Transportation Management Software: The Missing Piece to Your Puzzle

08/09/2013

Transportation Management Software: The Missing Piece to Your Puzzle

Have you heard the saying “there’s always room for improvement?” Well, that’s exactly right when you’re looking for a solution to better your supply chain processes. Implementing transportation management software (TMS) could be the missing piece to your puzzle when trying to control costs, catch and resolve transportation discrepancies, and create in-depth reports. This software can help you analyze valuable transportation metrics while keeping supply chain communication as transparent as possible.

Are you missing out on customizable reports that can show you fluctuation in lane rates, carrier performance levels, and freight spend? A TMS allows you to easily view all of this information and analyze it from all levels of your supply chain.  You can determine where your freight spend is really going, discrepancies with freight audits and payment, what you need to cut, what you need to do more of — information that’s vital for current and future business decisions.

Is your current ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system lacking transparency? Our transportation management system is unique to each user, whether it’s management, dock personnel, vendors inputting shipments, warehouse staff, or other service staff in your supply chain. Each user has their own portal login, allowing them to view supply chain processes in real time via your choice of EDI or a carriers’ access portal.  Alerts are available when the shipment is created, loaded, tracked, and delivered. Sounds slightly less stressful, right? Every user will have customized access to what is going on, down to the very last detail, all according to your specifications.

Are you starting to wonder how this is even affordable?  It’s true that many transportation management systems can cost up to $10,000 monthly, with additional exorbitant implementation fees. When you work with Trinity, that’s not the case. We offer a best-in-class, customizable TMS that is easily integrated with your current system, at reasonable price points, with the small-to-medium sized shipper in mind. You don’t have to be a multi-million dollar company to enjoy the benefits of a system like ours.

Worried you might lose information from your old system? Your TMS can easily be integrated with your WMS (Warehouse Management System) and finance system so that all of your information is in one place and you’re not losing any ground. Trinity’s freight consultants are here to make this transition as easy as possible, helping you every step of the way. In fact, we take service so seriously that one of our project managers, Adam Miller, is providing on-site freight management for one of our clients, assisting with their TMS and providing logistics consulting.

Hear it straight from a TMS customer:
“Trinity’s transportation management software has given us the ability to audit freight invoices by focusing on exceptions. This means that if the invoice amount matches the system rate, then it can be approved for payment without having to review it. We are able to run an exception report that shows us all of the invoices that do not match the system rate so that we only spend time reviewing the invoices that need to be reviewed.”- IAE

If you want to improve your supply chain, manage your precious cargo in real-time, and dig deeper to find possible hidden costs and lost efficiencies, it’s time to fill in that missing piece of the puzzle! Haven’t quite decided whether you want to make the switch? Talk to us – we offer no strings attached freight consultations that can answer any questions you may have. What suits your schedule best? Request a consultation today!