Software Developing

 

Transportation management System 

A transportation management system (TMS) is specialized software for planning, executing and optimizing the shipment of goods. Users perform three main tasks on a TMS: Find and compare the rates (prices) and services of carriers available to ship a customer's order, book the shipment, then track its movement to delivery. The broader goals of using a TMS are to improve shipping efficiency, reduce costs, gain real-time supply chain visibility and ensure customer satisfaction.

TMS serves both shippers, carriers and other logistics providers. Manufacturers, distributors, e-commerce organizations, wholesalers, retailers and third-party logistics providers (3PLs) are major users of TMS software. 

How transportation management systems work

Fundamentally, a TMS is a repository of detailed information about carriers, but it is also a transactional and communication system that enables users to plan, execute and track shipments. To do all of those things, it must have strong integration with carrier systems and data sources or some other way to download carrier information. It must also facilitate entry of the customer orders that specify what is to be shipped. Usually, orders come in automatically from ERP or order management systems that are integrated with the TMS. In addition, a TMS will sometimes be integrated with a warehouse management system (WMS) to enable better coordination of the tasks that occur at the interface of warehouses and freight shippers, such as palletization of goods, labor scheduling, yard management, load building and cross-docking

Functions of TMS

The functions of a typical TMS can be loosely grouped into the following categories:

·         Freight management

A TMS acquires, stores and updates the rates that carriers charge for shipping, often over the internet in real time. Having current rates in one place makes comparisons easier than in the pre-TMS days, when freight managers would have to phone or fax carriers and record rates manually. Instead, relationships with carriers, and the rates negotiated with them, can be largely managed online. The number of carriers in a TMS can reach the tens of thousands.

Other features handle the workflow and paperwork involved in freight management, including load tendering, which provides the details about a load that carriers need to decide whether to bid on it (and serves as a record of what was agreed to), as well as contracts held with individual carriers. Some TMSes also support order management, though that function is more commonly done in ERP or separate order-management software.

·         Execution

A TMS also allows users to execute the major actions of freight management, including booking of shipments with carriers. Real-time visibility into the movement of freight throughout the transportation network makes it possible to track shipments and share that information with customers and suppliers. There are also communication mechanisms for contacting drivers in transit, and GPS features for measuring time and distance.

·         Planning

While most TMS features focus on execution, much of the power of the system comes from the tools it provides for planning and optimizing the shipping process. It provides data and analytics to enable users to choose the carriers and routes most likely to transport goods the fastest and cheapest. Optimization can extend down to the order and load level: Us