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Leveraging technology to improve the driver-life-cycle — Taking the Hire Road

‘The only constant in this industry is change’

TrueNorth is an insurance and risk management provider dedicated to turning risk into opportunity through industry-specific risk management plans.

As one of TrueNorth’s largest client bases, trucking and logistics is subject to a large amount of risks on a day-to-day basis, making risk management solutions all that more important and requiring advanced industry insight and, more recently, technology.

Since the pandemic, many companies have seen a push to technology for harvesting data and streamlining workflows. Despite this shift, some companies are still in the back seat, using antiquated methods. 

TrueNorth built its practice to provide services for both transportation companies and independent drivers through advanced technology. Leveraging technology plays a large role in remaining innovative and effective in today’s changing environment. 


“Since I started in the industry, there has been continued innovation and every day has been different. I have only been in the industry for nine years and it looks nothing like it did when I first started,” said Chris Gulker, principal and practice leader at TrueNorth. “The only constant in this industry is change.”

Because data is the center of risk management, TrueNorth recognizes the importance of the use of updated technology. 

“[Our use of technology] is all about helping clients get the advantage around the risk management strategies,” said Bill Zenk, principal and practice leader at TrueNorth.

With many companies still implementing antiquated methods, Gulker believes that the driver shortage is another reason to push technology. Recruiting the next generation of drivers and retaining current drivers have been complicated and both Gulker and Zenk believe that continuing to implement innovative technology is the answer.


“[TrueNorth] is putting out an ecosystem of resources that we can use to attract the next generation,” Gulker said. “If you’re trying to attract a 28-year-old driver, you’re probably not going to have a ton of success with paper applications and a manual workflow. [For us], it’s all about how to best implement the programs and the technology to support.”

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Click for more FreightWaves content by Britni Chisenall.

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