Lessons I learned: Switching to a transport management system

Managing cargo from ports, warehouses, and various destinations is not an easy task. If you are in the logistics industry, you will understand. I have learned some hard lessons, but switching to a transport management system was by far the best decision I made for my business

I still shake my head in disbelief that I ran my logistics operations on manual processes alone. At the start of my working career, I was in charge of scheduling transport and ensuring cargo gets transported on time.

In this article, I want to share some lessons I learned after throwing away my spreadsheets and notepads, and investing in a transport management system.

I don’t want you to experience endless frustration anymore. Let’s get going.

How did I ever work without real-time tracking?

You may be a logistics manager who has to plan transportation, warehouse dispatches, and deliveries. You call customers every 30 minutes to give updates. 

Please stop this.

Here’s what I learned: The TMS software gives me real-time tracking. My customers follow the path of a cargo movement, for example, and see the ETA.

Why were we wasting so much time? 

You will know, in logistics timing is everything. From a missed delivery to a customer, or you missed a sailing time because your container was late for its slack date.

Here’s what I learned: The route optimization feature of the transportation management software gets my truck drivers traveling the fastest route. We no longer waste precious time.

Cut paperwork and use a transportation management system

If you’re using a manual process right now, listen up. 

Keeping track of invoices and delivered cargo is probably an endless struggle. You may even have a customer who claims that they never received a shipment. 

Here’s what I learned: A transport management system digitizes all our logistics paperwork. This means everything was accessible at the touch of a button. This is the dream!  

No more missing documents, no more disputes and happy customers. 

Transport management system = Customer satisfaction

This was my life before a transport management system: Unhappy customers, lots of shipments, customers walking away to find a different provider. 

Pure frustration with every customer who went somewhere else. 

Here’s what I learned: With automated notifications, customers now stay informed throughout the delivery process. Happy customers mean repeat business. 

Let’s recap: Why use a transport management system? 

Picture this: You can be a logistics company that uses manual processes and get lost, delivers late, or worse, loses business. 

On the flip side, your company can invest in a transport management system. This will allow you to: 

• Use route optimization to put your drivers on the best route. 
• Real-time track each cargo movement so you have visibility over your operations. 
• Keep customers informed about cargo dispatch and delivery. 
• Make more deliveries in a day because you’re turning around vehicles faster. 

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