Step One: Understand Your Business
The best place to start is to understand how your company operates and could most efficiently leverage a transportation management system.
Having a complete understanding of how your company runs its logistics operations will give you a solid foundation to work from.
Before doing research on specific TMS systems available, make sure you know how your logistics operations run.
Click here to discover which solution is right for your business.
Step Two: Understand Your Goals
Understanding why you need a transportation management system will ensure that you implement a TMS that is right for your business.
Ask yourself these questions to prepare yourself with a list of “must-haves” before you start researching the industry.
Step Three: Understand the Market
Now that you have a solid understanding of your operational functionality laid, you’ll quickly be able to eliminate unsuitable types of transportation management systems.
For example, some systems brand themselves as complete TMS solutions but are in reality, only rate aggregators.
If you are looking for a place to conduct all of your logistics operations, you’ll know right away that a simple solution like a rate aggregator won’t work for your company.
Alternatively, you may be able to eliminate other TMS solutions that require you to purchase all available features, even ones you won’t use. This will help to narrow down the field quickly.
In your day to day life, you probably rely on word-of-mouth and review sites to make important purchases.
Buying a TMS shouldn’t be any different. Make sure to check out reputable review sites and research from 3rd party consultancies.
These will give you unbiased accounts of the top TMS options available on the market.
Check out these resources to discover some of the leading TMS vendors:
Step Four: Understand a Specific Transportation Management System
Once you’ve reviewed some of the leading research and review sites to discover which TMS solutions have the best reputations for success, you’re ready to dive into researching specific TMSs.
Below is a list of questions you should answer when evaluating a specific transportation management system. These questions will help you choose the right TMS for your business.
Download this (PDF) list to have with you during your evaluation process.
By following these four steps you will be in the best position to choose the TMS that is right for your business.
Click here to contact Kuebix and we would be happy to work with you directly to help you understand your company’s specific needs.
After all, the decision to implement a transportation management system can have positive ramifications throughout your entire company and we want to make sure you get the most benefits from your final choice.
Related Article: What Is A Network-Based Supply Chain Platform?
In this eBook, Adrian Gonzalez, President, Adelante SCM in partnership with Kuebix TMS, describes how transportation management systems are transitioning from being “inside the four walls” applications to becoming operating systems that power transportation communities and enable network effects.
Transportation management systems are transitioning from being “inside the four walls” applications to becoming operating systems that power transportation communities and enable network effects.
Advancements in technology - most notably, cloud computing, software-as-a-service, application programming interfaces, and mobile computing - are making it easier for shippers, carriers, and brokers of all sizes, as well as private fleets and others in the transportation ecosystem, to more easily integrate and transact with one another.
The value-added benefits provided by network-based transportation management systems include smarter and faster freight capacity matching and the ability to leverage network-based business intelligence and analytics to discover and establish new business connections and to benchmark your transportation performance and metrics against the community as a whole.
Download the eBook Putting Community in TMS: Enabling the Network Effect in Transportation Management
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