Transportation Management System Implementation Success – What is Required?
A transportation management system (TMS) is one of the most transformative supply chain management technologies that a 3PL, shipper or broker can implement: It saves an organization 8 − 10% in freight costs on average, delivering one of the strongest returns on investment (ROIs) of any supply chain software.
But before you can enjoy the cost savings, you have to go through the less exciting implementation phase. That’s where many TMS systems fail. Most transportation management systems on the market today are built on architectures from 15 to 20 years ago, which prevents them from intelligently addressing current transportation realities – like complex pricing schemes – or nimbly managing aspects like integration. This results in a large number of transportation management system implementations failing to meet their project objectives. In fact, up to 40 percent of implementations fail by some estimates.
In this survey by Talking Logistics, Adrian Gonzalez asks companies to discuss their transportation management system implementation hurdles. The biggest factors they noted are the importance of understanding integration requirements with other apps, as well as involving a cross-functional team. Costly customizations are another issue to be wary of.
At 3Gtms, we’ve designed a wholly new type of TMS system that is more flexible to customer needs and addresses modern transportation realities. And because our TMS software is self-configurable, our customers can adjust workflows themselves without having to rely on a support contract with us.
Furthermore, our unique Integration Hub includes the industry’s only Business-to-TMS (“B2T”) integration toolkit. Customers, carriers and trading partners can on-board faster and more cheaply than with other systems because of our self-service integration approach that reduces the cost and time of the implementation phase. And with tight integrations between the TMS, internal systems and external partners, companies have better visibility and collaboration throughout the supply chain. Rather than focusing on the day-to-day details of operations, planners can be more strategic and creative with how they manage logistics.
The bottom line: You save money and time with simpler and faster set-ups (and your customers do too).
No matter which TMS system vendor you chose, you will inevitably run into gaps between what you need and what the TMS software provides out-of-the-box. But whereas a traditional TMS will force you to change your business process or pay for expensive custom coding or develop manual “work-arounds,” 3Gtms provides the foundational design to more easily add new functionality and self-configure the system to fill in the gaps.
Design makes all the difference. Functional gaps can always be filled with the right system design, but a bad design will impact you for the life of your solution.
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Explore 3Gtms case studies, whitepapers and more to learn more about our TMS system, our carrier partners, and how we can help you grow your business.
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