The highlights of the survey include:

• Fifty-four percent of logistics professionals are using some sort of TMS software today - up from just 15 percent in 2005.

• Of the 46 percent not using a TMS within their business today, more than half expected to be using one within the next 12 to 24 months.

• The most common reason for not using a TMS was cost (43 percent), closely followed by complexity (32 percent).

• Freight brokers with more than 10 employees were the most likely to be using a TMS system (77 percent)

Freight brokers with fewer than 10 employees used a TMS only 56 percent of the time. This number falls to 23 percent if they have under 5 employees. 

Trucking companies were most likely to use a TMS if they had more than 20 trucks in service (89 percent). For those with under 10 trucks, the percent using a TMS falls to just 31 percent. For those with under 5 trucks in service TMS use was only 16 percent.

Shippers and manufacturers used a TMS system primarily for LTL shipments (47 percent). However, that number rises to 73 percent if the shipper moved an average of 30 or more truckload shipments per week.

No single TMS provider held more than 8 percent of the market for freight brokers, carriers or shippers. 

Home-grown TMS systems accounted for 6 percent of TMS systems in use today, and 3 percent of survey respondents use a freight module as part of another system (such as an ERP or sales management system). 

Source: InMotion Global Inc.