Transportation management system (TMS) is a form of supply chain management that is involved with transportation operations. TMS are most popular for their capabilities to optimize routing, scheduling, shipment consolidation and their carrier selection. While TMS has been available for many years, only 35 percent of shippers utilize these systems as part of their supply chain management strategy. At TOC Logistics, we understand how beneficial TMS is to optimize supply chain management, which is why we are among the 35 percent that utilize it.
While supply chain management may seem like magic, TMS greatly simplifies the process and provides a number of benefits to all parties involved. The increased amount of automation involved with TMS allows for decreased manual entries and increases automatic retrieval options, thus allowing for improved efficiency. TMS allows for automatic notifications and real time updates of freight information, allowing logistics providers to make the supply chain process become more streamlined.
While many organizations believe TMS is unnecessary, there are numerous benefits to it. TMS allows for a decrease in potentially costly errors. The automation allows for increased integration, which allows for the peace of mind of knowing you didn’t key in the wrong information. Automatic data entry allows for shipping prices to stay low and helps avoid incorrect commodity freight classification. This automation also allows for real-time decisions regarding optimizing routes to save time and money. TMS helps empower organizations to select a carrier that has the best balance of cost, transit time and insurance.
It is thanks to TMS that supply chain management solutions are beginning to move towards the cloud. Cloud-based applications have become increasingly popular across many industries and TMS is allowing for the cloud to become equally as popular within the supply chain industry. In utilizing the cloud, maintenance costs decrease, the chances for data losses decrease and it offers TMS users a competitive price for the advanced application features.
Above all, TMS allows for organizations to be proactive about their supply chain management and provide enhanced levels of customer service. At TOC, we pride ourselves on providing effective, intuitive solutions that exceed our clients’ expectations and positively impact their bottom line. TMS allows for us to provide a unique approach that helps us stay client focused and solutions driven during every step of the way in meeting the goals of our clients.