With the current economic climate in the transport industry being challenging, companies are constantly looking for ways to reduce costs without compromising on the quality of their services. One of the most effective ways to do this, is implementing a Transport Management System (TMS). A powerful software platform like this allows companies to optimize their operational processes, and, consequently, significantly reduce costs, in the short term as well as the long term. In this blog, we discuss how a TMS system can help you reduce costs and improve your efficiency.
Less manual work
A Transport Management System helps automating administrative tasks, like order entry, document management and invoicing. By reducing manual and administrative work, your efficiency and productivity will skyrocket.
More efficient scheduling with a Transport Management System
A TMS system also allows you to schedule and keep track of your transport orders in the most efficient way. One of the biggest costs in the transport industry is fuel consumption. Traditional methods for scheduling routes are often time-consuming and inaccurate, resulting in unnecessary detours, longer driving times and higher fuel costs.
The ideal route
By visualizing the route on a map or with the help of a link with a route optimization tool that automatically suggests the best route, you can improve the planning. By optimizing route scheduling, companies can reduce costs and execute their transport activities in a more sustainable manner.
Less empty kilometers
A Transport Management System helps optimizing your delivery and collection orders and cargo capacity. By better aligning loads with available vehicles, you can reduce the number of journeys needed to transport a certain amount of goods. By reducing journeys, you also reduce your fuel consumption and improve your productivity per journey.
More control with a Transport Management System
Thanks to a TMS system, companies can control their transport activities better and gain clear insights. By linking the TMS system with the on-board computers or mobile transport applications, you can keep track of the execution of the transport in real time, allowing planners to better anticipate delays or problems. You can intervene faster and avoid costs that typically come with orders that are delayed or not executed.
Better collaboration
A TMS platform not only benefits your internal organizations, it also improves transparency towards and collaboration with your customers and vendors.
Transparancy is a key component of customer satisfaction in the logistics industry. Customers want to know where their products are, when they will arrive, and how much it’ll cost. A Transport Management System allows companies to inform their customers in real time.
On top of that, companies can compare hauliers by price, performance and reliability. By centralizing this data, they can pick the haulier that meets their needs best, again allowing them to reduce transport costs.
Invoices paid on time
One of the biggest challenges for many companies, is invoices being paid on time. Payment delays may not only disturb cashflows, but also affect relationships with vendors and partners. Another benefit of a Transport Management System is the possibility to automate the invoicing process.
As soon as the transport order is completed and the services have been provided, the TMS system can automatically generate the invoice based on predefined rates and contracts, reducing the possibility of human-made mistakes and ensuring the right amount is charged. By processing invoices faster and more efficient, your company can receive payments sooner, which benefits your company’s overall financial health.
Controlled IT budget with a cloud-based TMS system
Managing IT budgets can be challenging, especially when it comes to managing crucial technological infrastructure for the business activities. It’s no surprise that companies must deal with unexpected costs, inefficient resource usage or an unclear view on where the money goes.
While investments in IT increase, companies must be flexible and cost-efficient. A cloud-based TMS solution might be the answer.
A cloud-based TMS solution is easily accessible anywhere via internet for each employee on any device. Instead of having to invest in expensive servers, companies can optimize their IT expenses and stimulate scalability and innovation thanks to a cloud-based TMS solution. In other words, it helps you avoid excessive expenses and allows you to spend your IT budget effectively on the highest priorities.
Integration with other systems
A qualitative Transport Management System can be seamlessly integrated with other company software, such as ERP systems, stock management and financial systems, reducing the need for manual entry and improving efficiency, which ultimately helps you reduce IT costs. By streamlining processes and eliminating redundant systems, a TMS system can help reduce the need for multiple software packages and the costs that come with them.
A Transport Management System that grows with your company
As companies grow, their transportation needs become more complex. A TMS system helps to manage this growth by automating processes and centralizing data, allowing companies to upscale their operations, without the proportional increase in costs.
The right insights to make adjustments
The data collected by a Transport Management System enables companies to make better informed decisions. Instead of relying on intuition or vague predictions, you can make choices backed by data thanks to a TMS system.
With built-in reports, graphs and dashboards about performance and costs, a Transport Management System can help management to identify inefficiencies in their processes. By continually monitoring performance, companies can proactively adjust and optimize their transport costs.
Reducing costs in the long term
Although investing in a Transport Management System initially comes with a certain cost, it is often way more beneficial in the long run. Because of the improvements in efficiency, the reduced fuel costs, the increased visibility and the improved collaboration with hauliers, companies can significantly reduce their transport costs. In the long run, this cuts operational costs as well as hidden costs that would otherwise be hard to trace.
