Next-Generation TMS Can Move Your Organization Into the Future – Transplace
In the ever-evolving world of drones, autonomous and electric vehicles, and a myriad of other emerging technologies, it’s important for organizations to still keep management in mind. While new technology is thrilling and can provide enhanced supply chain efficiency, lower a company’s carbon footprint and provide meaningful, actionable business intelligence, proper management of that new technology still matters. Your company’s TMS has to be ready and able to handle anything currently in your supply chain operations, as well as what’s on the horizon.
Data can help drive better decision-making, but the sheer amount of data surrounding the modern supply chain can be overwhelming, and can require a significant investment to have the tools necessary to capture the data and then analyze it. But the ability to access and analyze this information is only the first step. What makes this data truly valuable is turning it into actionable insights that drive meaningful change within your organization.
Having an old or limited TMS system—or not having one at all—may result in a lack of visibility into your supply chain, and hinder your ability to truly analyze your transportation network in order to eliminate waste, reduce costs, and better serve your customers. From predictive analytics that include automatically updated weather alerts, to precise latitude-longitude coordinates of shipments—the right TMS should be locked in to the future and able to handle information from the Internet of Things (IoT) and the IoT-enabled vehicles that will be a big part of our future.
Today’s advanced TMS systems can give a real-time, 360-degree view of your entire transportation network. This allows companies to report and track key performance indicators (KPIs) and continuously improve processes by providing actionable data for all levels of your organization. And the ability to customize these reports and dashboards helps ensure that key personnel at every level of an organization have access to the critical information they need.
Company management can customize their reports to provide an overview of operations, then be able to drill down further to quickly see and react to changes or concerns when necessary. While those responsible for day-to-day operations can receive more detailed data and reporting on carrier performance, pickup times and delivery times can be used to enable "root cause" analysis and provide better understanding of how and why there have been fluctuations in cost or service.
Greater access to data allows companies to compare final shipping results with their initial goals, enabling them to better understand how to adjust transportation plans moving forward in order to increase efficiency, reduce costs, enhance customer service and improve carrier relationships.
For example, digging into data can allow companies to identify which customers have frequently small shipments that could be consolidated into a single truckload. This provides a more strategic way to take cost out of the business versus simply finding a better rate or a different carrier.
Additionally, it’s this access to data and ability to make it actionable that allow organizations to be more proactive in their transportation planning—driving greater cost savings and customer service, and enabling the long-term advanced planning necessary to mitigate risk. Organizations can also use this data to ensure that all transportation activities—both internally as well as suppliers, carriers, customers and other business partners—are in line with their overall business strategy and goals and can support growth plans.
At Transplace, we’re not simply trying to meet the needs of today’s supply chain, we’re preparing for 2020, 2025 and beyond. By continuing to invest in our proprietary TMS, along with reporting and analytics capabilities, we’re helping ensure that our customers are ready for the future of the transportation industry, whether that is a shipment on an over-the-road truck, an autonomous fleet or a flying drone.
Open APIs enable us to handle the new data and transportation devices that we will see coming well into the future, and we’re taking advantage of enhanced predictive analytics to continue to improve on-time delivery and mitigate service failures.
In order to drive sustainable, impactful change within your organization, it’s important to have the tools and expertise to turn data into actionable business intelligence.
Do you have what it takes?