Trucking Technology Made Simple: A Small Fleet’s Guide to Competing

DataTruck Targets Small Fleets With Carrier-Focused TMS

Small and midsize trucking companies are facing growing pressure to use technology that was once associated mainly with large carriers. Real-time shipment tracking, electronic logging device data, billing controls and integrations with outside service providers are becoming routine parts of the operation.

DataTruck is positioning its transportation management system, or TMS, as an option for carriers that have traditionally been caught between basic software and expensive enterprise platforms. The company is targeting fleets as small as five trucks and says its system is designed to support growth to about 25 trucks without requiring a major jump to enterprise-level software.

Jordan Kidd, DataTruck’s head of product, described small and midsize carriers as an “overlooked space” in the TMS market. In an interview, he said many smaller operators have had limited choices: free or stripped-down tools on one end, and costly platforms built for much larger companies on the other.

“Some of the moat that the large carriers had was systems to undergird customer requirements, driver requirements, just all of the parts of the operation,” Kidd said. He argued that newer software development methods, including artificial intelligence, are making it more practical to deliver broader capabilities to smaller fleets.

Technology pressure is reaching smaller carriers

For many small fleets, dispatching, billing and compliance have historically been managed through a combination of email, spreadsheets, accounting software and separate tracking tools. Kidd said that approach is becoming more difficult to maintain as customers and financial partners demand faster and more detailed information.

“It’s becoming a requirement to have tracking, real-time tracking,” Kidd said. He also pointed to tighter integration requirements from invoice factoring companies and other service providers as additional reasons carriers are adopting formal operating software.

Those changes affect drivers as well as office staff. More automated location and load-status information can reduce repeated check-in calls and give dispatchers a clearer view of a truck’s progress. At the same time, systems that do not share information effectively can create additional work when drivers, dispatchers and billing personnel must enter the same information in several places.

DataTruck says its platform is intended to centralize dispatch, load management, compliance, document handling, financial tracking and reporting. The company also says it has more than 150 integrations for tools involving dispatch, fuel cards, factoring and compliance.

ELD data changed the operating model

Kidd identified the 2017 electronic logging device mandate as a major turning point for transportation software. Before ELDs became standard, he said, a TMS functioned largely as a digital place to record loads, invoices and driver pay.

Once ELDs began sending automatic asset-location data into transportation systems, the amount and type of information available to a TMS changed significantly. Kidd said that shift required a different underlying architecture, but maintained that many established providers have not substantially redesigned their core systems in the years since.

That matters when a carrier grows. A small operation may be able to keep all load, driver and billing details in one person’s memory or in a few disconnected files. As the number of trucks and employees increases, that becomes more difficult. A missed status update, an incomplete delivery document or an overlooked billing item can delay payment or reduce the revenue collected on a load.

DataTruck’s stated approach is to combine a system of record, where operational information is stored, with a system of action that uses the information to support tasks such as dispatching and billing. The company says embedding those functions in one platform can help carriers identify financial discrepancies and reduce revenue leakage.

AI depends on the underlying data

Kidd was critical of efforts to add artificial intelligence to older transportation systems without addressing the systems’ underlying structure. In his view, adding AI to infrastructure built decades ago can limit the benefit of the technology.

He also cautioned against relying on a collection of separate AI tools, such as automated billing or calling applications, when those tools do not share a common data layer. Integrating multiple point solutions can create friction and require employees to move information between systems.

DataTruck describes its platform as AI-powered and says it incorporates AI agents and financial workflows into day-to-day carrier operations. The company’s claims concern the design and intended use of the platform; specific savings or productivity results were not provided in the supplied information.

For drivers, the practical impact of a more connected TMS would depend on how a carrier configures the system and how well it integrates with existing ELD, dispatch and compliance tools. Better data visibility could help keep load instructions, appointment information and status updates aligned. Poor implementation, however, can still create duplicated work or inaccurate information.

Recognition in the freight technology market

DataTruck was named to the FreightWaves Freight Tech 100 and is competing for a place among the Freight Tech Top 25. The winners are scheduled to be announced at the F3 conference.

The recognition comes as technology companies increasingly focus on bringing advanced transportation tools to smaller operators. DataTruck’s strategy is centered on carriers first, although the company also says it plans to expand into brokerage applications.

The broader issue is whether smaller fleets can adopt software that improves visibility and financial control without taking on the cost and complexity historically associated with large-carrier systems. For carriers moving beyond a handful of trucks, the answer may depend less on adding more individual tools and more on finding a platform that keeps dispatch, driver information, documents and payment data connected.