Thanks to the Corona helpers!

Truck lined up on already congested streets, wildly parked vehicles due to lack of parking space, chaotic conditions with delivery vehicles in front of shops in the inner cities. That is only one side of the coin. Many people who mainly perceive logistics in everyday life as annoying or not even at all recognize these days that logistics personnel, such as truck drivers, make an indispensable contribution to ensuring that we are supplied with basic goods, medical devices and consumer products.

While numerous citizens in Germany and other countries are currently ordered to stay at home, some professional groups are now at the forefront. Quite a few of them are on their feet as much and for as long as normally only in the case of a natural disaster.
This concerns above all doctors, pharmacists, medical and nursing staff, security guards, staff in the food stores, police and fire service, to whom we would like to express all our respect and gratitude.
This group also includes thousands of employees in logistics, above all the truck drivers.

The “Die Wirtschaftsmacher” initiative launched its “Logistikhelden (Logistics Heroes)” campaign last summer with the goal of improving the industry's chipped image and to make the importance of every logistics employee for our modern life perceptible to the public.
Probably no one imagined beforehand that the state of emergency during the Coronavirus crisis would be the event proving how much truth lies in this campaign. The crisis now demonstrating the dependence of society on these professions day after day, the public awareness of the logistics heroes grows almost by itself.

Helpers in the crisis

Maintaining supply chains to ensure the ongoing supply of food, hygiene items and medical supplies is currently one of the basic tasks.
Despite the associated risks, many drivers continue to work tirelessly during the Coronavirus crisis and continue to make this essential contribution to the entire population even in such a difficult phase.

In Germany, the statutory driving and rest times for professional drivers have now been loosened through special regulations. A few days ago, the BWVL had already suggested that some routes that are usually closed to trucks, the provision of sanitary facilities at pick-up and delivery facilities, and the temporary removal of cabotage (in this case, the transportation of goods within Germany by foreign providers) should be approved.

As a telematics provider, we are well aware of the performance of the drivers and our logistics customers also know and appreciate the commitment of their employees.
On behalf of everyone who also feels the desire to do so at the moment, we would like to take this opportunity and thank all truck drivers!
We are currently supporting our customers in their efforts to show their appreciation. With our driver app they are able to to send their thanks directly to the drivers of their fleet.

Ways to avoid contagion

Another solution that can potentially reduce the risk of infection right now and is already being used in a pilot project by one of our Swedish customers is contactless signature. For hygienic or other reasons, the driver can alternatively take a photo of the signature on the delivery note with his mobile device, which is then automatically assigned to the order, instead of taking the recipient's signature on the display.

Our developers are currently working on implementing the feature fast in the TISLOG logistics software so that it will soon be available to all TISLOG customers.

Alternatively, many drivers are already using the option in TISLOG to take a photo of the delivered goods with the mobile device instead of a signature as proof of delivery.
With the short-term additions and optimizations in our software, we want to motivate drivers and provide options that can reduce the risk of contracting the virus on the go.

We have to be thankful to courageous and committed workers, who make sure that we can continue our civilian life despite restrictions even in this difficult time and we wish everyone who is currently working so hard that they stay healthy and strong!