The scope of the software is enormous. It will dispatch your trucks, pay your drivers, bill your customers and keep your books.

It will interface with your mobile communications system, your maintenance software, your web site and maybe keep your customers up to the second on the whereabouts and well-being of their freight.
But how will it help your newly hired dispatcher or customer service rep? What piece of it will he or she actually use? What should they know about how the software works for other departments?
Successful software implementation depends on the answer to these questions and an effective training effort. The more comprehensive the software package the more critical that effort will be.
In the May issue of Heavy Duty Trucking magazine, Technology Editor John Bendel talks to three leading software providers about how they bring the necessary working knowledge to the people who actually use their software.
For instance, Maddocks Software, provider of TruckMate for Windows software, is building what President Bob Maddocks calls a library of training courses, most of which are available over the Internet.
TMW Systems, provider of TMWSuite and TL2000 software, also provides training over the Internet. “But we don’t believe you can entirely replace face-to-face training,” said TMW CEO Tom Weisz.
At McLeod Software, which offers LoadMaster software, President Tom McLeod says that a training plan depends on the size of the company. “We typically like to concentrate on key users, two or three people within the company who are going to help train all the individual users,” he says.
For more details on what these companies offer in the way of training, see the May issue of Heavy Duty Trucking. Also in this month’s IT Solutions section you’ll find Nextel’s mobile communications for small fleets, and maintenance systems available via the Internet. Visit our website to find out more and subscribe.