Cloud-Based Trucking Transportation Management System

What is TMS ?

A transportation management system (TMS) is a logistics platform that uses technology to help businesses plan, execute, and optimize the physical movement of goods while making sure that the shipment is compliant and proper documentation is available. This kind of system is a key component of larger supply chain management (SCM) systems.

Often referred to as a transportation management solution or transportation management software, a TMS provides visibility into day-to-day transportation operations. It helps logistic companies with trade compliance information, documentation, and ensures timely deliveries of freight and goods.

Transportation management systems also streamline the shipping process and make it easier for businesses to manage and optimize their transportation operations. These systems can be deployed across all modes of goods transportation whether it’s by land, air, or sea.

Importance of TMS

Why It’s Important for Trucking Companies to Have a TMS – Transportation Management System

Transportation management systems can play a central role in trucking operations, affecting every part of the process—from planning and procurement to logistics and lifecycle management. The broad and deep visibility offered by a powerful & robust trucking management software leads to more efficient resource planning and execution, which results in higher customer satisfaction.

That, in turn, leads to more sales and helps businesses grow. With such a dynamic global trade environment that we live and transact in, it is important to have a system that will allow you to successfully navigate complicated processes and get around trade policies and compliance.

Higher revenues, increased customer satisfaction, and scalable growth in a single centralized software system.

Who Can Use a TMS?

Transportation management systems are primarily used by businesses that need to ship, move, and receive goods on a regular basis, including:

• Carriers / Trucking Companies / Fleets / Owner Operators
• Dispatch As A Service (DaaS) new*
• Brokers / Digital Brokers
• Shippers / Manufacturers / Distributors
• Companies that provide logistics services, such as third-party and fourth-party logistics (3PL and 4PL) companies and logistics service providers (LSPs)

TMS Challenges

Keeping Quotes Organized

Working with several different shipments is challenging. It may require you to stay on the phone all day or jump from one website to another, requesting quotes from the carriers in your network.

Reaching out to different carriers and asking for quotes can be time-consuming, taking you away from other important aspects of your business.

Choosing the Best Carrier

It’s important to remember that not all shipments are the same; some shipments are time or temperature-sensitive, requiring special delivery services or needing to be handled with utmost care.

Consequently, not all shipments should be managed by a single carrier. While some carriers might specialize in handling long hauls, others might provide the best services for handling short trips.

Tracking Shipments

Typically, companies use different carriers to handle all their freight. It is quite common for them to use different carriers for different shipments. As a result, tracking shipments can become highly challenging. Without a TMS, companies may enter shipment numbers into forms on several carrier sites.

Gathering Insights

When there is no TMS in place, you may have to rely on your instinct for deciding who the cheapest carrier has been over some time or which carrier has the highest percentage of delivering shipments on time. With no technology at your disposal, it can become increasingly difficult to know about a certain carrier’s performance.

The Benefits of a TMS

A TMS- and modern transport management system in general-provide many Benefits to the business

• Reduce Costs for the business and the end customer.
• Simplification of supply chain processes across geographies, model, and carriers.
• Automation of business operations for faster and more accurate billing and documentation.
• Improvement in visibility and security, especially in transit.
• Time saving-fewer manual steps results in fewer delays and faster delivery times.
• The ability to track freight, both locally and globally, on a single platform.
• New business insights as better reporting leads to faster action and process improvement.
• Improvements in customer service and customer satisfaction with real-time updates and fewer shipment delays.
• The ability to scale the business by meeting and exceeding customer demands for fast, on-time shipments.
• One Centralized system of records and management for all your operational needs.
• The Added Value of a TMS in the Cloud.
• A cloud-based transportation management system delivers many of the same business benefits as other cloud solutions, including improved economies of scale, lower total cost of ownership, no upgrade fees, and a faster return on investment (ROI).

The Added Value of a TMS in the Cloud

A cloud-based transportation management system offers many benefits similar to other cloud solutions, including improved economies of scale, reduced total cost of ownership, no upgrade fees, and a rapid return on investment (ROI).

On the other hand, for IT, a cloud-based transportation management software provides additional benefits in the form of quick deployments, the lesser time required for training and installation, automatic updates with the latest features, and improved security.

Main Functions of a TMS

The main functions of a TMS include planning, management, execution, and optimization. With a TMS, any business can plan, manage, execute, and optimize the physical movement of goods.