TMS Built for NetSuite: Optimizing Shipping with ERP Integration

NetSuite is one of the leading Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) platforms, offering businesses a comprehensive solution for managing everything from financials and inventory to order processing and beyond. For companies managing large volumes of shipments, NetSuite offers a robust framework to streamline operations and increase visibility into key business metrics. However, as shipping needs evolve and scale, companies often find that NetSuite’s standard functionalities alone are not enough to fully optimize logistics operations. This is where a Transportation Management System (TMS) integrated into NetSuite can make a substantial difference.

A TMS is designed to bridge the gap between ERP and logistics, providing automation, visibility, and control over your entire transportation process. While a TMS doesn't replace your ERP, it enhances and augments it, automating transportation planning, carrier selection, freight tracking, invoice auditing, and more. By integrating seamlessly with NetSuite, businesses can maintain a unified system that works together to reduce manual efforts, improve efficiency, and enable smarter decision-making across departments.

Why Shippers Add a TMS to NetSuite

When companies begin scaling their shipping operations—whether handling outbound or inbound shipments across multiple carriers and shipping modes (parcel, LTL, FTL, international)—they often run into challenges that standard NetSuite workflows aren’t designed to handle. As the volume of shipments increases, these challenges can quickly compound, leading to delays, errors, and higher operational costs.

1. Manual Carrier Rate Comparison Slows Fulfillment: One of the most common issues shippers face as their shipping volume grows is the time-consuming task of manually comparing carrier rates. Without a TMS, businesses often have to log into multiple carrier portals, check rates individually, and then determine the best option for each shipment. This process is not only time-consuming but also prone to human error. As a result, fulfillment can be slowed, and companies may miss out on cost-saving opportunities.

2. Freight Tracking Requires Jumping Between Portals: Another pain point that arises as businesses scale is the lack of a centralized tracking system. Without integration between the ERP and shipping platforms, businesses are left to manually check shipment statuses across different carrier portals. This fragmentation leads to inefficiencies and increases the likelihood of missing critical delivery updates, affecting customer satisfaction.

3. Shipping Data Stored in Siloed Systems: When shipping data is stored separately from your ERP, it becomes difficult to access and share across departments. This siloed data makes it harder for teams in operations, finance, and logistics to collaborate effectively. Additionally, without real-time visibility into key data points like carrier performance and shipment costs, businesses struggle to control logistics spend and identify areas for improvement.

4. Increased Complexity and Cost Management: As shipping needs grow, so do the associated costs. A TMS enables businesses to manage these costs more effectively by offering rate visibility across all modes of transportation (parcel, LTL, FTL, and even international freight). Without a TMS, it can be difficult to track freight spend in real time and ensure that costs remain under control, especially as different teams handle various aspects of logistics.

What You Can Do With a TMS and NetSuite Integration

By integrating a TMS like FreightPOP into your NetSuite system, you can automate key logistics workflows, gain real-time visibility, and streamline the entire shipping process. Here are some of the critical features you can take advantage of:

1. Automate Shipping Workflows: With a TMS that seamlessly connects with NetSuite, businesses can automatically pull Sales Orders (SOs) and Purchase Orders (POs) directly from NetSuite into the shipping workflow, eliminating manual data entry. This allows for faster order processing and reduces the risk of human error.

2. Rate Shop Across All Carriers and Modes: A TMS simplifies rate shopping by offering a centralized interface to compare rates from multiple carriers across various modes of transportation. Whether you're shipping a small parcel or managing a full truckload, a TMS ensures you always select the most cost-effective and efficient option.

3. Real-Time Shipment Tracking: A TMS integrated into NetSuite provides real-time tracking for every shipment, sending updates directly into your ERP system. This ensures that your team has full visibility into the status of all shipments and can take proactive action if there are any issues.

4. Freight Spend Auditing: By automatically collecting freight data, a TMS helps you audit your freight spend and identify areas for potential cost savings. From reducing late fees to uncovering opportunities for better carrier contracts, a TMS helps ensure that you are always optimizing shipping costs.

5. Provide Full Visibility Across Teams: A seamless NetSuite TMS integration offers visibility across your logistics, operations, and finance teams. With real-time data flowing through a single system, decision-makers can make more informed choices, which leads to improved collaboration and faster issue resolution.

FreightPOP: A Scalable TMS Solution for NetSuite

FreightPOP offers a fully native NetSuite integration that grows with your business. Whether you’re shipping from a single warehouse or across multiple global locations, FreightPOP provides a scalable solution that connects with over +1,500 carriers, offering a comprehensive platform for managing every aspect of the logistics process.

FreightPOP’s seamless integration into NetSuite gives you the tools you need to manage your shipping processes more efficiently and cost-effectively. Recognized as NetSuite’s 2024 Partner of the Year and listed on the SuiteApp, FreightPOP provides a solution designed to scale as your shipping needs evolve. High-volume shippers using FreightPOP benefit from reduced manual labor, better control over freight spend, and enhanced visibility across the supply chain.

Take Shipping Further with NetSuite and FreightPOP

As your business grows, disconnected shipping processes can create delays, drive up costs, and frustrate customers. FreightPOP bridges the gap by bringing real-time shipping automation, rate visibility, and freight management into your existing NetSuite environment.