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A transportation management system (TMS) helps companies move freight from origin to destination efficiently, reliably and cost-effectively. The primary reason companies buy TMS is to save on freight. These freight savings can be attributed to simulation and network design, load consolidation and low cost mode selection and multi-stop route optimization. In addition, TMS often provide cost savings as well as reducing emissions.
When a shipper decides that it needs to improve its transportation performance, it usually seeks to achieve this by purchasing a transportation management system or by outsourcing transportation planning and execution to a Managed Transportation Service (MTS) provider. According to research by ARC Advisory Group, among shippers achieving significant reductions in freight savings, TMS and MTS perform almost equally. However, when you look at the proportion of respondents who achieved negative results (increased freight costs) or no improvement in their freight costs, TMS appears to be a less risky investment. One question that always comes up is “Who are the top TMS providers?”
Transportation Management System Definition
ARC’s definition of TMS is freight focused. ARC does not include solutions that help companies carry passengers more efficiently and does not include solutions for mail. Transportation management systems include two types of solutions: planning and implementation and fleet management.
planning and execution
A planning and execution application focused on freight movement associated with a carrier. The entire process will include procurement, route guide creation, planning and optimization, electronic communication with carriers (tendering), visibility and exception management, freight audit and performance management. For international shipments, this will also include advance shipment notification to government authorities. Many solutions do not support the end-to-end process described here. For classification purposes, if the solution includes route guide, plan optimization and electronic tender/acceptance execution, it is included in this category.
fleet management
Fleet Management is an application for the freight movement associated with the transport assets owned by the company. The entire process will include routing and optimization, visibility and exception management (including GPS style solutions), transportation asset management, and performance management. Transport assets include both power units and container cars. Many solutions do not support the end-to-end process described here. For classification purposes, any solution that includes routing and any of the other modules listed above will be considered a Fleet Management Solution.
Top Transportation Management System Provider
Based on a new global market report from ARC Advisory Group, the top TMS providers, listed alphabetically, are Blue Yonder, Descartes Systems, Oracle, SAP and TMW Systems (Trimble Transportation). These providers have consistently been top providers for nearly a decade. Due to their dedication to performance, technology advancements and a solid focus on the future of AI, these suppliers have everything they need to remain a top TMS provider.
blue there
Blue Yonder is one of the largest providers of TMS. Their TMS has a unique strength in providing solutions to very large shippers with complex transportation. Its solution set includes a wide range of capabilities spanning tactical and strategic modeling, network rate procurement, planning and execution, visibility and advanced analytics. The solution supports all modes, inbound and outbound, domestic and international, fleet management, and planning and execution solutions. The solution can be deployed in both a dedicated (single tenant) and a shared (multitenant) environment for both planning and execution. The traditional single-tenant solution can be deployed either behind a customer’s firewall or hosted in Blue Yonder’s cloud services or other cloud services.
descartes
Descartes Systems Group is a public company headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The company provides applications in areas such as transportation management, routing, mobile and telematics, customs and regulatory compliance, global trade materials, and broker and forwarder enterprise systems, serving more than 20,000 customers in more than 160 countries. Its solutions are based on Descartes’ logistics technology platform, which together with its Global Logistics Network is one of the largest logistics networks providing application-agnostic connectivity to business partners and land, air and ocean carriers. The acquisition of MacroPoint has added additional visibility capabilities, and the recent acquisition of GroundCloud has brought additional capabilities for last mile and telematics.
Oracle
Oracle Transportation Management, its flagship product, is a separate component of its ERP solutions. As a result, Oracle sells it to its installed base and to customers without an Oracle ERP solution who are looking for a best-of-breed solution. Oracle’s Global Trade Management (GTM) application is part of the OTM suite. OTM and GTM share a common data model, user interface, workflow, reporting, and integration. Oracle offers Oracle Transportation and Global Trade Management Cloud to combine and scale the complex logistics needs of global trade operations.
SAP
SAP TM is a holistic transportation solution that covers end-to-end business scenarios such as domestic and international inbound and outbound shipments. The solution includes out-of-the-box integration with SAP ERP Central Component (SAP ECC), SAP Enterprise Warehouse Management, SAP Event Management, SAP Global Trade Services, SAP Environment, Health and Safety (SAP EH&S), and SAP and Provides synchronization. CRM. The end-to-end transportation process begins with procurement; Contract management extends through planning and optimization, execution and visibility; and ends with freight audit and payment.
TMW (Trimble)
A wholly owned subsidiary of Trimble, TMW is part of the Transportation and Logistics division which also includes PeopleNet, Elk Technologies and TruckMate. Established in 1983, TMW is one of the top suppliers of Fleet Management Solutions. It provides ERP solutions for trucking companies, as well as standalone fleet management solutions that include static and dynamic routing, fleet planning, fleet maintenance, fuel optimization, fleet tracking, business intelligence and other solutions. Optimization can include private fleet versus common carrier moves or carrier favor, whether it is more profitable for a carrier to move a load or hand it over to another party. The TMS suite includes Order Entry, Visual Dispatch, Rating, Invoicing & Settlement, Maintenance and Accounting.
The primary author of this article is Chris Koonen. Mr. Cunanan is Director of Research for Supply Chain Management at ARC Advisory Group.
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