Main Roles of a TMS
Let’s examine the key roles of your company’s TMS and how it benefits your shipping operations.
Load Planning and Execution
Load planning is the process of determining the most cost-efficient routes, appropriate carriers, and the correct rates for an upcoming shipment. On the other hand, load execution is the tendering process. Only this time, the TMS automates and digitally tenders loads as determined during load planning.
Since everything is automated and handled digitally, there’s no need for manual calculations that could lead to incorrect or inefficient shipments. This allows companies to develop more accurate shipping plans and create more cost-effective strategies before execution.
Freight Tracking
With a TMS, companies can easily gather and consolidate real-time tracking data. They can also track the movement of their shipments throughout their lifecycle, from leaving the warehouse to final delivery.
Thanks to this visibility, shippers can track and trace the movement of shipments whether they’re over land, moving through the water, or in the air. The clearer view of the freight also allows all concerned parties to stay in the loop about the whereabouts of the shipment. That way, unexpected delays and unforeseen transport situations can be addressed as soon as they arise.
Payments
Payments can become finicky in complex networks. Human error is one of the biggest issues in this case, and the impact is that much more noticeable because we’re talking about money. Thankfully, a TMS can change it all by allowing shippers to automatically audit carrier invoices, removing the human factor.
This automation also lets shippers gather data for cost performance analytics. Most TMS platforms can analyze data from invoices and provide comprehensive financial reports. This information can then be used during load planning and other related processes to make operations more cost-effective.
Reporting and Analytics
TMS platforms do not just gather data from invoices. They can also consolidate information about every aspect of your shipping operations, such as duration of delivery, current carrier usage, and routes and destinations of each truck or vehicle. With this data, you can get performance insights and actionable reports for future use.
Given how volatile logistics operations can be, gathering accurate data for business insights is essential. A TMS makes this process easier, especially if you’re handling thousands of orders or shipments in a single day. You can also effortlessly check how far you are at achieving your key performance indicators, or KPIs, all in a single dashboard.
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