Why a TMS is Essential for 3PL Companies

Does ADLI Logistics have a TMS?

Yes! Back in 2016, ADLI Logistics invested in a state-of-the-art transportation management system (TMS) and we’ve seen a notable increase in customer satisfaction because of the efficiency that a TMS brings in coordinating freight shipments and deliveries, data entry and accessibility, and freight bill settlements and payments. Here’s a quick rundown of some of the many ways that a TMS improves a 3PL company’s workflow and customer satisfaction.

Accessible Data

A worthwhile TMS grants you easy access to important documents, analytics, and the location of your freight. With this information readily accessible to you, you don’t need to call your 3PL provider/freight broker to confirm whether your freight has departed or was delivered: you can log on via your preferred web browser and check for yourself. This saves you precious time that can better be used on another task. Additionally, since both parties have access to the same documents, everyone is on the same page.

Want a quote, bill of lading (BOL), invoice, or a status message emailed directly to your customer? A TMS can make that happen at a time and date convenient for your customer. This is all automated, so you can guarantee the requested document(s) are consistently delivered.

Want analytics based on your freight shipping activity and key performance indicators (KPIs)? A TMS also generates reports based on these data, which will enable you to compare easier Carrier A vs Carrier B. With these data, you can make better and more informed decisions based on statistics the next time around when choosing the best carrier for your customer’s freight. Thus, you can be more competitive and can offer your customer the best price.

Simplifies Data Entry

Logistics, by nature, requires many manual steps to be completed before freight can be picked up or delivered. Thanks to a TMS, however, these once-manual steps are now automated, saving time and improving the customer’s satisfaction, as a result. For example, a TMS will also automatically store and enter fuel surcharges and accessorials, reducing the chance of a typo in one of these fields.

Generally, these manual data entries lead to the customer paying the wrong fees. With a TMS, you can be sure that a valued customer won’t accidentally be charged twice for shipping. There are many important things to enter involved in shipping freight, and any incorrectly entered information can lead to delays or overcharges. To be safe, a TMS is the best protection against accidental errors that will dissatisfy your customer.

Even entering customer information (name, phone number, etc.) takes time, but a good TMS integrates with your customer relations management (CRM) software and automatically populates fields with the appropriate customer’s information.

Before a TMS, proof of delivery (POD) was tedious to supply to your customer, but a TMS can be configured to automatically fill and send a POD to a customer. The POD will, depending on your TMS, provide compliance information and serve as a trigger that executes the settlement process.

A TMS can automate and expedite many of the time-consuming manual data entry involved with arranged freight pickups and deliveries for your customers. Therefore, a 3PL company with a good TMS can provide exceptional customer service and accurate documents and information while minimizing the possibility of errors.

Settlements and Freight Bill Payments

Freight bill payments can be a tedious process – traditionally, at least. A TMS streamlines this process by managing transmittal of rated payment information, electronic payments, match pay, landed costs, and audit and pay invoices.

Consider how often you deal with freight bill payments a day, and how much time you could save if a TMS managed and automated many of the manual processes that you must do. You’d have more time to chase leads to gain valuable customers.

Accurate, Accessible, and Automatic

Using a TMS will help you fill fields accurately, manage settlements and freight bill payments, and provide every customer direct access to relevant documents — automatically. By automating these tasks, a 3PL company can arrange for a pickup and delivery almost immediately after getting off the phone with the customer. In a world quickly growing accustomed to shorter delivery waits, the faster the menial paperwork is completed, the faster the delivery.

For more information on a TMS, download our whitepaper. To do so, fill out a form on our resources page.

The above features are just some of the many ways our customers benefit by enlisting ADLI Logistics to manage your freight shipping, warehousing, and distribution needs. For more information fill out our contact form or call 1-877-363-7281!