Trucker Tools, the leading provider of trip planning, shipment visibility, predictive freight matching and automated booking solutions for the truckload carriers and brokers, announced today it has launched the industry’s first driver loyalty rewards program for independent truckload owner-operators and small-truckload fleets.

The program is available to all truckload operators on the Trucker Tools mobile app, which currently has over 2 million users, primarily owner-operators and small truckload fleets with 10 trucks or less, which provide some 90 percent of for-hire over-the-road truckload capacity, noted Kary Jablonski, chief executive of Trucker Tools. This user community engages with nearly 400 freight brokers on the platform, she added.

“Truckers every day see similar loads and lanes, and offer rates from multiple brokers, without much difference from one to another,” Jablonski explained. “This program is true load differentiation. It provides a concrete monetary incentive for truckers to build more business with preferred brokers. It enables brokers to reduce operating costs, and drivers to earn more money just by doing more of what they already are doing with digital transactions over the Trucker Tools platform.”

Adam Schaefer, vice president of operations for Simple Logistics, welcomed the launch of the program. “Simple Logistics is extremely excited to see the new Trucker Tools Driver Loyalty Program create an opportunity for drivers we know and trust, plus our future friends, receive the appreciation they deserve,” he said.

The program’s benefits for truckers include:

  • Rewards the driver for digital transactions they’re already doing on the Trucker Tools app, such as a Book-It-Now® automated booking, an app or ELD-based shipment track, or digital document upload.
  • No cost for drivers to join, points are awarded directly to the driver and immediately redeemable for digital gift cards at 200+ retailers.
  • Promotes the trucker as a carrier of choice, access to preferred loads by demonstrating loyalty through repeated actions.
  • Incentivizes brokers to compete for driver loyalty, engagement, and provides competitive advantage in securing reliable capacity.

As an incentive to encourage driver participation in the program, for the first month, Trucker Tools is promoting a special offer. Truckers who successfully book and complete a Book-It-Now® load in the Trucker Tools mobile app will receive 100 Trucker Points. It can be a load booked with any broker, not just ones enrolled in the program. The promotion expires November 14.

The program’s benefits for brokers include:

  • Strengthens recognition as a broker of choice by offering a new benefit that increases driver earnings.
  • Provides an easily redeemable benefit to drivers that will improve carrier retention, build stronger relationships while lowering costs to cover loads.
  • Requires no additional staffing or resources for brokers to launch and run the program; fully managed by Trucker Tools.
  • Allows customized award levels to support specific broker operating, optimization, cost reduction goals
  • Aligns driver behavior with broker goals for productivity, service, efficiency
  • Reduces “one load wonders,” builds loyalty in an existing carrier base, cuts time, cost to find new truckers.

The goal, says Trucker Tools’ Jablonski, “is to allow the broker to differentiate themselves in a meaningful way that resonates with their drivers, and makes that experience more rewarding for the driver. If the trucker has a favorite broker, and they are offering points and rewards in an easy-to-use program, it’s more lucrative for the driver.”

And with literally thousands of brokers competing for carrier capacity, “this program clearly provides true load differentiation,” she noted. “Brokers can participate in a shared program that would be exceedingly difficult for any one broker to do on their own. It’s broker and shipper agnostic. It supports a fundamental objective for all brokers: improving the driver experience and engagement.”

Trucker Tools designed the program with input from both truckers and brokers, with the objective of finding a way to “incentivize and reward drivers on our platform for the great job they already are doing,” Jablonski added. “It’s free to the driver. Award points go directly into the driver’s account, there is no middleman.”

And with Trucker Tools building the ecosystem, providing the management resources and running the redemption side, “It’s as simple as pick up the freight, deliver the load and get rewarded,” Jablonski concluded.