Analyst Insight: Today’s consumers have been conditioned to expect two-day, one-day and even same-day deliveries, with real-time updates provided throughout the shipment process. Keeping up with this demand has placed enormous pressure on companies to optimize their supply chains with a more robust, feature-rich transportation management system (TMS) — one that provides faster shipments to consumers and more detailed information to businesses. 

TMS plays a central role within a supply chain because it helps businesses plan, execute and optimize the physical movement of goods, can reduce costs by streamlining the shipping process, and increase customer satisfaction, boost sales and help businesses grow. 

To maximize supply chain performance, companies will want to integrate their TMS with emerging technologies designed to further improve day-to-day transportation operations.  

Innovative technologies that are currently available include:

Cloud-based TMS solutions. Offering scalability, flexibility and easier integration with other technologies, a cloud-based TMS provides a user-friendly platform to organize logistics and transportation processes. It can also enable real-time access to data, and allow for collaboration among stakeholders. From an IT perspective, a cloud-based TMS provides additional benefits in the form of faster deployments, fewer hours needed for training and installation and automatic updates with the latest features.

Artificial intelligence. AI will continue to be a crucial component of TMS for a number of reasons, including the ability to enhance shipment visibility and tracking. Where traditional manual tracking methods often fall short in providing accurate, real-time updates on the location of shipments, AI-powered solutions offer advanced tracking capabilities by leveraging technologies such as GPS, sensors and data analytics. Additionally, AI can effectively organize and plan shipments by “learning” about constraints such as capacity, regulations and service hours. The result is a more accurate ETA of shipments to warehouses, retail outlets and end customers. It’s also important to note that an AI-powered TMS can streamline shipping operations via intelligent routing. This involves analyzing vast amounts of data including weather conditions, traffic patterns and historical transportation data — all of which help minimize travel times, fuel costs and delays.

IoT fleet monitoring. The use of Internet of things (IoT) devices and sensors for real-time fleet monitoring is one of the fastest growing technological trends in transportation management. An IoT fleet monitoring system uses a combination of GPS technology and internet connectivity to track the location and status of vehicles, providing drivers and fleet managers with essential in-transit data, including driving conditions, vehicle speed and fuel consumption. This goes a long way toward helping companies lower fuel costs, reduce delays and improve driver safety. Equally important, IoT fleet monitoring can predict vehicle performance problems and suggest preventative maintenance based on a vehicle’s condition — a vital feature for containing transportation costs over the long haul. 

Outlook: Considering that there will always be physical goods to move, and given that supply chains are becoming increasingly complex, TMS will continue to evolve exponentially. Expect the next generation of TMS solutions to help provide consumers with even faster delivery speeds while providing businesses with greater volumes of information, better recommendations and more accurate predictions. It’s an exciting time for logistics and supply chain managers — and that’s not going to change anytime soon. 

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