Implementing a Transportation Management System (TMS) marks a significant milestone for companies aiming to enhance their supply chain operations. However, the journey doesn’t end at implementation.
Organizations can continue to extract value from their TMS investment, meet cost reduction goals, and drive ongoing supply chain improvements through strategic analysis and optimization.
Maximizing Your TMS Investment
After determining you need a TMS, documenting your requirements, working through RFPs, contracting and implementing a system, what’s next to ensure you are getting the best “bang for your buck” from your TMS?
How is your ROI vs. plan? What can you do to meet cost-down initiatives, not just this year but next year too?
The ongoing value and support of a TMS system typically doesn’t end with implementation, but how do you continue to find opportunities now that you have it?
Analyzing Data for Continuous Improvement
One of the primary reasons to implement a TMS is often described as “visibility.” At first glance, visibility sounds like tracking and tracing shipments. Looking deeper, it’s often the “system of record” functionality that provides access and visibility to the best longer-term continuous improvements.
In theory, you now have indexed location data, linked to execution dates and times, mode and carrier selections, and ultimately the costs incurred to service your shipments and customers. This unlocks the ability to quickly summarize your data in a meaningful way, enabling you to identify areas of opportunity. What was your lane frequency, average shipment cost and size by mode, and total spend by location or carrier?
In the short-term, analyzing these results can help you create leverage with your vendors and carriers. Beyond negotiating for the lowest cost, you can now see the volumes in question and understand the predictability of those volumes and the revenue you are negotiating.
You also now have reliable information to do larger-scale network benchmarking versus the market to evaluate your approach to sourcing and fulfillment.
Data-Driven Decision Making
Potentially, the most impactful opportunities are within the concepts of “What If?” scenarios and network optimization. If operational execution is the primary function of a TMS, its secondary function is to facilitate this type of strategic analysis.
The larger and more complex a network is, the more likely an initial TMS solution is limited by the business rules used to confine systematic decisions allowed by the software. The desire to quickly stand up the system and generate ROI, coupled with the lack of reliable historical data, frequently makes justification for changes to long standing business processes difficult to navigate. Armed with more comprehensive data and the appropriate analytical tools, decisions can be made with much higher confidence.
Due to a lack of a change management approach, or to avoid potentially negative customer service or sales impacts, order criteria are often hardcoded limiting the decision-making ability of a TMS. Making changes to these standards frequently requires a business case and cost justification. In order to have these conversations effectively, being armed with data describing implementable results is paramount.
Some examples would include:
- Mode shift between Parcel and LTL
- “Must Use” or “Do No Use” Carriers
- Private Fleet vs. Common Carrier
- Predefined Service Levels (e.g., 2-Day when Ground could meet the same standard)
Continuous Optimization Strategies
If you want to get the most out of continuous improvement, the methodology matters, and it pays to consider several key steps and factors:
- Perform Discovery – Assess current business processes to understand existing workflows and constraints.
- Identify Opportunities – Pinpoint areas where adjustments can drive efficiency and cost savings.
- Build Business Cases – Develop justification for proposed changes, including cost-benefit analysis.
- Consider Change Management – Address potential risks and ensure smooth implementation.
- Implement – Execute the plan, measure results, and refine strategies as needed.
Closing Thoughts
Maximizing the value of a TMS goes beyond implementation—it requires ongoing evaluation, data analysis, and strategic decision-making. Organizations that continuously assess their network, challenge existing business rules, and explore optimization opportunities will see the greatest long-term benefits.
By leveraging accurate data and aligning system capabilities with evolving business needs, companies can improve cost efficiency, strengthen vendor relationships, and enhance overall supply chain performance. Taking a structured approach to continuous improvement ensures that a TMS remains a dynamic tool for driving operational excellence.
Adam Gray is a Business Architect / Team Lead at JBF Consulting.
TMS Sculpting: Supply Chain Enhancement and Evolution
Implementing a Transportation Management System (TMS) marks a significant milestone for companies aiming to enhance their supply chain operations. However, the journey doesn’t end at implementation.
Organizations can continue to extract value from their TMS investment, meet cost reduction goals, and drive ongoing supply chain improvements through strategic analysis and optimization.
Maximizing Your TMS Investment
After determining you need a TMS, documenting your requirements, working through RFPs, contracting and implementing a system, what’s next to ensure you are getting the best “bang for your buck” from your TMS?
How is your ROI vs. plan? What can you do to meet cost-down initiatives, not just this year but next year too?
The ongoing value and support of a TMS system typically doesn’t end with implementation, but how do you continue to find opportunities now that you have it?
Analyzing Data for Continuous Improvement
One of the primary reasons to implement a TMS is often described as “visibility.” At first glance, visibility sounds like tracking and tracing shipments. Looking deeper, it’s often the “system of record” functionality that provides access and visibility to the best longer-term continuous improvements.
In theory, you now have indexed location data, linked to execution dates and times, mode and carrier selections, and ultimately the costs incurred to service your shipments and customers. This unlocks the ability to quickly summarize your data in a meaningful way, enabling you to identify areas of opportunity. What was your lane frequency, average shipment cost and size by mode, and total spend by location or carrier?
In the short-term, analyzing these results can help you create leverage with your vendors and carriers. Beyond negotiating for the lowest cost, you can now see the volumes in question and understand the predictability of those volumes and the revenue you are negotiating.
You also now have reliable information to do larger-scale network benchmarking versus the market to evaluate your approach to sourcing and fulfillment.
Data-Driven Decision Making
Potentially, the most impactful opportunities are within the concepts of “What If?” scenarios and network optimization. If operational execution is the primary function of a TMS, its secondary function is to facilitate this type of strategic analysis.
The larger and more complex a network is, the more likely an initial TMS solution is limited by the business rules used to confine systematic decisions allowed by the software. The desire to quickly stand up the system and generate ROI, coupled with the lack of reliable historical data, frequently makes justification for changes to long standing business processes difficult to navigate. Armed with more comprehensive data and the appropriate analytical tools, decisions can be made with much higher confidence.
Due to a lack of a change management approach, or to avoid potentially negative customer service or sales impacts, order criteria are often hardcoded limiting the decision-making ability of a TMS. Making changes to these standards frequently requires a business case and cost justification. In order to have these conversations effectively, being armed with data describing implementable results is paramount.
Some examples would include:
Continuous Optimization Strategies
If you want to get the most out of continuous improvement, the methodology matters, and it pays to consider several key steps and factors:
Closing Thoughts
Maximizing the value of a TMS goes beyond implementation—it requires ongoing evaluation, data analysis, and strategic decision-making. Organizations that continuously assess their network, challenge existing business rules, and explore optimization opportunities will see the greatest long-term benefits.
By leveraging accurate data and aligning system capabilities with evolving business needs, companies can improve cost efficiency, strengthen vendor relationships, and enhance overall supply chain performance. Taking a structured approach to continuous improvement ensures that a TMS remains a dynamic tool for driving operational excellence.
Adam Gray is a Business Architect / Team Lead at JBF Consulting.
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