A key component of supply chain management is TMS or transportation management systems. A functional TMS helps simplify some fulfillment tasks and helps companies transport products in a very cost-effective manner. In addition, TMS also involves intermodal freight movements, comprising inbound, outbound, domestic, international and commercial shipments. The best thing about TMS is that it can seamlessly function within your company, or with a third party logistics provider (3PL) if you outsource your fulfillment.
Why are Companies Implementing TMS?
In basic terms, TMS is a supply chain tool that helps reduce additional freight costs. Employing a TMS strategy helps organizations immensely, as they can pair up logistics with functional analytics and optimization techniques to better manage their supply chain.
Warehouse Efficiency
While some might argue that a transportation management system has nothing to do with warehouse management, there is a direct correlation between the two. With a functional TMS solution on-board, companies can quickly dispatch the shipments, thereby saving a lot of time for performing warehouse duties. Moreover, with the TMS integrated alongside the ERP (enterprise resource planning), data entry issues and associated errors can be avoided. In a nutshell, TMS and WMS work together for improving the efficiency of the concerned supply chain framework.
Better Delivery Options
TMS helps optimize the shipping techniques for companies. It allows a brand to offer a wide variety of fulfillment options to the customers. Be it the inbound shipping programs or the pool-point shipping ideas, having a robust TMS can open diverse opportunities for the customers. This approach to shipping and fulfillment also covers multiple locations and serves as a precursor to the omni-channel customer experience. Lastly, a single point person with remote access can easily manage the entire delivery system for multiple networks.
Reduction in Inventory
Organizations dealing with surplus inventory issues are best served by having a TMS in their strategy. As companies can now ship products at a faster rate, it becomes easier for them to plan out the stocks in a better manner. This eventually minimizes the issues related to surplus stocks and can help businesses improve productivity.
Improved Cash Flow
A functional TMS can also help an organization improve the overall cash flow. With freight accounting made easy, improved cash flow is something businesses can expect going into the future. Moreover, TMS offers a leeway to the shippers as they can now save a lot of money by tweaking the structure of inbound logistics. By cutting out duplicate payments, inaccurate charges and other logistical pitfalls a company that implements a TMS is in a place to save on inefficiencies and improve their cash flow.
Advanced Analytics
The associated analytics that TMS provides will help identify low-cost shipping options for businesses, thereby helping companies further save money. With shippers having fewer issues to worry about, the entire management team can concentrate more on warehouse and inventory control.
Bottom Line
Over the past few years, it has become easier to implement a TMS solution to compliment the entire process of warehousing, fulfillment and inventory control. Because of the support and consolidation opportunities, businesses can save on additional costs without having to compromise on customer satisfaction levels. Linking a robust TMS with a highly efficient warehouse management system promotes better visibility of the entire supply chain, and can also improve the process of inventory forecasting and minimize errors along the way.
Freight solutions that DCL Logistics manages will deliver cost savings and operational efficiencies to your business. If you are seeking logistics support we’d love to hear from you. Check out the many companies we work with to ensure great logistics support. Send us a note to connect about how we can help your company grow.
Tags: warehouse management
