As an essential service, transportation companies are free to operate as normal during the coronavirus pandemic, although for safety precautions, many have transitioned their back office to a work-at-home environment.
In this emergency situation, any process that relies on paper documents, such as billing, payroll and accounts payable, can threaten business continuity by not being able to move to a virtual setting.
The present circumstances give motor carriers more reason to digitize the remaining holdouts in their businesses to not only work from home but maintain social distancing between their drivers and customers.
Electronic payments
Looking at the current situation through the lens of digital payments, fuel transactions have not changed much. Drivers still insert cards at the pump, but the COVID pandemic has caused fleets to change practices for payroll and settlements.
“We are considering it a new normal,” said Justin King, senior vice president of product innovation for FleetCor’s trucking business unit, Comdata. “The long-term effects of this thing are going to be sustained.”
Companies want to avoid having to mail checks or have drivers come inside the offices, he said. The Comdata OnRoad card serves the dual purpose of a fuel card and a personal fund card for drivers to receive payroll and settlements.
