TMS: TIME TO DITCH THE SPREADSHEETS
routing and predictive analytics. AI also plays a larger role behind the scenes, providing analytic insights and taking over repetitive tasks. Robust TMS solutions offer additional tools to help shippers and carriers adapt pricing strategies in an environment of volume and rate volatility. Capabilities to handle spot auctions and automated bidding provide deeper visibility into and management of rapidly changing rates.
A TMS has become an indispensable tool for any business that wants to streamline logistics, reduce costs, and improve efficiency. Its core functions include consolidating shipments, shopping for rates, and confirming loads with carriers. Beyond Table Stakes Those basic functions are table stakes in the TMS marketplace today. Beyond that, shippers value increased visibility across cargo types, access to dynamic rates, and AI-assisted decision-making and predictive analytics. As technology evolves and market demands shift, even the most reliable systems can be left behind. Employing a cutting-edge TMS is critical to staying competitive in a fast- paced global market. With a TMS, shippers can optimize shipments by comparing carriers, transit times, and rates to understand cost vs. service trade-offs. Evolving capabilities, such as predictive analytics, help shippers make more informed tactical decisions while providing insights to a business intelligence suite, which enhances efficiency and cost management. Artificial intelligence (AI) models are becoming increasingly sophisticated for dynamic
is the foundation for robust, efficient regulatory compliance. A TMS not only collects data but also processes and analyzes input. Based on the developers’ institutional knowledge and experience, it adds value through reports and analytics to empower decision-making. Finally, a TMS serves as the hub of a company’s supply chain network, linking providers, suppliers, and other partners. It provides data in real time to streamline operations, reduce costs, and improve delivery schedules. Supplier compliance has emerged as a critical capability of a TMS, serving as the linchpin for operational efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and customer satisfaction. Internally, a TMS should connect with enterprise resource planning systems, warehouse management systems, and other supply chain management tools, as well as freight bill payment and audit applications. Here’s an in-depth look at some leading TMS providers whose solutions help shippers adapt to ongoing supply chain challenges and create opportunities to drive efficiency gains, reduce costs, and enhance service delivery. CT Logistics: Pooled Buying Power CT Logistics offers transportation management systems for both truckload and less-than-truckload shippers, building on a 102-year history as a logistics services provider. Its LTL platform is a co-op program known as TranSaver, which helps smaller shippers leverage volume to secure premium discounts and services from core carriers, offering shipment cost and transit time comparisons. CT Logistics negotiates pricing based on the group’s buying power, and all members have access to the lower pricing. The system also provides real-time tracking and billing functionalities, building on CT Logistics’ services as a freight bill audit and payment company.
Given ongoing disruptions and geopolitical issues, supply chain
agility is critical to respond to volatile circumstances. Each supply chain has its individual challenges, from regional disruptions to regulatory requirements. A TMS must be flexible and adaptable to ensure a seamless workflow. An increasingly critical function of a modern TMS is shipment consolidation. A TMS takes a stream of orders from multiple sources and builds the most effective and efficient loads. The TMS can determine, for instance, whether to place orders for multiple ocean shipments or a single airfreight shipment. The system can coordinate the moves based on the optimal routing and loading/unloading sequence. In addition to enhanced visibility and informed decision-making, a TMS
Integrating TMS solutions with warehouse management systems ensures real-time visibility and coordination between shipping and inventory operations. This leads to faster, more accurate order fulfillment, fewer manual errors, and streamlined logistics processes.
40 Inbound Logistics • May 2025
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