There are many different types of shipping software. Choosing the right one can affect the warehouse, logistics, buyers, sales, accounting, IT, and executives. Shipping software, typically referred to as Transportation Management System (TMS), is best selected when you understand the differences and weight those against what your needs are.
Before you make a decision on what solution fits you best, do your research. Keep in mind your current needs, future needs, and of course, your budget. Discuss the situation with all the departments in your company since the right TMS can be a net benefit for all departments and teams within an organization.
There are two types of TMS. There is on-premise client server-based TMS and a cloud-based TMS, which is referred to as SaaS. The major benefit of SaaS is that your IT Department will not need to maintain any hardware or software onsite. This speeds up the implementation of the software from a matter of weeks or months to just minutes.
Some TMS systems were specifically made for shippers and some were designed for freight forwarders, freight brokers and carriers. The software made for shippers fall tend to fall into 4 major categories:
And not only are there different kinds of TMS software to chose from, there are varying priorities among a business' departments on what the key features should be.
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