How a TMS Improves Load Management and Reduces Empty Miles

How a TMS Improves Load Management and Reduces Empty Miles

A Transportation Management System (TMS) is built to optimize logistics for freight carriers in a variety of ways — including route optimization and load management. With this combination of innovative solutions, freight carriers can simplify load management, improve efficiency, and reduce empty miles that increase costs and reduce profitability. We hope that this overview will highlight how a TMS improves load management and reduces empty miles for freight carriers to promote long-term success.

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CUSTOMER SUCCESS: How TransPlus TMS Helped Autobahn Freight Increase Productivity by 15% 
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What Is Load Management Software and How Does it Work? 

Load management software is an innovative tech solution that automatically matches available fleet vehicles with matching shipments based on a number of factors that include weight, dimensions, geography, and delivery timelines. Load management software serves as a core engine within a more comprehensive Transportation Management System (TMS) platform, bridging the gap between order entry and dispatching.

This technology is critical to freight operations because the cost of operational inefficiency is very high for freight carriers. Industry data has shown that the average carrier operates at a 10% to 15% deadhead ratio — where fleet vehicles hauling empty trailers — and each empty mile costs approximately $0.67 to $0.79 in hard operational expenses. When you extrapolate that expense over the course of a year, running a single truck at a standard 12% deadhead rate can cost more than $13,000.

TransPlus TMS tackles this financial drain by using live asset tracking and route optimization software to centralize your fleet's data, helping dispatchers identify overlapping routes and bridge gaps before a truck leaves a drop-off point.

8 Ways a TMS Improves Load Management and Reduces Empty Miles

Many modern fleet software programs employ elements of automation and data consolidation to replace manual processes — and improve operational efficiency. Implementing an advanced Transportation Management System with load management capabilities provides eight distinct operational strategies to help increase your revenue by improving load management and reducing empty miles:

• Automated Load Matching: Load management software instantly cross-references empty equipment with incoming orders to locate immediate opportunities.
• Intelligent Backhaul Planning: The system tracks a truck's destination in real time to help find and secure profitable return loads before the first delivery is completed.
• Dynamic Route Optimization: It calculates the most efficient multi-stop paths to bypass traffic, construction, and out-of-route miles — reducing fuel and operational costs.
• LTL Load Consolidation: LTL load consolidation solutions automatically group smaller, less-than-truckload shipments with similar route corridors into a single, more efficient truckload.
• Continuous Movement Planning: It creates sequential loops for regional drivers, keeping trucks moving through consecutive pickups to minimize downtime.
• Real-Time Lane Density Analysis: Load management software uses historical fleet data to pinpoint your most profitable lanes and avoid sending drivers into freight deserts.
• Geofenced Driver Status Updates: It triggers automatic proximity alerts so dispatchers can rapidly line up local freight as a driver approaches a receiver.
• Integrated Multi-Broker Load Boards: It connects your dispatchers directly to third-party marketplaces from inside your TMS to capture spot market backhauls instantly when contract freight is unavailable.

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READ MORE: How AI Load Management Reduces Empty Miles

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To protect your freight profit margins, it may require eliminating non-revenue miles from your weekly driver schedules. Learning how an integrated TMS improves load management and reduces empty miles is the ultimate strategy for fleets that hope to grow without adding unnecessary overhead costs. By improving asset utilization and automating return-trip logistics, you can ensure that every mile driven adds to your profit margins.

Ready to stop losing money on empty return trips? Contact the TransPlus team today to schedule a personalized demo and see TransPlus TMS load optimization software in action!

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