Logistics and transportation operations involve the coordination of processes and activities that enable the movement of goods, services, and information from the point of production to consumption. A Transportation Management Software (TMS) is deployed in the logistics operations to manage and organize the flow and distribution with maximum efficiency.
TMS is a logistics platform and is a subset of supply chain management. It serves various critical functions in the supply chain process, including planning, freight management, execution, and logistics administration. A TMS solution is deployed to optimize routes, carriers, roads, and orders to streamline the end-to-end movement of goods. It consists of analytics and reporting tools with demand forecasting capabilities. Freight Management is an integral aspect of TMS software. Besides order management, it provides an interface for managing the carrier rates, contracts, booking, tracking, billing, payment, auditing, and settlement. It also enables you to maintain compliance with the transportation and storage of goods.
Before purchasing a TMS solution, you can ask your supplier to provide a transport software demo online that will enable you to understand the TMS software’s functioning. The global TMS market size is expected to grow from USD 7.7 billion in 2020 to USD 17.8 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of 18.2%. TMS software will increase your logistics business’s capability by giving you deeper visibility into the physical movement of goods and services. You can deliver freight timely as the software enables you to monitor the transportation flow in real-time. Here are eight things you should consider when choosing a Transportation Management System solution.
- Integration
Choose a software solution that can integrate easily into your existing infrastructure. Integration is the key to deliver the solution rightly. You need to determine how efficiently the software will function with the current operations and across the range of software. Easy integration will decrease the time required for freight management. Check if your TMS has Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) capabilities to efficiently plan and manage the transport operation. TMS solution should effectively network with the existing infrastructure.
- Customizable
Besides easy integration, it is important to choose software customized to meet your logistics operation demands. You should be able to configure the system specific to your needs. A one-fits-all solution is not the right approach. Ask your supplier to provide a customizable solution that will help you to cater to your customer base. The core platform must allow you to modify according to your business needs easily.
- Scalability
While selecting a TMS, make sure that it offers a building block or modular approach that will enable you to scale and add functionalities as per your business’s demands. A scalable solution will help you increase the capacity and functionalities by understanding your current and future needs. It will adapt quickly to changes, upgrades, overhauls, and resource reduction. A scalable TMS will meet the fluctuating needs of your organization. Hence, select a flexible and scalable software that can be expanded or upgraded on-demand.
- Secure Regulatory Compliance
A TMS should enable you to maintain compliance with the transportation policies and contracts. It should have the compliance management feature that will allow your business to stay compliant with federal, state, and local regulations and keep your employees trained on critical protocols and procedures. Such features enable organizations to lower the cost of regulatory compliance and maximize profitability by avoiding costly errors in maintenance, driver logs, and driver records. Choose TMS with integrated tools to manage DOT compliance.
- Easy Accessibility
Cloud-based deployment of a TMS allows you to store information in a central location. Team members can access the system easily without interruption. New features can be deployed in a cloud-based solution automatically. Hence it eliminates the traditional constraints on internal IT departments and remote customer service centers. Cloud-based solution helps the team to collaborate effectively to optimize, plan and execute inbound and outbound product movement. Centralization of data effectively improves the capabilities of your business. Choosing a cloud-based TMS allows you to overcome traditional challenges, like managing updates, integration between different systems, and multi-location deployment.
- Budget
Using a TMS effectively builds end-to-end transparency and accountability within logistics. However, you need to determine your budget to choose the right software solution. Buy a software solution from a reliable supplier. Approach a few suppliers, check the features of the software solution they provide and the associated price to make an informed decision.
- Remember your customers
While choosing a TMS, ensure that it will help you to deliver timely and accurate customer communication. Look for a Transportation Management Software with a secure, online portal from where the customers can access the freight status and services in real-time.
- Be business intelligent
Make sure you choose a software solution that provides business intelligence data like deadhead percentage, revenue per loaded mile, and on-time percentage. It will help you to optimize the efficiency of your business.
To Conclude:
TMS can provide operational fluency to your business. It provides enhanced visibility into end-to-end shipments. Choose a customizable software solution that will fit your business needs for enhanced integration.