Transportation departments are scrambling to find capacity as external forces like the pandemic and shifting economic climates join with seasonality to place constraints on capacity at levels the shipping industry has rarely witnessed.
What TMS features help avoid capacity challenges? Given what we know, time is of the essence. Here are six ways a good TMS and specific TMS features help mitigate a capacity crunch.
Spot Market Reporting
With so many shippers being forced into the spot market to find haulers, having robust spot quote reporting is crucial, providing data-driven insights into which carriers respond most frequently and reliably to spot quotes.
A Good Optimizer
Building the most efficient routes and loads minimizes truck utilization and reduces the number of trucks required to move the greatest volume of freight. Build effective, multi-stop shipments and plan more continuous moves with our TMS optimization features.
Proximity Search Capability
Your TMS should have the capability to produce a proximity search to easily identify backhaul opportunities during planning and in real time. Leveraging AI and Big Data practices can help identify hidden efficiencies while minimizing empty miles.
Tolerances & Allowances
Carriers will always favor those who demonstrate reliable and speedy settlement of invoices. A good TMS allows freight payment tools to cut down on the time it takes to take care of expenses. This feature makes payment to carriers speedy. Carriers favor quick payers!
Advanced Scheduling Features
Minimize imposition on carriers’ time by reducing wait times at pickup and delivery with robust scheduling capabilities. Strong TMS solutions offer advanced scheduling features enabling shippers to schedule at each origin and destination according to that location’s requirement. Again, consignees favor shippers with smooth processes that support faster throughput.
Beyond Visibility
A great TMS provides nearly unlimited visibility into freight and asset movements for accurate pickup and delivery estimates. Whether a shipper uses FourKites, Macropoint or other solutions (like the Asset Tracking & Management features available with PCS) integrations with these tools enable the dynamic planning and ETA updates that help logistics practitioners anticipate downstream delays and keep on time.
If your TMS is not strong in these areas, you’re going to suffer in a tight capacity environment. There’s no point in suffering when PCS Software offers all these features and more to help shippers and carriers ride out capacity challenges.
