What Is the Best Transportation Management System?
Published:Jul 12, 2025
4 min. read
Are you a trucking or freight company? Are you interested in the benefits of a Transportation Management System (TMS)? A Transportation Management System can be a valuable tool for freight companies to optimize operations and drive profits — but how do you find the right fit for your company? With many platforms and providers to choose from, it can be difficult to find a TMS with the features and capabilities that you need to drive success. This market has many trucking and freight companies asking — what is the best Transportation Management System? We are here to help you find the best fit for your company with this overview of the key features of a TMS platform.
5 Key Features of a Transportation Management System
Transportation Management Systems provide a wealth of innovative solutions that help trucking and freight companies be more efficient, more effective, and more profitable. Features implemented by TMS platforms use technology to target route optimization, load management, fleet management, documentation, carrier management, and more.
With so many providers and platforms available to choose from and many that implement similar features, it may be difficult for companies to find a system that works for them and is easy to implement. To help you find the right fit, we have created a list of key features that your Transportation Management System should have to help you accomplish your goals.
1. Route Optimization
To reduce fuel and labor costs, it is important for freight companies to find the most efficient route from Point A to Point B and Transportation Management Systems employ route optimization technology to help you accomplish that goal. With technology that can analyze traffic patterns, road and weather conditions, fuel costs, vehicle capacity, distance, and projected delivery times, a TMS platform can find and calculate the most efficient route.
2. Real-Time Tracking
It is important that trucking and freight companies be able to track their trucks and cargo, and many Transportation Management Systems provide real-time tracking capabilities. Platforms that provide track-and-trace technology make it easier to monitor the location of cargo from departure to delivery and with system-made barcodes that can be easily scanned and RFID tags, companies will always know where shipments are. Tracking can be enhanced with Telematics and Electronic Logging Device (ELD) integrations that provide improved communication and GPS tracking.
3. Load Management and Load Planning
The ability to plan and manage your loads and shipments to optimize the available truck space, minimize empty miles, and ensure efficient routing is a key to success in the trucking and freight industry — especially when you consider Less-Than-Truckload shipping. Transportation Management Systems provide innovative solutions that can help plan and manage your loads to improve efficiency and reduce costs.
4. Automated Documentation
Documentation is an important part of the freight industry — including invoices, employee billing, customer billing, bills of lading, and more. A quality Transportation Management System platform will automate many of these documents, which reduces the time and manual effort needed to complete important documents. In addition to reducing the time it takes to complete these documents, the automation helps reduce errors in the paperwork process.
5. Scalability
Is your trucking company growing? Are you looking for ways to expand your freight operations? A Transportation Management System that can be scaled to fit your needs and accommodate growth is important to consider. The TMS platform you choose for your company should have the ability to be scaled to fit a growing business, be adapted to fit changes to the industry, and must be cost-effective to handle a fluid market.
READ MORE: How Does a TMS Improve Cost-Per-Mile?
What is the best Transportation Management System for your trucking and freight company? The answer to this question will vary based on your needs — but this overview of key Transportation Management System features will help you find the right fit for your business.
Contact TenTrucks today for more information on our TenTrucks TMS platform!