Your TMS Might Not Be Telling You Everything (7/15/24)

Although transportation management systems are supposed to make your life easier, some might not show you the entire picture.

Once you have a transportation management system (TMS) in place, it should deliver visibility to your logistics operations. In theory, this technology provides the tools and processes to manage your entire shipping cycle remotely.

The right TMS makes it easier for you to view your bids, rates, invoices, audits, and logistics analytics in real-time, so you aren't left with any surprises. The technology also offers additional transparency through shipment planning and tracking features.

However, different transportation management systems have varying features and functionality. Choosing one that's wrong for your business could leave you scrambling to track shipments or struggling to figure out why your carriers aren't performing adequately. 

Here's a look at some ways your TMS could be failing you and what you can do to ensure you end up with the right one.

• TMS is critical to modern logistics operations

• Some transport management systems don't provide actionable data

• Resource Logistics Group can help you implement an effective TMS

Not all TMS providing all the data

Your supply chain is always changing, and it's up to you to adapt as you receive new information. In some cases, that means a supplier has forgotten half your shipment. In other situations, your carrier could experience delays due to poor road conditions or issues at a warehouse. 

No matter the reason for changes to your supply chain's timeline, you need that information immediately to communicate with customers and, hopefully, come up with a solution. 

Your TMS should be set-up in a way that gives you all of this information in real-time, so you aren't waiting for vendors to communicate with you. Receiving these details right away makes a huge difference in your response, and customers will be happy because you can provide them with quick updates. 

The wrong TMS makes you less efficient

One problem with some transportation management systems is that they can make your operations less efficient. These troubles can occur for multiple reasons, including vendors not adopting the technology, the system over-complicating your logistics operations (to the point where they end up costing you more money), or your team not knowing how to use the system.

Technology usually makes jobs more manageable, but there are times when it gets confusing and overwhelming, causing more problems than it solves. The good news is that proper training alleviates most of these issues. While there could be a bit of a learning curve, your efficiency should improve once everyone is on the same page.

Selecting a TMS with an easy-to-use interface can also limit the problems you encounter with its implementation. Technology often gets more buy-in when it's straightforward for even novice users to operate.

You aren't seeing the entire picture

Some transportation management systems don’t provide good enough performance to meet your needs. While this sounds like an overly simplistic complaint, there are situations where a TMS doesn't deliver the data you require to make informed decisions on your logistics operations' future. 

In some situations, the data arrives late, so you can't use it to make real-time adjustments that will keep customers happy. Other times, the information is insufficient, inaccurate, or completely unavailable. 

Even if your TMS is doing a good job of collecting data, that doesn't necessarily make it the right choice for your business. That's because some of these systems don't handle any of the data analysis.

When functioning correctly, your TMS will collect an incredible amount of data, all of it unstructured and unstandardized. This data is virtually useless to you in this form because human beings are incapable of making sense of it. You need the system to process the information and report it in a usable form, essentially turning raw data into business intelligence. 

Your TMS should take this data and identify trends you can use in future decision making. This information should be actionable, so you can alter your course in real-time whenever it becomes necessary. 

If your TMS isn't doing this for you, upgrading your system to one that provides real value is essential to your logistics operations' success.

A significant part of your logistical success

The more information you have as you run your logistics operations, the easier it becomes to identify trends and make vital adjustments to your supply chain. Having this data presented to you in a consumable form in real-time is incredibly valuable to your short-term and long-term success. 

Resource Logistics Group is an adviser that can provide you with the information and tools you need to manage your logistics operations. Our transport management system collects the data you require to function at a high level and efficiently turns it into actionable intelligence that you can use. Contact us for more information on our TMS or your free shipping benchmarking.