Ramiro is puzzled. On more than one occasion he has heard that incorporating technology into his transport company's processes would generate operational benefits, but he is still reluctant to believe it 100%.
"I am a so-called man-truck (micro-entrepreneur), I have only 5 units in my company, I feel that adding technological systems does not go so much with the size of my company," he says.
Ramiro may not realise it yet, but the manual processes he runs in his company result in broken budgets, poor service levels and an overworked transport management team.
Ramiro's thinking is not isolated, thousands of carriers in Mexico (micro, small and medium), as well as shippers feel that technology platforms are difficult to use, expensive and with few benefits in freight management. Nothing could be further from the truth.
TMS, the element to be considered on a mandatory basis
Some say that to be successful, you have to be in the right place at the right time to make things happen. That is precisely what a Transport Management System (TMS) does, increasing efficiency and profitability for companies within the supply chain.
These are automated solutions created to have a better control of the operations, allowing a better strategic planning in several of the processes in the logistics chain.
In this blog we have shared with you the many benefits of using TMS, including improved communication between carriers and shippers, cost reduction, as well as full transparency in the visibility and tracking of loads and units.
In such a scenario, technology in the transport and logistics industry is vital to automate operational processes related to supply chains and the transport of goods.
How to choose the right management system according to the size of your company?
At this point you have to ask yourself the same question as Ramiro, how a TMS can be adapted to the size and needs of the company. Well, not all have the same objectives and scope.
In many cases, shipments and capacity data are stored in 'stocks' in separate organisations and multiple third-party software applications.
This makes it difficult for micro and small hauliers to plan their supply chain adequately, in addition to the difficulty of making immediate strategic decisions regarding fleet deployment and optimisation.
In the case of TrackChain's TMS this is not a problem, its adaptability to the requirements of each company is one of its thousands of qualities.
The platform integrates a free, easy-to-use, cloud-based TMS. Therefore, it is able to combine different shippers, which can automatically compare costs, capacities, times, stops, orders and insurances in real time.
From this, carriers can schedule and optimise the fleet to maximise revenue - all via an automated decision-making process driven by learning and data from digitised past transactions and future market conditions.
In other words, a connected and efficient community of shippers and markets is created, where those involved have the great opportunity (and ease) to engage with reliable companies of all sizes.
It should be recalled that, within the platform, shippers and carriers use a reputation system based on objective data (pick-up, delivery and loading time, punctuality, payments, among others), thus ensuring the best service at the best cost.
Optimise your fleet, however small or large it may be!
It is no secret that without the use of a transport management system, it is practically impossible to keep proper control of preventive maintenance of the units.
Thanks to the telemetry of the TrackChain platform, you will be able to identify in real time the behaviour of the unit(s) and know about symptoms or failures in order to address them immediately.
Small fleet, large fleet? It doesn't matter! TrackChain's TMS allows you to manage even the smallest fleet.
Just like large corporations, you will be able to have better control of the preventive and corrective maintenance of your units, and in this way optimise time and reduce the risk of an accident.
With this, you will be able to set service schedules and specify maintenance for each unit. In addition, you can generate a history and provide detailed reports on the condition of the trucks.
This results in better planning of equipment availability to avoid last minute scrambles and empty kilometres associated mainly with repositioning.
With TrackChain's TMS, supply chains will move from disconnected and fragmented to highly automated and connected. It will be the only way to compete in an environment where consumer preference forces excellence.
Join TrackChain now and take advantage of all the benefits that TMS implementation brings to your business; optimise your resources and make better decisions.
For your peace of mind, you can request a free demo here.
