5 Reasons to consider a transportation management Software
by Josh Biggs in Software on 9th June 2021With the advent of technology and the internet, people’s lives and businesses have a huge turn. Earlier things that needed to be taken care of by people manually can now be done easily with technology. From online shopping to food delivery everything can be done from your smartphone. Even if you are staying out of town you can send things to your friends and family.
Global trade and e-commerce have also seen a significant rise. E-commerce platforms are also providing users with the best quality goods at the best price. These platforms are also erasing borders and helping businesses across the world. One of the main reasons behind the rise of e-commerce is people can shop from anywhere at any time and their goods will be delivered as fast as possible and most importantly they are providing many features such as real-time tracking, same-day shipping, etc.
Businesses are trying their best to provide their customers with the best services. However, there are many challenges they face such as transport management complications, increasing freight costs, capacity shortage issues, etc. So the companies must improve their logistic abilities, reduce the transportation expenses and most importantly keep up with the existing and emerging challenges. Well, if the business wants to keep up with the new developments in the market and their business they must leverage advanced technologies.
One such prominent software that has become a boon to e-commerce businesses and is helping them in improving optimization, planning, and transportation operations is TMS or Transportation Management System. It is helping e-commerce businesses a lot and there are many reasons why businesses should consider transportation management systems. If your business is not yet utilizing the transportation management software then it is high time they start using it.
However, before diving into the topic, one must know what transportation management software is.
What is transportation management software?
Transportation management software simplifies the booking and tendering process by automating them. This software also consolidates all the data about the freight movements and transportation operations in one place. It makes it easy to plan and execute the operations. Also, it is highly cost-effective too. It also converts the data of the business into vital information which will help them in decision-making. TMS includes key functionalities such as shipment tracking, overall freight cost management, transportation performance measurement, carrier selection, etc.
Still not convinced that your shipment or e-commerce business needs transportation management software. Here are a few reasons why your business should consider TMS.
Manage from one place
One of the most important reasons why your business should consider transportation management software is that it allows you to manage all your transportation operations in one location. Yes! You can manage everything from one place, be it booking, tracking, rating, or interacting. Also the new age TMS integrates with existing systems seamlessly. Your business doesn’t have to jump from carrier to carrier to find the best. However, with TMS you can also easily find a cost-effective carrier to execute your orders.
Improves cash flow and reduces paperwork
One of the virtues of the transportation management system is that it helps your business in reducing shipping costs. Wondering how? Well, it analyses the financial aspect of each route. Not only that it will generate suggestions to reduce expenses in specific parts like fuel consumption based on the users. Yes! It customizes suggestions based on the users. Automation is the future. All the industries are automating their businesses to keep up with the times and also reduce manual work. TMS also helps your business to automate most processes that used to be done manually. It saves a lot of time, money, and effort in the long run. You can use all these resources to develop your business further. Your employees don’t have to spend all their time on paperwork and the errors relating to invoices and incorrect billing can also be minimized improving your business’s efficiency.
Provides meaningful insights
Having TMS will also provide your business with meaningful insights that will help you in improving decision-making. All the information relating to your business will pass through TMS. And the outcome of this is that all the company’s data will convert into actionable reports and insights. As you see, you can see the freight cost per item to SKU level, since you have all the information you can make strategic impacts that will help your business. You can also see details such as real-time tracking data, carrier KPI’s and vendor scorecards. With TMS, you can stay on top of your metrics that affectthe your profits.
Improved customer experience
Customer experience is highly important for business. The customers demand high-quality products at low prices and fast delivery. They also demand customized delivery times, last-minute order changes. Customers assume that it is their right to get all these services. However, it is pretty hard for businesses to meet the expectations of customers. TMS will help them in improving their efficiency which in turn will improve customer experience. Most importantly it just bridges the gap between warehouse management and order management. It also helps your business in finding the most cost-effective carrier, which will reduce the costs for customers too.
Driver tracking
Driver tracking will help you in checking the different routes that are taken by the drivers. With this information gathered you can find the optimal route to reduce delivery time and also generate an efficient schedule. With driver tracking, you can also find out if any areas can be improved in your delivery process to reduce the delivery time improving your efficiency, and most importantly you can also take required measures to improve your services. Real-time tracking will also help you in finding out if there are unfortunate incidents like accidents so that you can take action immediately. Also, driver tracking will make the assessment of individual drivers easy.
Wrapping Up
Since you have made it to the end of this article, you would have already decided to get your business a transportation management system. Excellent decision! This will prove to be an excellent decision for your business. Your business efficiency will improve while being cost-effective. Through this software, you can reduce the shipping orders and additional administrative costs will also be reduced. Real-time tracking and accurate order fulfillment will improve customer satisfaction. With TMS by your side, you can deal with the adversities of your business head-on and use its meaningful insights to reach your business goals. Although there are many Transport Management Software in the market. Choose the software that matches your business requirements and helps you in reaching your business goals faster.