Philip Morris
Transport Management System

A Transport Management System, or TMS, is a software solution designed to streamline and optimize the process of managing transportation operations for businesses. It encompasses a range of functionalities that help organizations efficiently plan, execute, and track the movement of goods from one location to another.

Transport Management Systems may have different features, depending on the business processes and goals of each specific company. Key options include:

1. Order management. TMS allows businesses to manage and process transportation orders, including capturing order details, consolidating orders, and optimizing load planning.
2. Route Planning and Optimization. Transportation Management software system helps in determining the most efficient routes for delivery, considering factors such as distance, time windows, traffic conditions, and load capacities. It minimizes fuel consumption, reduces transit times, and maximizes resource utilization.
3. Shipment tracking and visibility. With the help of GPS trackers, TMS allows real-time monitoring of shipments. This provides full visibility into the status and location of goods in transit, enabling businesses to proactively manage exceptions, respond to customer inquiries, and ensure on-time delivery.
4. Freight audit and payment. TMS automates the process of auditing freight invoices, verifying rates, calculating charges, and facilitating payment to carriers. It reduces errors, improves accuracy, and streamlines the financial aspects of transportation management.
5. Reporting and analytics. TMS provides comprehensive reporting and analytics capabilities, allowing businesses to gain insights into transportation performance, costs, and key performance indicators (KPIs). This data helps in identifying areas for improvement and making data-driven decisions.
6. Compliance and documentation. TMS can assist in managing compliance with transportation regulations and generating necessary documentation such as bills of lading, customs documentation, and shipping labels. It helps businesses maintain legal and regulatory compliance.
7. Integration with other systems. As the main Transport Management Systems users, logistics providers should integrate their software with the solutions of their clients. For example, ERP, marketplaces, and WMS. This will enable seamless data exchange and end-to-end visibility across the supply chain.

If you’re curious about how TMS API integration with other systems can streamline your operations, we recommend you read our article. Here, you will also find insightful use cases which can be relevant to your business.

Logistics providers have to manage large amounts of goods from different shippers. So, without digitalization, this process is challenging and full of errors. On the contrary, a Transport Management System is a single platform where logistics managers can easily manage their orders.

Among other Transportation Management System benefits are:

1. Improved operational efficiency. In such a way, LSPs can automate and streamline order management, route planning, carrier selection, and load optimization. This leads to improved operational efficiency, reduced manual effort, and increased productivity. By eliminating manual tasks and optimizing routes, logistics providers can save time, reduce costs, and handle more shipments with greater accuracy.
2. Enhanced visibility and tracking. TMS provides real-time visibility into the transportation process, allowing logistics providers to track shipments, monitor their status, and receive proactive alerts for exceptions or delays. This enhanced visibility enables better decision-making, improved customer service, and effective management of supply chain disruptions.
3. Optimal route planning and load optimization. TMS enables logistics providers to plan the most efficient routes, taking into account factors such as distance, traffic conditions, delivery time windows, and load capacities. By optimizing routes and loads, logistics providers can minimize fuel consumption, reduce transportation costs, and maximize resource utilization.
4. Effective carrier selection and management. TMS assists in selecting the right carriers for transportation based on criteria such as cost, performance, capacity, and compliance. It streamlines the carrier management process, including contract negotiation, rate management, and performance tracking. By effectively managing carrier relationships, logistics providers can ensure reliable service, reduce costs, and maintain high service levels.
5. Accurate billing and financial management. TMS automates the freight audit and payment process, ensuring accurate invoicing, reducing billing errors, and facilitating timely payments to carriers. This eliminates manual reconciliation processes, improves financial accuracy, and helps in managing cash flow effectively.
6. Data-driven decision-making. TMS provides robust reporting and analytics capabilities, offering insights into transportation performance, costs, KPIs, and trends. This data-driven approach enables logistics providers to identify areas for improvement, optimize operations, and make informed decisions to enhance overall efficiency and profitability.
7. Compliance and documentation management. TMS helps logistics providers maintain compliance with transportation regulations, generate required documentation such as bills of lading, customs documentation, and shipping labels, and ensure adherence to legal and regulatory requirements. This reduces the risk of penalties, delays, and compliance issues.

According to Grand View Research, the worldwide market for transportation management systems reached a valuation of USD 10.45 billion in 2022. Over the forecast period from 2023 to 2030, it is projected to exhibit a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.8%. Thus, there is a lot of in-box TMS solutions adapted to specific business needs like eCommerce and logistics.

The best Transportation Management System should be a solution that fits your processes and requirements. However, we reviewed sources and chose popular options based on client feedback:

1. Oracle Transportation Management—this comprehensive solution offers end-to-end visibility, optimization capabilities, and robust reporting and analytics. It caters to a wide range of industries and provides advanced features for route planning, carrier management, and freight consolidation.
2. SAP Transportation Management—a highly scalable TMS that integrates with other SAP modules and provides seamless connectivity across the supply chain. It offers functionalities for order management, transportation planning, carrier selection, and freight settlement. SAP TMS is known for its advanced optimization capabilities and strong analytics features.
3. Manhattan Associates TMS—the developer offers a comprehensive TMS that caters to the needs of diverse industries. This solution provides end-to-end visibility, carrier management, optimization algorithms, and robust reporting capabilities. It is known for its ability to handle high volumes of shipments and complex transportation scenarios.
4. BluJay Solutions Transportation Management—BluJay Solutions’ TMS is a cloud-based platform that offers functionalities such as order management, carrier selection, rate management, and real-time tracking. It provides visibility across the supply chain, supports collaboration with carriers and customers, and offers robust reporting and analytics capabilities.
5. MercuryGate TMS—the solution delivers flexible and scalable features that address the needs of both small and large transportation operations. The TMS provides features for carrier management, load planning, freight audit, and analytics. It is known for its user-friendly interface and extensive integration capabilities.

Our team prepared a guide on how to choose TMS. Here, you will find a detailed overview of popular solutions’ features.

The choice between an off-the-shelf TMS and a custom solution depends on your specific business needs, budget, and long-term objectives. In general, we recommend in-box solutions for small and medium-sized businesses because they already have all the needed functionality and cost less than a custom TMS. Moreover, such companies are more flexible which allows them to adapt their processes to specific Transport Management System features.

On the contrary, it’s challenging for enterprises to modify their operations according to Transport Management Systems. After all, this involves the complete rebuilding of working models which has been established for a long time. In this case, we recommend you develop Transport Management System project from scratch. Your company will be able to choose needed features and design specific modules fitting your operational needs.

If we’re talking about in-box solutions, they have a fixed price depending on chosen options and business plans. However, custom Transport Management System development is a complex process where the final cost depends on several factors:

• Scope and complexity. The scope and complexity of the TMS project play a significant role in determining the cost. The more extensive and intricate the features and functionalities required, the higher the development cost is likely to be. Customizations such as specialized workflows, integrations with other systems, advanced analytics capabilities, or unique industry-specific requirements can increase the complexity and cost of development.
• Development time. The time required to develop a custom TMS affects the cost. Development timelines can vary based on the project complexity, the number of features, and the availability of resources. Longer development periods generally incur higher costs, considering the extended involvement of development teams, project managers, and quality assurance personnel.
• Technology stack. The choice of the technology stack and development tools can impact the cost. Some technologies or frameworks may require more specialized skills or licensing fees, which can influence the overall development cost. Additionally, integrations with third-party services or APIs may incur additional expenses.
• Design and user experience: The complexity and sophistication of the user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) design can affect the cost. Customizing the TMS’s visual elements, creating intuitive workflows, and ensuring a seamless user experience may require additional design resources and contribute to the overall development cost.
• Testing and quality assurance. Thorough testing and quality assurance processes are essential for a reliable and robust TMS. The complexity of the system, the number of integrations, and the level of customization can impact the testing efforts and, consequently, the cost of development.
• Team composition and expertise. The size and expertise of the development team involved in building the custom TMS can influence the cost. Rates for developers, project managers, designers, and quality assurance professionals can vary based on location, skill level, and experience.

If you require a custom TMS, Coreteka is here to help you. Send us a message to calculate the Transportation Management System software cost based on your vision, needs, and requirements.

When selecting technologies and programming languages for your Transport Management System, it’s important to consider factors such as scalability, security, integration capabilities, development resources, and the specific requirements of your project. Here are some commonly used technologies and programming languages for developing a TMS:

• Transport Management System project in PHP—the PHP programming language allows developers to utilize different frameworks like Laravel, Symfony, or CodeIgniter to streamline the development process. These frameworks provide a structured approach, pre-built components, and efficient development patterns, which can speed up development and ensure maintainability.
• Transport company project in Java—this programming language is a popular choice for enterprise-level applications due to its robustness, scalability, and extensive libraries and frameworks. It is widely supported and offers good performance.
• Transport Management System in Python—Python is known for its simplicity, readability, and wide range of libraries and frameworks. It can be suitable for rapid development, data processing, and integration tasks in a TMS.
• TMS in C#—as a programming language, C# is commonly used with the .NET framework. It provides a solid foundation for building scalable and secure TMS applications, particularly if you plan to leverage Microsoft technologies.

But choosing the programming language is only the first step, you will also need to opt for web frameworks, databases, and cloud services.

In our Transport Management case study, we described our experience in building custom solutions for enterprises. Coreteka TMS was developed for the Philip Morris tobacco company. In addition to core functionality, this project was done with a noble purpose — to decrease carbon dioxide emissions.

On the business analysis step, our team calculated that annually, the empty truck mileage amounts to an impressive 720,000,000 kilometers, which unfortunately contributes to the emission of approximately 85,320 tonnes of CO2 pollution. On the other hand, Transport Management Systems can optimize routes, reducing the number of empty miles. As a result, Philip Morris has repeatedly approached us for custom software development. For example, Coreteka also built a voice recognition solution for their sales department.

If you’re interested in the full functionality of our TMS, get a detailed description on this page.

Coreteka is among Transportation Management System companies offering custom solutions. Thanks to our 6-years of experience in logistics, we can implement tech products of different complexity levels. When partnering with us, we can be sure that your project is designed according to your business needs and issues.

We developed solutions for enterprises like Raben, Philip Morris, METRO, and Ekol. You can completely entrust your tech project to us. Have a task for us? Let’s discuss it in detail.