Transportation management software (TMS) is becoming far more prevalent all throughout the transportation industry. It is not only becoming more affordable to use but is easier than ever to implement and provides more benefits to transportation companies as well.
Some companies are still on the fence about whether or not they should make the switch. If your organization has been debating on whether to switch to one of these systems, there are six reasons in particular why you should be acting fast to make the move.
1. Lower Freight Costs
If you want to sell anything to an organization, talk about a reduction in costs first and foremost. With TMS in place, it means lower freight costs on the whole. That means being able to shop for better rates all on a single screen to find the best option available.
It also means that companies have greater access to more carriers, which can help to provide further potential cost savings to organizations. If for no other reason, cost-effectiveness is a great reason to make the switch.
2. Single Location
The true appeal to transportation management software is the level of convenience involved. Simply put, companies are able to manage all of their transportation operations from a single location. That means being able to book, rate, interact with, and track orders no matter where they are.
Being able to track LTL, air, parcel, full truckload, ocean, or intermodal shipments is invaluable no matter the organization. No more needing to bounce between carrier websites to compare rates, either. Everything is in one convenient, easily accessible location to make the entire process that much simpler. This also means less time spent on transportation logistics, saving even more money.
3. Automation
Just about every organization under the sun is looking to implement automation into their processes. For far too long, companies have depended on manual entry for data within their systems. There simply was no better way to do it. But all that has changed with advancements in technology.
Now, those manual entry tasks can be integrated into these software systems. That means a huge reduction in manual entry, which can save time and money but also reduce inaccuracies to limit human error. There is even a central place for order and route information, meaning a greater reliability in information.
4. Optimizing Routes
With most modern TMS systems, it is now possible to create loadouts that turn out better, more efficient routes and loads through the help of an integrated optimization tool. These
allow the user to set different parameters for the load, providing suggestions or even pre-building an optimal route and load that can be easily implemented.
Users then have the ability to view the route (sometimes in real time) so that they can make any necessary changes to the load and route. It is the way to optimize the actual transportation process.
5. More Meaningful Analytics
Just about every company on Earth has access to some form of data analytics. The question then becomes whether the organization is using that data to its full effectiveness. This means getting access to the more meaningful aspects of those analytics.
Data can even be collected and transformed into dashboards and actionable reports, all of which can be perused for easier consumption and a better overall understanding. That means even being able to see things such as cost down to a specific SKU level to make strategic changes that can impact the bottom line as a whole.
6. Scalability
There’s an old saying in business, “if you’re not growing, you’re dying.” But growing a business is a lot more difficult than simply “getting bigger.” Organizations need to have scalability, which means having the tools and resources at hand to grow with the company.
An effective TMS means growing with the business without having to worry about how transportation operations will be handled. When new products or facilities are added, the TMS will scale with it. There are plenty of customization features out there that allow businesses to keep track with these growth changes, meaning nothing is lost in the shuffle of growth.