Advances In Mobile Software Moving Business Online New technology gives operators the ability to integrate their management software with their Web sites to reserve units, make payments, as well as other online transactions that are updated automatically in the accounting software. tell my users, look how much coupon code is a good way to tie an advertising vehicle to a Different coupon codes can be published in various phone directories or promotional flyers. When the consumer inputs these codes on the Web site, the operator can judge which vehicles are the most effective. With better software tools, operators can track the reservation process and identify the advertising vehicles used to promote the specials. you do online; your clients want to do the same thing with says Markus Hecker, COO of Raleigh, N.C.-based SMD Software/SiteLink. The technology that allows a Web site to talk to the management software gives the portable storage operator the ability to take what otherwise might be a passive Web site and turn it into a revenue producer. storage operators now have a better way of tracking potential clients and ensuring they are converted to paying Hecker says. a link between the Web site and the management software, the warehouse manager, the call center, and the mobile storage operator see the reservation in real time. When something happens online, it automatically transfers back into the management software. The Web site becomes another sales Consumers have come to expect discounts whenever buying or renting a product, so mobile storage software now accommodates the discounting function. Management software recently gained the capability to show specials or promotions on Web sites. With better software tools, operators can track the reservation process and identify the advertising vehicles used to promote the specials. want to track your specials, your advertising dollars, which promotions work, and which Hecker says. Other online innovations save time for the driver while reducing wear and tear on trucks. trends we discovered over the last few years have been an increased automation to the customer booking experience, whether the order is placed online or over the says Chuck Sowers, vice president of sales for DHS Worldwide Software Solutions in Orange Park, Fla., provider of Total Recall management software. feature that provides this automation is online contract acceptance. Online contract acceptance speeds up the customer order process and ensures the contract is signed prior to the initial delivery, as many times the customer is not available when the drop-off of the unit occurs. Total Recall is updated as soon as the contract is accepted Using this feature, the driver no longer needs to have the customer sign the contract at the time of delivery, potentially saving time and fuel. Streamlining Scheduling While software manufacturers are constantly developing new capabilities, many operators use all of the functions their programs offer. But that appears to be changing as operators explore more of the functionality. seeing is a trend where customers are using the software in a smarter Sowers says. high sales at any business covered a multitude of sins. When sales start depleting, which seen in the mobile storage business, people are looking to streamline their During the recession, many operators looked more carefully at scheduling deficiencies. For example, when a customer demands a pickup on a particular date, operators are delaying that pickup until a delivery is required in that area. In the past, operators accommodated them immediately. Most of the time the customer mind waiting a few more days or a week for the pickup. have seen that a strong trend of mobile operators is to fully utilize scheduling technology to increase transportation revenues in a down economy with low Sowers says. the cost but still receiving the revenue is what operators have been learning more and more. For example, technology assists you to schedule pickups and deliver an empty at the same time instead of taking one trip to pick up, bring it back to the warehouse, and another delivery back to the same Several software vendors offer applications that assist operators with scheduling, routing, and tracking. These software packages integrate Microsoft to create an efficient schedule by finding the quickest route to locations. Scheduling technology allows the user to view all orders that have been scheduled several weeks into the future. A geographic tool allows the operator to review the location of orders, providing a clear sense of direction so the drivers are not jumping around. of these and more are managed within our dispatching/scheduling Sowers says. can see all orders and details at a glance; you can see the total number of units, who delivering to, where delivering from, what size and type of unit, and your drivers and trucks. Mobile Self-Storage Magazine Second Quarter 2010