Dear reader, this is your warning: Beware of TMS!

The transportation industry, as well as technologies, are constantly evolving. And new solutions are popping up left and right. It’s incredibly important to stay on top of those trends and know which solution to use or to switch to.

 Although the TMS market penetration is very low in developed economies, and even lower globally, many companies around the world are thinking of adopting it as a solution to manage their shipments.

BUT BE CAREFUL! 

We are a TMS provider, and yet, we warn you to tread carefully...

1. Expensive:

The costs associated with a licensed traditional TMS are significant because each installation is a brand-new set-up starting with loading the software on the server before even getting to configuration and connectivity.

Not to mention that under a licensing agreement, the TMS buyer will require an IT staff to install, optimize server performance, troubleshoot user issues, etc...

All these things add up very quickly, making it a very expensive investment from the get-go.

2. Hard to implement:

A traditional TMS can take over 1 year, and with some major setbacks and delays being the norm, it often takes a lot longer!

A licensed TMS takes longer to implement because it requires a great deal of upfront planning to ensure a good install. Each install is a greenfield start-up, meaning that everything is required to be set up out of the box from functionality to connectivity.

3. Difficult to use:

A traditional TMS often requires extensive training before users can start using it. The user interface is complex and clunky, resulting in frustrated teams that feel that their job was easier before. Usage deteriorates over time, making the TMS project a failure.

4. Not collaborative:

Logistics is collaborative by nature. Whereas a traditional TMS is a single-tenant software that does not allow collaboration between various stakeholders in the logistics value chain.

Without collaboration, a TMS is nothing more than a system of record where information is entered manually. The interactions and the processes will remain the same, countless e-mails will still have to be sent and hundreds of phone calls will still have to be made, while the cumbersome and time-consuming task of entering every information in the system will be added to the already heavy workload of the logistics team 

If you are working with many transporters and customers, using a traditional TMS won’t help, on the contrary.

5. A nightmare to integrate:

Technology should enable us to connect systems easily, right?

Well, you can't imagine how time-consuming and costly it is to integrate a traditional TMS into your existing systems and your partner's systems

It is done using EDI integration, an outdated protocol that has no flexibility, and takes weeks or months to set up. If there is the slightest tiny change in your IT environment, everything breaks!

           Remember that your biggest asset is your human capital.

In their daily lives, your employees are ordering online, using social networks, and interacting naturally with all kinds of technologies.

Picking a flexible and cost-effective platform, that is simple and intuitive, and that evolves along with the fast-changing technological landscape, is critical for the success of your IT project.

Final verdict: If you are thinking of getting a traditional TMS, DO NOT!

In doubt, reach out to us, we can help!

contact@freterium.com