{"id":5532,"date":"2020-05-05T12:57:29","date_gmt":"2020-05-05T10:57:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/?p=5532"},"modified":"2020-05-05T12:57:29","modified_gmt":"2020-05-05T10:57:29","slug":"choosing-a-tms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/2020\/05\/05\/choosing-a-tms\/","title":{"rendered":"Choosing a TMS: How to Make the Right Move"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Transportation management systems (TMS) offer major potential benefits to shippers in the supply chain, but only when companies use due diligence to select a solution that is an optimum fit for their profile and needs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">The right TMS offers both savings and process improvement.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">&#8220;Everyone will see value in a TMS,&#8221; says Mark Nix, senior vice president of transportation and founder of Cloud Logistics, an Atlanta-based provider of transportation management solutions. &#8220;Many will say that having visibility to inventory in motion enables them to reduce safety stock while improving customer satisfaction, which is priceless.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">&#8220;Selecting the best carriers for every contracted move can save 2% to 5% of freight spend,&#8221; he adds. &#8220;Automating the match-pay process can save an additional 2% while streamlining accounts payable and giving the chief financial officer real-time freight accruals.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Sending spot quotes via email to 50 carriers can take a great deal of time; a TMS can automate that exercise, saving several percentage points. A reporting module within the TMS can instantly identify opportunities for cost improvement. &#8220;You can improve anything you can measure,&#8221; Nix says.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Before you can realize these types of gains, you must choose the TMS that is the best fit for your operation. The options are wide-ranging.<\/span><\/p>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">How to Prioritize<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Companies should consider the necessary key features when weighing new TMS options. Depending on an organization&#8217;s priorities, these features could include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Inbound and outbound shipment visibility with alerts<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Carrier selection and rating<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Planning and route optimization<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Match-pay and carrier settlement<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Instant messaging for each shipment<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Cloud-based portals for all trading <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">partners, carriers, brokers, and third-party logistics partners<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Reports\/dashboards<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Mobile apps for drivers<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Organizations should seek systems that are easy to use and deploy, and that will deliver a quick return on investment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">When weighing new TMS options, getting hung up on features sometimes can distract from key considerations. Organizations should avoid emphasizing features and instead focus on &#8220;the business problem, the key opportunity area,&#8221; recommends Geoffrey Milsom, senior director of transportation strategy and consulting services for enVista, a global consulting and software solutions firm based in Indianapolis.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">For instance, a company that manages thousands of monthly shipments shouldn&#8217;t disqualify a TMS solution because it can&#8217;t integrate a handful of those movements. Companies shouldn&#8217;t be intent on &#8220;a perfect-world situation,&#8221; Nix says.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">&#8220;A great TMS solution built to handle the largest global shipper&#8217;s requirements is expensive to deploy and too hard to configure for everyone else,&#8221; Nix says. &#8220;Companies searching for a TMS should prioritize their extensive wish list of desired features and weigh it against the actual return.&#8221; It&#8217;s common for a company to purchase a complex system and not use it to its full capabilities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Any system that is implemented should have a business case to support it. When Milsom considers TMS features for a client, for instance, he points to optimization as a feature with a clear business case, whether a shipper is working with a fleet of vehicles or moving less-than-truckload shipments or whether they are managing scenario analysis or live orders.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">&#8220;There&#8217;s a lot of money to be saved by using an optimization engine properly,&#8221; Milsom says.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Prestage Foods, a North Carolina-based producer of pork and poultry products, recently implemented the Cloud Logistics by E2open TMS. The company was opening a new facility and needed a TMS to deploy quickly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">&#8220;The system had to be easy to use so our carriers and our poultry logistics team could adopt it without much training,&#8221; says Crystal Hill, director of supply chain and logistics at Prestage Foods.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">It was critical for the TMS to scale as Prestage&#8217;s needs grew.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">&#8220;When we open a new facility, we start with a few truckloads per day,&#8221; says Hill. &#8220;But that will grow to more than 50 truckloads daily within the first year and double to 100 daily trucks when we add a second shift.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">&#8220;Whether it&#8217;s managing a few truckloads a day from one shipping location or hundreds across multiple locations, the TMS supports our business today and into the future at an effective price,&#8221; she says.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><img class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/resources.inboundlogistics.com\/userfiles\/TMS_inline_0519.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Managing the Process<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">It is important to not rush when selecting a TMS. Companies should establish a realistic timeline and be disciplined during the decision-making process.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">&#8220;The objective is to choose a system that lasts for the next five to 10 years and that provides a return on investment in less than 18 months,&#8221; Milsom says. &#8220;The right TMS also should save between 3% and 7% of transportation costs. Those benefits are important, so you should take the time to do it right.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">A new TMS can make a large impact on the organizational side of a business. &#8220;Activities change, processes change, the way you support the tool changes,&#8221; Milsom says. For that reason, companies should take a bottom-up approach to implementing a TMS. Instead of identifying a date and pushing toward it, organizations should begin with the details and work to determine a prudent timetable.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Firms should build a team that includes the TMS&#8217;s &#8220;super users.&#8221; The team determines priorities, defines problems and the business case, and considers organizational changes needed to support the TMS. Companies should develop scenarios to see how prospective TMS solutions handle them, putting the onus on vendors to not just show off their features but also to demonstrate their systems&#8217; capabilities to support an organization&#8217;s process.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">&#8220;A successful implementation is about taking the right amount of time, involving the right people, and focusing on the right level of detail,&#8221; Milsom says.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Organizations sometimes are lulled into selecting a vendor because of an ongoing relationship. But existing relationships don&#8217;t necessarily make for a smoother integration.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">The buying power that leads to better pricing also is overblown. &#8220;We&#8217;ve learned and we preach that price doesn&#8217;t matter,&#8221; Milsom says. &#8220;One TMS vendor being 10% higher or lower in cost than another vendor doesn&#8217;t matter as much as the system being the best fit.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"sidebar\">\n<h5 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">10 Factors to Consider Before Choosing A TMS<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">10 Factors to Consider Before Choosing A TMS<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>1. Understand current and future needs.<\/strong> Don&#8217;t pay for more features than you need to run your business. Find a TMS that offers a building block or modular approach, enabling you to scale and add functionalities when it makes sense.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>2. Get the best of both worlds: carrier and broker.<\/strong> You may work with a truckload carrier, a brokerage, or both. These may be separate or blended, and the TMS should be flexible to adapt. For example, a carrier is paid to haul a load. A broker earns income from commissions on each load. Each line&#8217;s tight margins mean a TMS should maximize efficiencies of both.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>3. Know the integrations available.<\/strong> From EDI to trailer tracking and beyond, look for a TMS that integrates with complementary tools and services that meet your unique business needs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>4. Secure regulatory compliance.<\/strong> Avoid costly errors in areas such as maintenance, driver logs, and driver records with integrated tools to manage DOT compliance.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>5. Consider the electronic logging device (ELD) mandate.<\/strong> The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration requires the trucking industry to implement ELDs for accurate hours-of-service tracking. Confirm your TMS offers the integration, visibility, and reporting capabilities that make this possible.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>6. Pick a third-party accounting package.<\/strong> Look for a TMS that offers gold-level integration with your existing system, such as QuickBooks or Sage. This combination seamlessly automates billings.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>7. Seek a proven system.<\/strong> Ask vendors for case studies or references from companies similar to your own. TMS vendors should have real-world examples of how they meet specific needs, such as running a certain type of trailer or hauling a commodity that requires special parameters.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>8. Remember your customers.<\/strong> Choose a TMS that helps with timely and accurate customer communication. Look for options with a secure, online portal where customers can view load status in real time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>9. Spend less time worrying about infrastructure.<\/strong> Businesses are built on reputation just as much as on their services. The right TMS earns trust by proactively addressing customer-facing issues such as late loads and dock time schedules.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>10. Be business intelligent.<\/strong> A good TMS provides business intelligence data such as deadhead percentage, revenue per loaded mile, and on-time percentage to analyze how to improve processes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em>\u2014Joe Couto, COO, HighJump<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>By Tom Gresham<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.inboundlogistics.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/www.inboundlogistics.com<\/a><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/consultancy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>CUT COTS OF THE FLEET WITH OUR AUDIT PROGRAM<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/consultancy\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-5377\" src=\"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/04\/nueva-ley-auditoria.jpg\" sizes=\"(max-width: 858px) 100vw, 858px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/04\/nueva-ley-auditoria.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/04\/nueva-ley-auditoria-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/04\/nueva-ley-auditoria-1024x682.jpg 1024w\" alt=\"\" width=\"858\" height=\"572\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The audit is a key tool to know the overall status and provide the analysis, the assessment, the advice, the suggestions and the actions to take in order to cut costs and increase the efficiency and efficacy of the fleet. We propose the following fleet management audit.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/consultancy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>FLEET MANAGEMENT AUDIT<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Transportation management systems (TMS) offer major potential benefits to shippers in the supply chain, but only when companies use due diligence to select a solution that is an optimum fit for their profile and needs. The right TMS offers both savings and process improvement. &#8220;Everyone will see value in a TMS,&#8221; says Mark Nix, senior&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5533,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18],"tags":[121],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5532"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5532"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5532\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5534,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5532\/revisions\/5534"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}