Now Could Be the Right Time to Invest in a Cloud-based TMS

Despite the current climate and state of supply chains, transportation companies need to consider investing in transportation management technology now to better position themselves to get ahead of their competition.

Unfortunately, many trucking and logistics companies have been slow to adopt new technology in general. In this guide, we’ll break down why a transportation management system could be the best addition to your existing tech stack in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now Could Be the Right Time to Invest in a Cloud-based TMS

Many industries suffered as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, it might not seem particularly business-savvy to invest money into new tech at the present time, especially since supply chains are still healing from the multiple hits received over the last year and a half. However, it’s actually vital for companies to invest in TMS platforms that will provide them with a competitive advantage when the economy eventually bounces back. This is particularly important for businesses in the logistics and transportation industries, which have historically been lacking when it comes to technological adoption.

Are Cloud-Based TMS Platforms Actually Better For My Bottom Line?

The short answer would be “yes.” Cloud-based TMS platforms provide very direct ROI and boost customer satisfaction almost instantly. While there may be a bit of a learning curve for trucking companies that have not yet adopted transportation management software, the end result is absolutely worth the learning curve. Transportation businesses will be able to do more business with significantly less expenses by aligning their processes under a TMS.

Plus, far too many businesses plan on just “going back to normal” once the economy and supply chains are no longer disruptive. The fact of the matter is, the normal we are used to may no longer exist. Instead of trying to force your logistics or trucking company to go back to old practices, business owners and key leaders should take this opportunity to review their operations and identify pain points. The implementation of a transportation management system could absolutely set your company up for success in an ever-changing economy.

How to Do More with Fewer Resources and a Smaller Workforce

It’s no secret that logistics and transportation businesses have been trying to do as much as possible with limited resources and staff. From labor to revenue to materials, this industry has suffered due to quarantine orders and an ever-dwindling workforce. This has disrupted whole global supply chains and continues to do so.

Individuals and businesses alike have suffered from layoffs and dwindling inventory. Due to high rates of unemployment and overall economic insecurity, many consumers have been somewhat reserved with their spending.

To put it simply, logistics and transportation companies are trying to do a lot more with a whole lot less. Managing operations with very few staff members and partners is difficult. That’s why it’s vital to streamline one’s operations to ensure that further disruptions won’t overwhelm your already stretched-thin supply chain.

This is where a transportation management system comes in. A TMS can efficiently automate the tedious tasks that would traditionally waste a lot of time that has become even more valuable. Things like order information entry, audits for invoices, and comparing rates can be automated with a TMS platform with little interference from your staff or management.

Just as well, a TMS can provide valuable visibility into your orders, both inbound and outbound. This visibility can be taken advantage of by both your teams and your clients. There will be no need to constantly contact your management teams to see where their truck and shipment is-- a TMS platform provides them with the coordinates and general timeline of their shipment. Thus, your limited teams can focus on more important tasks.

Reserving Resources Without Sacrificing Customer Experience

Customer satisfaction is at the heart of logistics and shipping. If your clients aren’t happy with your shipping times and quality of care, then your business will suffer. In the current state of the market, it can be quite difficult to ensure customer satisfaction and experience with limited resources.

Before you can discover instances of waste, you’ll need to have a more accurate idea of your current costs. Such costs include freight costs at all points, carrier costs, carrier service fees, OTD percentages, detention, and more. Discovering these costs can be difficult, but a TMS platform can take your business’s financial data and metrics and sum them up into ultra-readable reports and dashboards. This is also a great reason to get a cloud-based TMS specifically, as your data can be better protected via the cloud.

Adding in an ERP integration along with your TMS can make it possible to track your business’ true landed costs to the base level, so it becomes a lot easier to allocate your overall spend on freight. TMS platforms can make it possible to track trucker hours and overall employee spend to identify where hours are being wasted.

In the end, being able to visualize and pinpoint your total costs is the first step in developing strategies to reduce those costs without jeopardizing customer satisfaction. Logistics teams don’t have the time to manually compare the costs for each load and carrier-- a TMS platform can eliminate the need for human intervention.

Conclusion: A Cloud-Based TMS Platform Implementation is Necessary in a Post-COVID World

Your transportation or logistics company can benefit from a cloud-based TMS platform in so many ways. From saving on resources to operating with fewer staff to getting more visibility into your business operations, a TMS could be what separates your company from those that simply didn’t survive the pandemic.

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