man checking inventory

Benefits of Implementing a Transport Management System

March 23, 2020

What are the benefits of implementing a transport management system?

  1. More efficient cash flow
  2. Better tracking system
  3. Improved cost savings
  4. Increases warehouse productivity
  5. Reduction in inventory
  6. Accurate orders

 

Logistics heavily relies on delivering a product to the designated customer in the most efficient way possible. Companies that are adopting business delivery services need to make sure everything in their supply chain operations is functioning properly. A minor fault or oversight can have potentially disastrous outcomes for the entire operation. As such, one of the ways by which you can avoid constant errors in your logistics services is if you implement the benefits of a transport management system.

A transport management system is a process employed in logistics operations for the purpose of properly planning the physical movement of goods — both incoming and outgoing — and ensuring documentation and shipment is in order. The transport management system is oftentimes a subset of a much broader supply chain management system.

Continue reading to learn more about the benefits of implementing this kind of system into your operations.

 

More efficient cash flow

bar graph increasing cash

A transport management system typically comes in the form of an intuitive and interactive software which helps users identify more cost-efficient solutions for their business. One of the benefits of implementing this system is that it creates more efficient cash flow for your services.

A transport management system will generate a pool of carrier services, for example, allowing the user to view and choose from a variety of transportation purveyors. The software will also present the user with the financial aspects of each possible route that can be taken by the driver of the carrier.

By providing you with a multitude of options, the system offers you more cost-efficient solutions, allowing you to save up on fuel costs, and increase the overall efficiency of the driver.

 

Improved cost savings

person calculating savings

There is a tendency for people to believe that reducing costs on transportation is a way of cutting corners in your operations. This is not necessarily the case, as a transport management system simply aims to provide you with cheaper alternatives, while still providing favorable outcomes for your company.

As such, when all of your operations have been rigorously assessed within the system, there is very little room left for error. Going back to the example above, choosing a carrier that can pass through the shortest route in the fastest time possible allows the particular product to be delivered to the doorstep of the customer on time.

However, as with any type of logistics endeavor, you should always be open to alternatives. If you find after a while that your cheap carrier option is only able to get the job done less than 70% of the time, the system’s analytics would find another solution for you. The new option will improve your delivery statistics as well as increase overall customer satisfaction.

 

Increases warehouse productivity

When you have an efficient system in place, such as that of transport management, you would no longer have to devote much of your time to freight planning and management. This is because the highly efficient system accurately computes for you all the numbers which you may need.

In the presence of a dedicated system, you would have more freedom to make decisions on your other operations such as warehouse management. You can reduce instances of lost or stolen items and also improve the overall quality of how your warehouse operations are run.

 

Reduction in inventory

man inspecting inventory

Since a transport management system guarantees that the items you’re shipping will be correctly delivered to their respective final points of distribution, this would allow you to reduce the number of pending items in your inventory. This situation allows you to draft up better plans for inventory management and predict the surge of orders you might end up receiving.

A poorly managed system would only lead to pile-ups in your inventory, which can create further delivery delays. The system helps you to prevent instances wherein you might feel overwhelmed about the number of orders as well as cases of product unavailability.

 

Accurate orders

A reliable transport management system ensures that the information specified on each pending item to be delivered is accurate. Compounded with producing the best transportation outcomes, the system will see to it that the item is delivered to their respective addresses, minimizing blunders.

Depending on what kind of software you might use for the business, the system will reduce instances of information discrepancy, to an ideal number of zero. Furthermore, the accessibility of information within the system helps you view and double-check the contents of each package which are set for deployment.

In the world of logistics, flexibility is key. A dedicated transport management system can just as easily help you rectify minor problems you encounter while in the delivery process, without compromising customer needs.

 

Key Takeaway

Implementing the benefits of a transport management system greatly improves the outcomes in virtually every aspect of your operations. Apart from its cost-efficient benefits, it can create positive customer solutions, improve warehouse productivity, as well as provide you with more time to handle the more important aspects of your operations.

The guide above has hopefully provided you with just some of the advantages you can get once you adopt an efficient transport management system for your logistics operations.