In COVID and post-COVID times, traditional shipping companies strive to find actionable ways to streamline their transportation servicesfor both organizations and end customers. With this, however, 43% of small and medium-sized logistics businesses still use manual management methods, according tothe G2 wrap-up supply chain stats.
Yet, the projected market growth rates look quite promising for the logistics software industry. As stated in the TMS market report from Orbis Research, the estimated value is estimated to reach $4330 million by 2025 comparing with $2524 million in 2019. Given all this, switching to reliable software solutions for managing operational flows at scale seems to be the right option.
The movement of goods is quite a critical component of a supply chain ecosystem. As customer needs grow, so do their expectations for the level of shipping services you are ready to provide. This given, the key enablers of greater user experiences with your shipping brand are as follows:
- Faster freight shipping rates
- Fixed price offerings for customers
- Predictable freight delivery times
- Instant shipping quotes
- Online shipment booking and tracking
- Improved communication & customer care
Why do shipping companies need transport management software?
It is not surprising that along with improving customer experience, shipping companies strive for cost and operations optimization while maximizing their profit rates. Speaking about a pool of advantages that software management solutions get for shipping business owners, it comes down to the following:
- Well-run supply chain network
- No more issues with time-consuming paperwork
- Online shipment creation
- Easily managed freights along their life cycle
- Quick delivery confirmation
- Accurate performance and carrier rates analytics
Depending on a software development service provider you are going to partner with, the range of available optimization tools and capabilities may be way greater. Usually, it is totally based on two functional criteria you should consider first hand:
- General-purpose TMS or specific TMS software for shippers
- Ready-made TMS or custom-built software solution
This simple TMS classification, although seemingly obvious, can drastically impact your shipping company’s bottom line.
Supply chain management systems vs TMS for shipper TMS software
Supply chain management (SCM) systems are designed to cater to the overall logistics needs. These are industry-wide management solutions, if you will, for those logistics businesses who do not have enough time and capacity to integrate and sync more specific software tools.
As a rule, universal logistics solutions compare poorly with niche platforms streamlined purposefully for one of the supply chain stages. Unless your logistics company embraces all the supply chain phases like inventory management, warehousing, transportation, and procurement—you should definitely look in the direction of choosing more specialized software management systems. In our case, this is a TMS for shippers.
Ready-made vs custom-built shipper TMS software
Much like the point above, off-the-shelf management systems for shippers follow a one-size-fits-all approach. It means that a ready-made TMS might fail to meet all your individual business needs.
Let’s say you have the USP (unique selling proposition) of your shipping services that includes some specific business features like, say, special seasonal offerings, loyalty bonuses for carriers and end customers, operational requirements, locale peculiarities, you name it. Given the necessity to be more operationally competitive while driving customer experience, store-bought shipper TMS software is highly unlikely what you are looking for.
Which is why, getting a custom-tailored TMS for shippersthat has features and functionality necessary for your exact needs would be a perfect match.
Industry challenges and expectations of shipping software
In 2020, the pandemic invoked an ultimate shipping delay outburst that received widespread customer backlash. Even giants like Amazon suffered from numerous user complaintsabout late order arrivals. Not to mention smaller market players with lesser operational capabilities.
The situation made shipping businesses start thinking of reinforcing their operational efficiency, especially through the implementation of advanced management software for shippers. According to the TMS survey commissioned by Odyssey Logistics and Technology, the takeaways from shipper attitudes on COVID-19 tell the story best. To cut it short, their expectations of shipping management systems boil down to the following five aspects.
It’s nice to have these facts in mind when it comes to project requirements documentation for your custom-built shipper TMS.
The benefits of TMS software for shippers
With all that said, the surveyed shippers attitudes come down to the benefits a bespoke TMS can provide.
- Speeding up the time of getting rates and quotes from multiple carriers
- More accurate price calculation with regard to multimodal shipments like long-haul truckload freights, LTL (less than truckload) freights, etc.
- Faster freight management rates due to automating routine processes
- Real-time shipment tracking capabilities
- Provision of more predictable prices to soothe customers
- Collecting analytical insights to improve performance
Surely, the range of competitive advantages a custom TMS can give is way wider and totally depends on what functionality you’d like it to have.
Either way, discussing a set of features necessary for your shipping business is an individual process that entails a close look at your capacities and niche specifics. Drop us a line so we can arrange a quick consultation on the matter at a time suitable to your team.