How To Choose the Right Transportation Management Software in Trucking

Are you looking for Transportation Management Software for your trucking and transport company? A Transportation Management System (TMS), like the platform created by TenTrucks, provides innovative freight solutions that will help your fleet be more efficient and effective. Armed with this technology, trucking companies can streamline day-to-day operations, improve tracking, reduce operational costs, improve the customer experience, and drive long-term success.

But how do you find the right software and system for your company? What features do you need to have to drive success? How do you choose the right transportation management software in trucking? We hope that this overview of transportation management software features, capabilities, and costs will answer your questions and help you find the right platform for your own freight company.

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How To Find the Right TMS Software

Updates and changes to your trucking and freight operations often require investment, and that means that when you make these investments, you need to do your research and do your homework. It is a process to be able to find and choose the right transportation management software for your trucking company – but where do you start?

The best place to start is with an in-depth assessment of your current fleet operations. This part of the process will help you identify your biggest pain points. Are your key issues in dispatch, billing, driver communication, or compliance? When you clearly define the problems you need to solve and the specific goals you want to achieve, you can create a detailed checklist of must-have features for your transportation management software, which will serve as your guide when evaluating potential platform options.

5 Steps To Choose the Right Transportation Management Software

If you are investing in transportation management software for your trucking company, you want to make sure that you check all the boxes when you look at potential TMS platforms to choose from. We understand that investing in new technology can be stressful, but finding the right platform for your company does not have to be complicated. This quick step-by-step process will help you check all the boxes and find the right fit for your business.

1. Evaluate Your Needs and Set Goals

The first step in the process is to evaluate your fleet operations to determine what issues you are faced with. You may find that your routing is inefficient, you are spending too much money on fuel or repairs, you may have issues with communication, or maybe you are interested in streamlining your day-to-day operations. In addition to identifying potential pain points, it is important to set goals. Do you want to reduce costs? Improve efficiency? Improve your delivery times? These are all quick and easy goals that are simple to track. You also need to take a deeper look at your fleet, as factors like fleet size, the type of trucks you operate, and your standard operations play an important role in which TMS provider you choose.

2. Examine Key Features of Software Platforms

When you have established your goals and identified operational pain points, the next step in the process is to explore the key features of transportation management software and try to identify the features that will provide the most value for your trucking and freight company. Here is a short list of a few key features you should consider:

Route Planning
Load Management and Optimization
Tracking and Visibility Integrations
Fuel Management
Dispatch Management
Integrated QuickBooks® or Accounting Software
Driver Mobile TMS Applications

3. Evaluate Potential TMS Providers

After you have established the key transportation management software features that will have the biggest impact on your fleet operations, the next step is to explore potential TMS providers. This part of the process can be complicated if you do not know what to look for with so many vendors on the market. When you examine potential providers, it is important that you look at the available add-on integrations, like Electronic Logging Devices (ELD), that improve your capabilities and can have an impact on scalability in the future. It is also important for you to look at the level of support provided by the TMS platform and provider, the access to data and analytics, and how easy the platform is to learn and use.

4. Test TMS Platforms and Check Reviews

A final step in the process, before you make your final decision, is to test potential transportation management software platforms, check reviews, and compare prices. Contact potential providers to schedule a demo or a trial and get firsthand experience with the platform and check the reviews of potential providers to see if any other companies experienced any issues before you make your final decision.

5. Check Prices

How much does a TMS platform cost? This is a critical question to ask and an important part of the process. The costs associated with TMS providers are differentiated primarily by the type of platform you choose to invest in – an On-Premise TMS or Cloud-Based TMS. Examine different price structures to see what fits your finances best, whether that is subscription based, tiered subscriptions, or pay-per-user formats. Look at all of the options provided and find a transportation management software that will fit your budget and meet your needs.

Trucking companies that are interested in upgrading their fleet operations may be considering investing in transportation management software and TenTrucks may be able to help. If you want to know how to choose the right Transportation Management Software for trucking, this breakdown of how to find the right fit for your business will help you make your decision.

Contact TenTrucks today for more information on the TenTrucks TMS platform and dispatching services!