Why upgrading, not replacing, the transportation management system you already have is the best path forward.

The housing market has been incredibly volatile over the past few years. Many people have decided to stay put due to sky-high prices, limited availability, and explosive mortgage rates. Budgeting home improvement projects can be a better way to get what you want without the additional cost, uncertainty and risks of buying and selling, not to mention the disruption from uprooting and developing new routines.

The same trend is happening in the transportation and logistics industry. Motor carriers and freight brokers are improving their existing TMS platforms instead of switching to new software providers and paying large upfront costs and dedicating significant time and resources to disruptive IT projects that rarely go as planned.

Fortunately, there is a way to make your existing TMS capable of meeting your evolving business needs — by using a SaaS-based integration layer. Your TMS can seamlessly connect with new or existing trading partners and with complimentary third-party applications to create smoother, more streamlined data flows. 

Flipping the Script on Transportation Management Systems

If you are considering ripping and replacing a TMS, you have reached a breaking point. This can happen for a variety of reasons, but one likely culprit was having limited options for connecting with mobile applications — a must-have to compete in today’s digital world.

Another reason is using canned workflows and processes that make it difficult to provide customers with real-time updates based on workflow triggers, such as when a driver crosses a geofence before arriving at a facility. As well, your system might be too complex and slow to respond to requests from trading partners for new EDI and API integrations.

All these challenges and more can slow progress, which causes internal and external frustrations. It’s understandable, then, why deploying a new solution could seem easier than fixing your current one. 

Replacing your TMS is a weighty decision and heavy financial commitment. The project has murky implementation timelines that can disrupt operations far longer than anticipated. New vendors also have a knack of overpromising what their solution is capable of.

Eager homebuyers experience the same frustrations. In many markets, they are accustomed to offering more than the house is worth to outbid other buyers. Some might waive the inspection to entice the seller to accept their offer and risk discovery of structural issues that were not disclosed.

The promise of a new house is exciting – and may seem easier than making improvements to a current home – but the process can quickly fall apart by moving too fast and overlooking important details. 

When the promise of ‘new’ fades, current systems – just like proven, quality homes – become much more appealing. They’re reliable, sturdy, and familiar and just need a little restoration to be modern, fresh, and ready to take on whatever comes next.

Learn More About How to Improve and Optimize Your Current TMS with Our Free Blueprint

Five Perks of Keeping the TMS You Already Have

Leveraging a SaaS-based integration platform that integrates data from third-party applications creates a smooth path forward by increasing the effectiveness of your current system. It can be done quickly, with a single setup that gives users access to information they need, in the format they need it, with insights that enable better, faster and more strategic decisions. 

Here are five perks of having a well-integrated TMS built from an integrated system:

1. Greater control: Manage electronic data interchange (EDI) with trading partners by mapping your own EDI, rather than going through a vendor and waiting for the connections you need. You can also avoid paying recurring fees associated with using third party networks.
   
   
2. Fresh UI: Your old system can look new again by leveraging a ready-made user interface (UI) from a SaaS-based integration platform. You also gain new capabilities such as a web portal to share rates, documents, shipment tracking information, and more with trading partners. These processes integrate seamlessly with your existing TMS. 
   
   
3. Greater connections: Updating the UI for an existing TMS extends the life of the system by enabling greater connections. Freight brokers who want to connect with smaller carriers that lack TMS systems and prefer to connect with companies through a smartphone no longer must jump through hoops to connect. This creates more efficient channels of communication for more positive customer experiences. 
   
   
4. Easier migration: With a SaaS-based integration layer, you can more easily migrate the connections from your client-server TMS to your TMS vendor’s latest cloud-based version without a rip-and-replace implementation. 
   
   
5. Fewer disruptions: A web-based integration layer is able to connect third-party systems to multiple TMS platforms if needed to ensure the data is normalized. Then, if you ever change a system, such as an ELD or fuel card vendor, you only need to update it once, as it's connected to multiple platforms. This helps reduce disruption to daily operations and keeps everything running efficiently. 

Using a SaaS-based integration platform that connects existing TMS platforms to a wide variety of third-party applications will make it possible to plan and execute strategies on your terms, not your vendor’s terms. Upgrading a TMS does not require a complete makeover. Even small renovations can have a big impact.

Learn how Tranztec’s leading SaaS-based integration platforms bring new life to your transportation management system using pre-built integrations and APIs.