Truckload carriers are saying goodbye – and good riddance -- to some familiar paper documents.

Truckload Management Inc., of Brentwood, Tenn., says its service TripPak Online turns paper to computer files. They also claim it’s taking off big time. Recent new customers include Florida Express Carriers of Jacksonville, Fla.; Roberson Transportation Services of Champaign, Ill., and Quality Carriers of Tampa, Fla., the nation's largest tank truck carrier.
TripPak Online works with sister service TripPak Express which has drop boxes at truckstops around the country where drivers drop paperwork from completed deliveries. TripPak Express carries the paperwork back to carrier headquarters on an expedited basis.
TripPak Online adds an electronic option. Paperwork from the drop boxes is delivered to a TripPak processing center in Wilmington, Ohio, where all documents are scanned overnight and sent to the carrier electronically.
TripPak Online launched in 1995 and made the big leagues in 1999 when truckload colossus Swift Transportation of Phoenix signed on. Recent Swift acquisition M.S. Carriers is also a TripPak Online customer.
According to Mark Cleveland, executive vice president of sales and marketing, TripPak Online is a unique service in the marketplace. The company also offers software for carriers to access and manage the electronic documents TripPak provides, he said. The software, which can interface with carrier systems, is available for the customer’s own computer or it can be accessed remotely with TripPak acting as an ASP (Application Service Provider).
TripPak Online is a viable option for carriers of all sizes, "from 20 trucks to 10,000," Cleveland said.
Cleveland also noted that in all but a few cases, TripPak retains the original paperwork, relieving carriers of the paper-storage headache.