In-depth Track-POD reviews: Is Track-POD the right solution for you?

Track-POD is a delivery management platform with a strong focus on providing a broad range of POD collection methods. Hence its name – Track-POD.

Since its inception, Track-POD has added more features to its suite, which resulted in a more comprehensive solution.

But, the question remains: Is Track-POD the right choice for your business?

We’ll help you get the answer to that question because in this article we’ll review Track-POD’s:

• Overall ease of use
• Core functionality
• Pricing
• Best use cases

And as a bonus, we’ll offer an alternative solution for all those who decide Track-POD simply won’t do the trick.

TLDR

• Track-POD has an easy-to-navigate interface but its mobile apps are not as good
• Its biggest strengths are its wide range of POD collection options, features that allow for digital mandatory vehicle inspections, and its reporting capabilities
• You can choose to be charged on a per-driver or a per-order basis. Either way though, Track-POD is far from being an affordable option
• Its pricing and some of the omissions in its functionality make Track-POD a good solution for companies with small fleets and a moderate number of monthly tasks
• Medium and large businesses wanting a feature-rich platform that’s easy to use and can accommodate different types of users should choose eLogii

Track-POD reviews – Our methodology

We take pride in providing the freshest and most accurate information for our readers. And this article is no exception.

We made sure to get first-rate insight into Track-POD’s features by:

• Using Track-POD during its free 7-day trial to experience it firsthand
• Interviewing at least a dozen past and current long-term users to see what they consider to be Track-POD’s most significant pros and cons
• Sifting through user reviews on reputable SaaS sites (G2, Capterra, GetApp), to ensure we won’t miss even the tiniest of detail that might be of relevance to you

So now, without further ado, let’s dive straight in!

Track-POD reviews – Ease of use

Track-POD has a fairly intuitive interface, meaning that users of any level won’t need too much time to figure everything out.

On the other hand, the interface is a bit dated and can get pretty cluttered when you have to take care of several tasks at once.

Moreover, it’s worth mentioning that Track-POD’s mobile apps can be somewhat glitchy and that there’s a pretty big gap between the Android and iOS apps.

Finally, its customer support is responsive and helpful, so prospective users won’t have to worry about being left to their own devices if something goes wrong.

The bottom line

Once you look past its unattractive interface design, Track-POD is surprisingly easy to use, despite having lots of different functions.

The only trouble you could experience is related to its mobile apps. Namely, the Android and iOS apps have significantly different features, which can be a problem unless all of your drivers have the same OS.

Track-POD reviews – Key features

1. A wide range of POD methods

Track-POD includes virtually every possible POD collection method an average user might need, such as:

• E-signatures
• COD confirmation
• Barcodes and QR scanning

In addition, you can enable automatic timestamp and geotag capturing to know exactly when and where an item was delivered.

The only feature that’s lacking from Track-POD’s otherwise broad range of PODs is an option for contactless signing that some other platforms include in their offering.

This feature allows customers and recipients to sign off on their deliveries by simply clicking on a link they receive on their phone or computer, so it’s definitely a handy thing to have in the COVID era.

2. Digital vehicle inspections

Track-POD includes an option typical for fleet management systems – it enables drivers to quickly perform vehicle inspections and generate digital reports (DVIR).

Users can set up custom checklists based on their specific fleet usage or requirements and instruct drivers on what to pay special attention to.

Moreover, there are options for scheduling mandatory inspections (e.g., daily checks, first-use inspections, end-of-use reports, etc.) to ensure you stay in line with relevant legislation and regulations.

All the reports will be uploaded from your drivers’ phones and stored on your web dashboard where you can easily access them.

3. Reports and analytics

Track-POD tracks a variety of stats for you and, as a result, delivers comprehensive analytics reports, such as:

• Driver statistics, which provide an overview of your drivers’ completed routes in a certain time range, the number of sites per route, start and end times, total hours worked, and distance traveled per working day
• Trip summary by routes - this report gives you info about carriers, warehouses, drivers, distance planned and traveled, cargo weight and quantity, scheduled and actual route start and end times, etc.
• Orders overview that includes comprehensive information on the orders delivered within a specified time range
• Overview of items, which gives insight into the total number and ratio of delivered and rejected deliveries, alongside their prices, barcodes or QR codes, etc.
• Cost savings by time or distance to help you calculate how much money you’ve saved by taking optimized routes

4. Customer web portal

Track-POD allows users to provide their clients with access to a designated dashboard where they can add their orders by themselves.

This speeds up your entire workflow and gives your customers more control over their orders.

In addition to adding orders, your customers can also track their order’s status and location in real time.

Being transparent about how you get things done and providing higher visibility of individual tasks helps you gain your clients’ trust and build lasting relationships.

The bottom line

All in all, Track-POD is a solid delivery management solution, as it has several other functions aside from the ones we’ve mentioned in detail, such as:

• Vehicle and delivery live-tracking
• ETA notifications (charged extra if you want them sent by SMS)
• Auto dispatching
• Zapier-powered integrations, etc.

However, Track-POD is not without its faults, like any platform.

Some of Track-POD’s most significant shortcomings that should be duly noted as they can influence your final decision include:

• Comprehensive route planning and optimization are only available with the higher-tiered plans. In fact, the standard package doesn’t have automated routing options at all
• Its dynamic routing capabilities are questionable – Track-POD cannot even take live traffic data into account when planning and replanning routes
• Live tracking feature often glitches and doesn’t show real-time info
• There are discrepancies between routes planned and shown on the web app and the same routes when shown on the driver app
• Its options for optimizing vehicle loads don’t work as seamlessly as it should and often require lots of manual work and adjusting
• There are issues with adding necessary manual changes (e.g., items that are included in an order, addresses, phone numbers, etc.), as it can cause the software to glitch and automatically reset everything to the way it was before
• Many users complain about it being too expensive for what it offers, and not allowing any flexibility in its pricing policy. This makes Track-POD difficult to adapt to various user needs

Track-POD reviews – Pricing

Track-POD’s pricing policy is pretty interesting because they have two different sets of packages – one charged on a per-driver basis and the other on a per-order basis.

Interestingly enough, the per-driver pricing plans also have a limit on the number of tasks (i.e., deliveries) you can manage with the tool.

The per-driver packages start at $35 per month when billed monthly. There’s a discount on all plans for annual billing.

The per-order plans start at $285 for as little as 1500 tasks. If you need any additional tasks, you’ll be charged extra, with the price starting at $0.19 per order.

The bottom line

Although it may seem that Track-POD offers users more flexibility by having two sets of pricing plans, the truth is somewhat different.

Regardless of the pricing policy you opt for, Track-POD is going to be a pretty expensive solution either way.

This is especially true if you own a larger fleet or make many deliveries on a monthly basis.

When priced per driver, your costs will stack up really fast as you scale. That’s why only the smallest of businesses can get by with this kind of pricing.

Moreover, these plans have limits on the number of monthly tasks you get, which is another significant downside.

And should you choose to be charged per task, you still won’t get a good deal because Track-POD’s plans – particularly the lower-tiered ones – give you far too small a number of tasks per month.

Track-POD reviews – Who should use Track-POD?

Although Track-POD has some pretty nifty functions, with some unexpected omissions (e.g., route optimization that is not as great as it could be), it’s only a good choice for very small businesses.

Its pricing plans – both the packages charged on a per-driver and the ones charged on a per-order basis – are not exactly a bargain for larger businesses.

Thus, only the smallest of businesses, with small fleets and a moderate number of deliveries per month, can benefit from using Track-POD.

Larger and medium businesses, as well as those aiming to scale, would be wise to go for a different platform altogether.

Track-POD reviews – Alternative solution

Businesses that need a solution that’s both scalable and feature-rich and can keep pace with them as they grow (without skyrocketing their costs) should go for eLogii.

eLogii has a wide range of highly-customisable features which makes it a perfect fit for a variety of businesses - from field service providers to retailers, pharmaceutical companies, restaurants, couriers, food & drink delivery services, etc.

Some of its features include:

• Cutting-edge routing functionality, including dynamic, multi-day, and multi-depot routing. eLogii’s latest generation routing AI enables it to easily replan and adjust routes on the go, with consideration for various factors like traffic, weather conditions, road blocks, etc.

• Various methods of ensuring customer satisfaction. These include sending real-time SMS and/or email notifications from every stage of the delivery process, real-time ETA notifications (with updated recalculations if something changes on the road), live tracking of each order, etc.

• Numerous customisable operational parameters which enable things like assigning more challenging routes to the most skilled agents, or automating vehicle load optimization ensuring that each vehicle is used to its fullest capacity, etc.

• A vast number of POD collection methods (including barcode and QR scanning, and COD confirmation, among others) along with auto timestamps and geotags
• Failed delivery workflows to instruct drivers what to do if they cannot find the end customer at the delivery location (e.g., you can allow leaving it with a neighbour, or returning it to the depot, etc.)

• A seamless driver app optimized for all operating systems. Some of its capabilities include live chat with dispatchers and customers, one-click dials, navigation, POD collection, task overview and management, etc.

• A well-documented API integrates seamlessly with all the other tools and technologies you use to manage your supply chain operations

When it comes to its pricing, eLogii doesn’t publish off-the-peg prices.

Instead, eLogii has custom-tailored pricing plans based on your business’s particular configuration and needs, with typical entry-level prices starting at around $359 per month for 2500 tasks.

For comparison, with Track-POD, you’d pay $285 for as few as 1500 tasks or $510 for 3000 tasks.

Each plan includes unlimited users, drivers, and vehicles – an excellent option for larger businesses or those aiming to scale.

The fact that eLogii doesn’t have one-size-fits-all pricing packages is one of the things that make it an ideal solution for small, medium, and large businesses alike.

You can compare each plan’s features on its webpage for a detailed overview of what each eLogii package includes.

Track-POD reviews – Final takeaways

Track-POD is one of the more attractive delivery management solutions due to its robust interface and numerous functions.

Its POD collection and vehicle management options are especially worth mentioning, as they’re Track-POD’s greatest strengths.

However, its pricing policy, the limited number of tasks you get for a pretty high price, and its sub-standard routing options, make Track-POD a viable option only for the smallest of businesses.

Companies with small fleets that don’t have too many orders on a monthly basis can surely benefit from using Track-POD.

On the other hand, medium and large businesses, smaller businesses aiming to grow, as well as those that simply need a platform that tackles routing just as efficiently as other areas of delivery management, will be much better off with eLogii.