TMS Transport

TMS: what are the advantages for shippers and carriers?

In operational terms

The shipper TMS optimizes transport orders, selecting the right carrier and monitoring order execution in real time. The carrier TMS optimizes routes, calculates delivery times, manages kilometers traveled, and takes into account social and fleet-related constraints.

In terms of customer service

The loader's TMS is responsible for monitoring transport times at each stage of delivery, whereas the carrier's TMS enables real-time tracking of the goods' journey.

Cost control

The shipper's TMS aims to offer better traceability and a simplified invoicing process. It enables intuitive visualization of cost differences between service providers. The carrier TMS aims to make the vehicle fleet more profitable, reduce the cost of the last kilometer and provide calculations of additional routes.

What's the difference between a shipper's TMS and a carrier's TMS?

First of all, let's remember one thing: despite their different functionalities, the Carrier TMS and the Shipper TMS share common objectives. Both are designed to reduce transport costs and limit the risk of logistical errors. They improve the traceability of goods and deliveries, a particularly important issue in the agri-food sector, and offer better visibility of delivery to the customer, improving the company's logistics processes by automating certain tasks The difference between a TMS for shippers (or logistics service providers) and a TMS for carriers (or freight forwarders) lies more in the functionality offered than in the spirit of the product.

The shipper TMS is special in two ways:

• If the company owns its own means of transport, then the shipper TMS will closely resemble the carrier TMS. More often, however, the shipper calls on external service providers to supplement its own means of transport. The acquisition of a shipper TMS is therefore often necessary.
• If the shipper subcontracts all his transport operations, his TMS will need to be able to adapt to the functionalities of his service providers' TMSs.

The primary aim of the carrier's TMS, on the other hand, will be to make each shipment profitable, according to the material and human resources available to the road haulier. The smooth running of the carrier's business depends to a large extent on the quality of its IS.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of SaaS for a TMS?

For several years now, some logistics professionals have been choosing to invest in a SaaS (software as a service) TMS solution, rather than acquiring a physical software license. What are the advantages and disadvantages of SaaS TMS?
Advantages:

• Since it is hosted by the software publisher, the SaaS TMS can be used quickly by the company, without having to rethink its IS.
• By smoothing out costs over time, SaaS limits tool acquisition costs.
• Integrating a new employee is often easier with SaaS than with a licensed TMS.
• ROI is faster with SaaS.
• SaaS pricing can be based on volume and/or selected features.
• New features can be deployed at a faster pace than with licensed software.

Disadvantages :

• As information is stored in the supplier's data centers, cyber-attacks and other incidents that could compromise the confidentiality of transport data are no longer under the company's control.
• With SaaS, you need a fast Internet connection to access management platforms. This is not always easy for a carrier.
• There are sometimes compatibility problems between the TMS platform and web browsers.
• The customer must manage the risk of service interruption, particularly in the event of supplier bankruptcy or network failure.

There's a fine line between TMS and loader WMS

The primary objective of the TMS is to improve the traceability of goods flows by automating the various transport activities. The WMS, on the other hand, is designed to optimize all logistics processes within a warehouse. Its responsibilities include rapid identification of goods and real-time knowledge of stock levels.
The distinction between these two solutions can therefore be defined according to the choices made in the functions integrated into the WMS, and in particular :

• Carrier selection
• Label edition
• Cost calculation
• Optimization of transport costs for order picking and warehouse management processes

The variety of TMSs shows that they all have points in common, but also far too many differences to make a generic application applicable to all activities. This is why the TMS software market is segmented according to the different activities in the supply chain.