If all products in your supply chain came as a nice uniform square box, your transport task would be simple! The reality is that most of the goods moved around the globe have many levels of complexity, including shape, weight, compliance and reporting requirements. This requires many industry leading TMS systems to have specialist functionality for different industries or sectors.
Advantages of Using a TMS with Specialist Industry Functionality
Using a Transport Management System (TMS) with specialist industry functionality can provide several significant advantages for businesses operating in specific industries. Here are some reasons why:
1. Industry-Specific Features: Specialist TMS solutions are tailored to meet the unique requirements and challenges of particular industries and sectors.
2. Compliance and Regulation: Certain industries have strict regulatory requirements related to transportation and logistics. A TMS with specialist functionality can help ensure compliance with industry-specific regulations.
3. Efficiency and Optimization: Industry-specific TMS solutions are optimized for the types of goods, routes, and transportation methods commonly used in that industry. This can lead to better route planning, load optimization, and overall efficiency.
4. Cost Savings: By optimizing transportation operations for a particular industry, a TMS can help reduce transportation costs. This might include optimizing routes to minimize fuel consumption or ensuring that perishable goods are transported with minimal spoilage.
5. Customer Service: Meeting customer expectations is crucial in many industries. A TMS with specialist functionality can help provide real-time tracking information to customers, improve delivery time accuracy, and enhance overall customer satisfaction.
6. Integration: Many industries rely on a variety of other software systems and technologies, such as Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) or Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems and weighbridges. Specialist TMS solutions often offer seamless integrations with these systems, streamlining data exchange and improving overall operational efficiency.
7. Analytics and Reporting: Businesses in different industries have varying reporting and analytics needs. A specialized TMS can offer industry-specific reporting and analytics tools that provide valuable insights into transportation and logistics operations.
Specific Industry Tools
A best in class TMS solution like M2X has specialized solutions for different Industries. M2X has industry experts who have helped develop specific tools and solutions for:
Dairy and Tankers
M2X's advanced algorithms optimize specific farm-supply to plant allocation, tanker routes and interplant product transfers to minimize trucking miles, whilst integrating with flow meters to accurately capture actual collections.
Livestock
M2X models specific loading plans based on animal welfare and livestock regulations. Livestock constraints differ across species including cattle, sheep, pigs and deer.
Forestry
The M2X Forestry module is specially designed to work in remote forest locations without mobile or internet coverage to keep harvest crews, forest owners, managers and scalers connected. Inbuilt pre-advise tools and the ability to manage JAS, volume and tonnage are all important features.
General Freight and Line Haul
M2X provides digital workflows and centralized communication, with digital manifesting as well as linehaul and last mile compatibility. The M2X general freight platform is designed to work across a variety of truck types, fleets and freight types including perishable goods.
Fuels and Chemicals
The M2X Fuels TMS tools are designed specifically for the fuels and chemicals ecosystems with all its real-world complexities. This includes inventory forecasting and replenishment order generation tools as well as multi-product, multi-compartment tanker mass loading optimization.
Bulk (including feed, grain and aggregates)
Bulk movements including tanker and tractors units move many tonnes of product across the globe daily. M2X optimization and dispatching tools take into account heavy route maps, fleet and truck configurations, bulk product density variability, time constraints and more.
The Future of Industry Specific TMS
The future of industry-specific Transport Management Systems(TMS) will likely be shaped by several key trends and developments. While it's impossible to predict the future with certainty, here are some potential directions for the evolution of specialist TMS solutions:
1. Increased Customization and Flexibility: A premium TMS provider will likely focus on offering highly customizable solutions that can be adapted to meet the specific needs of individual businesses within an industry. This will involve flexible integrations, allowing companies to add or remove features based on their unique requirements.
2. Advanced Data Analytics and AI: Industry-specific TMS systems will increasingly leverage advanced analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. This will enable better predictive analysis, demand forecasting, and optimization of transportation routes and schedules.
3. Environmental Sustainability: As sustainability becomes a more significant concern, TMS solutions will likely include features that optimize routes for reduced carbon emissions, promote eco-friendly transportation methods, and support sustainability reporting.
4. Enhanced Mobile Capabilities: Mobile applications will continue to play a crucial role in TMS. Users will have access to TMS functionalities on smartphones and tablets, enabling real-time updates, approvals, and communication with drivers and partners.
5. Collaborative Platforms: TMS systems may evolve into collaborative platforms that enable better communication and coordination between various stakeholders in the supply chain, including shippers, carriers, and suppliers.
6. Globalization: TMS solutions will need to accommodate the complexities of global supply chains, including cross-border regulations, customs, and currency considerations. They may include features for managing multi-national transportation networks seamlessly.
7. Real-time Visibility: Real-time visibility into the entire supply chain will remain a priority. Advanced tracking and geospatial technology will give businesses real-time insights and control over their transportation operations.
Using a Transport Management System with specialist industry functionality can help businesses in specific sectors streamline their transportation and logistics operations, ensure compliance, and achieve cost savings and operational efficiencies tailored to their unique needs. It ultimately contributes to better customer service and improved competitiveness within the industry.
