stolen vehicle they’d never see again.

This was a perfect storm of incompetence, oversight and deception, and they were at fault for 2 out of 3!

Luckily, a week later, the truck showed up. Their customer had driven it across state lines and dropped it off at one of their other rental offices in California. Turns out, it was cheaper to steal it for a week than to pay for a one-way move to California.

She had given the rental company cash, along with a fake name, 2 fake phone numbers, and no I.D. or credit card. They didn’t have a clue who she was, so they couldn’t find her to even prosecute her.

The outcome would have been much different if Photector had been part of the rental process. During check-out, they could have taken photos of the customer, her ID and credit card, and photos of the condition of the truck. The evidence they collected would have been date, time and GPS location stamped and stored in the Blockchain–evidence that would hold up in court. It would also be evidence available to all of the rental companies locations instantly across the country, as well, so she couldn’t try this again on anyone else in the near future.

Of course, using Photector may have been a deterrent and this customer may have decided stealing wasn’t worth the risk.

See what Photector can do for your rental company by scheduling an appointment with us today.

October 9, 2019 Eating $15,000 in Rental Damages Really Hurts

A colleague worked in the truck leasing business for a well known company that had a big lease contract with a freight company. He told me lots of stories about rental trucks being returned with damages.

Once he was in his office when he heard one of the rental reps on the front counter yelling, so he went to see what was going on. The customer’s driver had walked in, flipped the keys at the rental rep, and walked out. Didn’t say a word.

As they chased the driver to the parking lot they discovered the truck’s entire passenger side was missing! The driver must have sideswiped something. The side skirts and the front were damaged. The molding and plastics were gone from the passenger side. The door was a mess and the mirror was missing.

It was more than $15,000 of damage.

My colleague marched back inside to send a strongly worded email to the company, attaching a damage claim. But when he started searching for the inspection document, he went cold. Come to find out, nobody ever filled one out on this rental.

No one completed a walk around at time of rental. Or if they did, the paperwork didn’t make it to the file cabinet.

He went ahead and sent the damage claim email with pictures of the damage anyway, but he knew what would happen…and it did.

Almost immediately, the freight company requested the original inspection sheet. He told him that he couldn’t find it.

“Well, then it sounds like you guys have a problem, don’t you?” the freight company contact said. And that was the last of the damage claim.

Unfortunately, he was right, and they had to eat the entire cost of repairs.

Sadly, this was not a rare occurrence. They had situations like this several days a month, all year long.

When I talk to others in the industry, they tell me the same things happened at their companies all the time, too. Blame it on $10/hour clerks or paper records instead of digital documentation or just being too busy to be thorough. It doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, that’s a lot of profit going out the window in an industry with already low margins.

Today this would never happen because there’s Photector. You are able to document the condition, location and timestamp before and after each rental. Stored in the Blockchain. Quick. Easy. There’s no way the inspection would get lost.

Photector’s patent pending technology gives you irrefutable evidence should damage occur without a doubt in anyone’s mind–yours, your customer’s or a court of law.

Schedule an appointment to see how Photector innovates the rental industry.

October 5, 2019 Photector Surpasses 1 Million Events

This week marks a huge milestone for Photector and our entire team is ecstatic – We just surpassed 1 million events being recorded on our platform.

If you didn’t already know, a Photector event is the combination of Date, Time, GPS Location, OCR, Blockchain, and up to 20 high resolution photographs taken from a smart device such as an iPhone or Android.

The feedback from our customers has been both gratifying and encouraging:

  • A trucking company was able to prove out an ROI for the entire year in just one month
  • A repair company saved 1 full-time position using Photector rather than keeping track of photos “the old fashioned way”
  • A rental equipment company uses Photector to record the before and after condition of their rental equipment dropped the number of claims by 50% and increased revenue because equipment wasn’t in the repair shop and was being turned faster. Their feedback: “There’s no substitute for photographic proof.”

There are many other great stories on how Photector has saved time and money, let us help you write your story.

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Photector Is Changing The Way Companies Protect Themselves

  • Find out how to prevent damage claims you didn't cause
  • Squeeze more profit out of every trip
  • Save time, hassle & relationships
  • Securely Document the State of Equipment

What's a Photector Event?

A Photector Event is the combination of Date, Time, GPS Location, OCR, Blockchain, and up to 20 high resolution photographs.

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