Small- and mid-sized truckload carriers are rushing to reap the benefits of digitizing their operations. Along the way to increasing their efficiency, they’re turning to TMS solutions to continue to thrive.
So how does the best TMS software help you meet your business needs, blend predictability and flexibility into your schedule, avoid delays and mis-payments to your drivers, and give your drivers a leg up for their daily and monthly tasks? It’s essential to choose the best TMS software.
The best TMS software is carefully designed to keep you on track and efficient by using:
The best TMS software lets tech-savvy drivers conduct their lives on their smartphones rather than on laptops or by struggling with digital document management.
TMS software alleviates all the time-consuming paper and manual processes and makes drivers’ lives more manageable since you can track drivers using GPS rather than calling them repeatedly to locate them and determine their status.
Finding and retaining good drivers is pure gold for your business. But your staff has lives outside of work.
On the road, things come up that require schedule flexibility. In fact, according to Forbes, 84% of parents stated that flexibility is their top priority in a job. Giving drivers some wiggle room gives you a better chance at retaining your skilled drivers.
The best TMS software offers users features like QuickBooks integration to streamline the customer invoice creation process, speed up invoice data entry, and reduce manual entry errors.
Additional features like an advanced dispatch module let you split loads into legs and assign those to separate drivers. Users can create invoice records for each leg to pay drivers while generating one consolidated customer invoice for customers. The best TMS software has ELD features that connect for enhanced visibility for predictive ETAs, integration of hours-of-service information for driver scheduling, and improved location tracking.
Lastly, a mobile app lets drivers quickly receive notifications—even when the app is off. And document scanning supports quicker, intelligent scanning with higher resolution images.
The best TMS software tracks driver miles while in route and the hours they have driven.
This feature can help you build your schedule to keep truck drivers happy and while still meeting your business needs. It finds the shortest route possible to go from one place to another, reducing driver fatigue. It also ensures accurate driver payment, which is essential for trucking firms seeking to avoid lawsuits.
California recently set a precedent by requiring fleets to account for all intrastate time and activities in their driver payments or risk litigation.
The best TMS software mines the data from your ELD, GPS, and telematics devices, which provides real-time truck locations.
With real-time visibility, you know the exact location and time of a shipment, how well your vehicles are performing and can monitor driver safety and performance. Data from telematics devices ensures you can keep preventative maintenance schedules and save on fuel consumption. Shipment visibility within a TMS provides reporting capabilities and dashboards that let you check the status and health of your transportation operations.
Dashboards show performance KPIs, such as on-time performance, cost per mile, revenue per mile, delayed shipment status, on-time arrivals, miles per gallon, and more. By measuring and monitoring transportation KPIs, you can improve operations by keeping costs in check and identifying inefficiencies that can cause delays. Disruptions like an unexpected traffic jam, bad weather, accident, or illness, real-time visibility combined with information you collect across the supply chain allow you to make more informed, better decisions and respond effectively.
An intelligent TMS provides shipment visibility for the most reliable ETAs and greater customer satisfaction.
Ready to start on the road to efficiency and maximize driver relationships? With all the headwinds facing truckers these days, it’s good to check out the best TMS software for small- and mid-sized trucking.