{"id":13814,"date":"2022-06-04T16:42:21","date_gmt":"2022-06-04T14:42:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/?p=13814"},"modified":"2022-06-04T16:42:21","modified_gmt":"2022-06-04T14:42:21","slug":"tms-9","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/2022\/06\/04\/tms-9\/","title":{"rendered":"Using TMS to improve carrier-shipper relationships"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today’s technology has the ability to provide fleets with a better understanding of shifts in freight markets as well as the potential to help them reduce truck driver detention time.<\/p>\n

Over the last two years, players in the supply chain have been forced to do more with less, with some turning to transportation management systems (TMS) to help address ongoing capacity constraints.<\/p>\n

From where\u00a0Ken Sherman, president of\u00a0IntelliTrans<\/a>, sits,\u00a0technology works at its best when capacity is tight.\u00a0IntelliTrans\u00a0offers a software-as-a-service-based TMS that provides shipment execution and visibility across rail, truck, intermodal, barge, and ocean shipments. The company also\u00a0manages freight for its customers by intervening with carriers, overseeing the dispatch process, auditing, and paying freight bills, monitoring in-transit shipments, analyzing performance, and automating spot-market processes.<\/p>\n

Within the IntelliTransTMS, motor carriers can utilize a dock scheduling solution, where the carrier can set up loads for pickup ahead of time and based on selected timeframes. Sherman noted that when this functionality is deployed at a shipper facility, the loads subject to detention can be reduced by 77% in a given month.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe TMS can capture four events at the shipper facility: Gate in, dock in, dock out, gate out,\u201d Sherman told\u00a0FleetOwner<\/i>. \u201cBy capturing those events at the shipper side, we can show how much they should get paid and for how many hours. When carriers invoice the shipper, it\u2019s easy for the shipper to audit it, which means the carrier gets paid faster.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition, TMS can be used to automatically calculate fuel, driver pay, and all the other costs that drive fleets’ income statements. Lately, Sherman has also noticed some of his shipper customers posting fuel surcharges on the welcome page of their systems so carriers can calculate their costs upfront.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe technology has been available, and it\u2019s getting more and more deployed, but what slows it is the willingness to collaborate,\u201d Sherman said. \u201cWhen we are integrating with carriers, we say, \u2018How do you want to be integrated?\u2019 They can send us the data within their system so they can control the on-off switch. That\u2019s the most common thing we see.\u201d<\/p>\n

The TMS also allows fleet owners to decide how they want to comply with shipper demands.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe say the behavior the shipper wants to see is this: It\u2019s up to you to use one of these channels to comply with that behavior\u2014give me proof of pickup information, proof of delivery information, and give me an update every two hours in between,\u201d Sherman pointed out.<\/p>\n

Data within reach<\/h3>\n

Another trend within the industry has been the drive to bring all relevant fleet management data into one place, according to Manoj Parmar, product manager for Axele TMS. Today, many fleet managers are using different sets of technologies to run their operations, and bringing all that ELD, routing software, load, and payment data into one user interface is a goal for fleets and software providers alike.<\/p>\n

\u201cGive them all the tools in one place and make it accessible to them on the cloud,\u201d Parmar said. \u201cTrucking is a 24\/7 operation. A driver may be finishing a load at night and need some help, so the dispatcher may want to connect with him. If the driver can access a dispatcher with their mobile phone, dispatchers won\u2019t have to sit at the office all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

By extracting more elements from the data on loads that actually moved, MPact Pro breaks down nationwide truckload lanes in more depth so fleets can create a step-by-step picture of capacity and volume in markets and evaluate the ever-shifting rate landscape. MPact Pro offers analysis about both buy and sell trucking rates\u2014and the ability to benchmark and visualize the results against their own operating history.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot every load is a good load,\u201d Mark Cubine, VP of marketing for McLeod Software<\/a>, told\u00a0FleetOwner<\/i>. \u201cNot every customer is a good customer, regardless of the length of the relationship and regardless of the price of a load. A lot of these companies don\u2019t understand that.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Using TMS to improve carrier-shipper relationships<\/h1>\n
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Over the last two years, players in the supply chain have been forced to do more with less, with some turning to transportation management systems (TMS) to help address ongoing capacity constraints.<\/p>\n

From where\u00a0Ken Sherman, president of\u00a0IntelliTrans<\/a>, sits,\u00a0technology works at its best when capacity is tight.\u00a0IntelliTrans\u00a0offers a software-as-a-service-based TMS that provides shipment execution and visibility across rail, truck, intermodal, barge, and ocean shipments. The company also\u00a0manages freight for its customers by intervening with carriers, overseeing the dispatch process, auditing, and paying freight bills, monitoring in-transit shipments, analyzing performance, and automating spot-market processes.<\/p>\n

Within the IntelliTransTMS, motor carriers can utilize a dock scheduling solution, where the carrier can set up loads for pickup ahead of time and based on selected timeframes. Sherman noted that when this functionality is deployed at a shipper facility, the loads subject to detention can be reduced by 77% in a given month.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe TMS can capture four events at the shipper facility: Gate in, dock in, dock out, gate out,\u201d Sherman told\u00a0FleetOwner<\/i>. \u201cBy capturing those events at the shipper side, we can show how much they should get paid and for how many hours. When carriers invoice the shipper, it\u2019s easy for the shipper to audit it, which means the carrier gets paid faster.\u201d<\/p>\n

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In addition, TMS can be used to automatically calculate fuel, driver pay, and all the other costs that drive fleets’ income statements. Lately, Sherman has also noticed some of his shipper customers posting fuel surcharges on the welcome page of their systems so carriers can calculate their costs upfront.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe technology has been available, and it\u2019s getting more and more deployed, but what slows it is the willingness to collaborate,\u201d Sherman said. \u201cWhen we are integrating with carriers, we say, \u2018How do you want to be integrated?\u2019 They can send us the data within their system so they can control the on-off switch. That\u2019s the most common thing we see.\u201d<\/p>\n

The TMS also allows fleet owners to decide how they want to comply with shipper demands.<\/p>\n

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