When you’re a trucking company with a fleet of 68 trucks, even a minor glitch in the organization can cost you money (and precious time). That’s why it’s of the utmost importance to find a tool that can help you organize your workload.
This is where Plaky, our task management software, comes in, and that’s how our story about 1st Platinum Freight begins.
We talked to Milos Stanic, Head of Recruiting at 1st Platinum Freight, about the importance of organizing your work and how Plaky can help with that. He shared with us how they use Plaky and just how much it eases their workload.
So, let’s hear about their experience.
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About 1st Platinum Freight
The story takes us back to 2017, when 1st Platinum Freight was founded as a trucking and transportation company based in Illinois.
Milos Stanic recalls how it was back in their humble beginnings and compares the situation with the present.
According to Stanic, the secret of their success is that the founder knows the business inside out.
“The founder is an ex-truck driver, which made the whole process of starting the company easier. He knows the ins and outs of the job — what it takes to survive and thrive in this market.
The proof that this approach works is in the pudding. To be specific, the company expanded rapidly. At the beginning, we had just 2 trucks. Just last December, we had 28 trucks. Now we are at 68, from various brands like Peterbilt, Kenworth, Volvo, and Cascadia.
So, based on the number of trucks in our fleet, we are medium-sized and going towards becoming a big company.”
Their company hires CDL class A drivers and currently has somewhere between 70 and 80 employees. Stanic told us they practice an on-site work model, but adds that they are flexible.
“We lean towards the in-office work model, but if someone is ill — God forbid — they can work from home if they feel well enough to work.”
The main challenges 1st Platinum Freight’s recruiting department faced
Stanic informed us that currently only his department — recruiting — uses Plaky, for various purposes. He also shared with us what challenges they faced before trying Plaky.
So, let’s see what they were.
#1: Lack of organization
First and foremost, they didn’t have one solution for managing all their tasks, which resulted in a lack of organization. Stanic elaborates on this.
“The biggest challenge was that we didn’t have software that specifically suited our needs in the recruiting department. We used different platforms for different tasks.
For instance, for background checks after the interviews with the candidates, we used tools required by American law. Then, we had other methods of keeping track of other tasks, such as making drug test appointments for our prospective drivers. It was hard to keep everything under control.”
#2: Dealing with complicated apps
The most frustrating challenge, however, was handling complicated software. This can be a real nuisance and can severely affect productivity, as Stanic noticed.
“People are sick and tired of complicated applications. They want to keep things simple. This is especially true in trucking and logistics, where you have problems popping up every single minute — it’s a 24/7 job. The last thing you need is software with a steep learning curve.”
Luckily, they found Plaky. Let’s hear how that came about.
How 1st Platinum Freight discovered Plaky
Before Plaky, the recruiting department of 1st Platinum Freight used Google Sheets. However, Stanic was on the lookout for a more suitable tool for managing their daily tasks.
“I had been looking for almost a year for a suitable platform for my department. I found some which were okay but none were exactly what I was looking for.”
Then came a serendipitous conversation with his former colleague, now working for CAKE.com — the company behind Plaky.
“We came in contact on LinkedIn. She wanted to know something about ELD (electronic logging devices) or something like that related to trucking because she used to work in this industry in the recruiting department. I asked her if she could recommend a platform that could help me with organizing. She said: ‘Look no further!’
The next thing you know, she and her colleague introduced me to Plaky and showed me how it can be used in my line of business.”
After that, Stanic presented Plaky to the company owners, who had only one question for him.
“They just asked me: ‘Does it help you?’ I said: ‘It solves 100% of my problems.’ So that was pretty much it.”
How Plaky helps 1st Platinum Freight stay organized
The biggest hurdle 1st Platinum Freight’s recruiting department faced was the lack of a single tool that could help them do their job. Stanic claims Plaky was a real lifesaver.
“We currently use Plaky in the recruiting department. Practically the entire department is based on the Plaky platform.”
He further explains how they keep their work in line with Plaky.
“We have a separate Plaky board where we keep the names of the drivers that currently don’t work. For instance, they cannot come today, tomorrow, day after tomorrow, but can join us in a couple of weeks. So, we use that list to keep track of the drivers we want to stay in contact with.”
Apart from that, they use Plaky for inventory management — to list all the trucks in detail for a clear overview of their fleet.
“The entire fleet is practically listed on Plaky, with every single truck having its own description and picture. We use that inventory when we need to recover a truck, for example. Namely, if the driver is ill or has some family emergency, they cannot continue to drive. So, we just mark the number of the unit and the current location of the truck, and then we send another driver to pick that truck up.”
Plaky has also proven useful for keeping track of new employees’ onboarding and orientation.
“Plaky comes in very handy for onboarding and scheduling orientations for new drivers. We usually create a Plaky entry for them and enter the name of the driver and the number of the unit that they will take. Then, we buy plane tickets for drivers and mark that in Plaky. We add the landing time and flight number, so we can make a little note if the plane is late, for example. So, the entire process is logged in Plaky.”
What makes Plaky the perfect tool for 1st Platinum Freight?
Stanic shared with us why Plaky meets (and exceeds) all their needs in the recruiting department.
#1: Plaky is user-friendly
One of the biggest advantages of Plaky, according to Stanic, is its simplicity and user-friendliness.
“Even our company owner jumps in from time to time to see what’s going on in Plaky. He also said this is a very good app. It can be used by anyone — you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to use Plaky. So, a big plus is the simplicity.”
#2: Plaky is highly customizable
As someone who’s always looking for ways to improve his workflow, Stanic has tested other apps, specifically created for recruiting departments. However, they all lacked something.
“[These apps] were practically limited by default. What all of them lacked was customizability. Every company has its own way of doing business, so we need to adjust the tools we use to our specific needs.”
It was a different story with Plaky because the app is flexible enough to accommodate various types of workflows, as Stanic highlights.
“The great thing about Plaky is that you can just adjust it and shape it to fit your needs. That is a big plus for me, and I have been using Plaky for 6 months now.”
#3: Plaky facilitates collaboration
Plaky enables you to organize your business in the most efficient manner, facilitating collaboration. Stanic explained to us how this looks in practice.
“I created an inventory of trucks in Plaky. Before that, there was a list, but it was not regularly updated. Now, as we’ve expanded and new people have come to the company, I’m glad we have that inventory for easier organization. Thanks to Plaky, at this very moment, a dispatcher knows that, if we get 2 more trucks, they will be immediately put in the inventory. They don’t have to look around — everything is in one place.”
To illustrate, Stanic shared with us a practical example of how Plaky helps keep the whole workflow much more transparent and allows his department to stay organized:
“Sometimes the brokers ask dispatchers for pictures of the trucks so that they can see the logos, the DOT numbers, or DMC numbers on the trucks. Now, everything is listed on one Plaky board. Or, the accounting department needs to see the price of the truck because of the lease-to-own agreements. They don’t have to call us anymore to ask for the price of the unit. Everything is accessible to all employees.”
Excessive communication is also no longer an issue. Stanic and his teammates don’t need to waste any time going back and forth, looking for information — everything is shared with the others, whether in the comments section or through files.
“There’s no need to ask redundant questions when you have the answer right in front of you in Plaky. Everything is transparent.
For example, when we hire a new employee, it’s enough that we enter their personal information and let the other teams know that. The accountant immediately logs in the price of the truck, makes the contract, sends it to the driver, and so on.”
💡Plaky Pro Tip
If you want to find out more about communication in project management, there’s a whole article on that subject matter on our blog:
#4: Plaky’s price is reasonable
You have to admit — when choosing an app for your company, its price usually plays a significant role. Plaky’s price is modest, and Stanic underscores this factor.
“Plaky’s price is very good. I know platforms that cost much more — from $11 to $15. However, with Plaky, you get great quality for a reasonable price. At the end of the day, the decision always boils down to the product itself, not the price. If it solves your problems, you won’t have a problem paying.”
Who would 1st Platinum Freight recommend Plaky to and why?
When asked about who he would recommend Plaky to, Stanic’s first response was — to everyone.
Then, he was a bit more specific — to begin with, he would recommend it to other departments in his company, starting with dispatchers.
“I already spoke to my colleague, a dispatch manager. In the upcoming months, he will implement Plaky in the dispatch department 100%. He just needs to learn how it works on a daily basis. Plaky would be the best solution for them, as it would help them get organized.”
In a way, the other departments in his company are already using Plaky, as Stanic informed us.
“The dispatch department, accounting, and safety department are also logged into Plaky via their own accounts. We have a separate board for each of these departments. For example, we have a board for the 1st Platinum fleet, and there you have every single detail about the trucks: the brand, year, model, type of engine, and the truck’s unit number, with a picture attached. So they’re using Plaky for those purposes right now.”
As a true advocate for Plaky, Stanic even has some ideas about how his colleagues from the accounting department could use this tool to manage their workload.
“I spoke with my colleagues from the accounting department. They also find it very interesting. So maybe they could use it for some receipts or other documents, such as statements for the drivers and so on. It would certainly save them some time.”
How Plaky can help 1st Platinum Freight achieve their goals
Whatever the future holds for 1st Platinum Freight, one thing is certain — Plaky is there to stay, as Stanic told us. He has big plans for other departments as well, at least when Plaky is concerned.
“I have no intention of excluding Plaky from the system. Even after we started using it, I explored a couple of more options just to be sure that it suits us best.
In my humble opinion, there is no better application for us. As I already mentioned, the dispatch department will also start using this app. I plan on speaking with the head of safety as well to have them transfer to Plaky.”
Stanic also mentioned that they plan on improving their internal communication by introducing another CAKE.com product — the business messaging app Pumble.
“In the first week of next year (2025), we will start using Pumble for business communication in our company. Currently, we are using another — not so good, might I add — app. As I understand, Pumble enables us to adjust permissions so that only certain people can post in a channel, which will really come in handy.”
We’re happy to be a part of 1st Platinum Freight’s success story and hope to grow even more together!
Be like 1st Platinum Freight — try Plaky today
