Despite a severe recession that caused most enterprise software markets to shrink by double digits, the impact on the transportation management systems (TMS) market has been less substantial, according to Transportation Management Systems Worldwide Outlook from the ARC Advisory Group.
“Between 2007 and 2009, TMS sold on a traditional software model declined at a double digit rate. If it had not been for solutions sold in a SaaS model, which continued to have good growth, the market would be in far worse shape,” says Steve Banker, service director for supply chain management of the Boston-based consulting firm and author of the white paper. These solutions offer transportation planning and execution capabilities—regardless of company size. They integrate and streamline transportation planning, execution, freight payment and business process automation across all modes of transportation, from full truckload to LTL, air, ocean and rail shipments.
The SaaS sales model consists of solutions sold in a leasing model, allowing companies to access TMS functionality via the Internet. The system resides at a vendor’s location and generally consists of single-instance, multi-tenant software; it is a shared solution allowing multiple companies to access the same application. Fire walls protect the respective databases of each company within the network.
Vendors report little change management is necessary once a solution is deployed. Savings in overall transportation spend can range from five percent to 20 percent, depending on the efficiency of transportation management before a SaaS system is deployed. Higher savings are common for companies manually managing transportation activities before deployment.
Below is a listing of the latest solutions provided by some of the leading TMS vendors. Information has been provided by the vendors.
| Vendor | Product name(s) | Platform | How it works | Why it’s different |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Cadec Global Inc. Manchester, NH |
PowerVue |
Hosted |
Cadec PowerVue provides actionable information for business executives, fleet and logistics experts, and transportation and distribution managers, to reduce costs, enforce compliance and safety regulations, improve driver productivity and enhance customer service. PowerVue is a fully hosted fleet management solution that combines the power of a web-based, enterprise-class application platform with multiple communications options, and a new, state-of-the-art on-board computer system. |
Cadec PowerVue is changing the fleet management landscape with the industry’s most reliable, scalable and flexible hosted application for tracking and managing your mobile assets and delivery operations. PowerVue couples Cadec’s decades of experience providing business process automation and telematics to the transportation industry with a new scalable and open standards-based architecture. The result is a single integrated software solution that unifies systems, and streamlines processes to drive better business performance at a lower cost of ownership. |
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Descartes Transportation Manager |
On demand/hosted or licensed | Descartes Transportation Management software provides complete management of contract carriers. Descartes’ network-based Transportation Manager helps logistics managers, shippers and third parties simultaneously evaluate shipment alternatives to find the most efficient shipping method. It optimizes transportation purchases for both operational effectiveness and cost efficiency. |
A part of the federated Descartes Global Logistics Network, the transportation management solution connects users to carriers for automated electronic (paperless) tendering and status notification. The solution provides easy to use, end-to-end multi-modal functionality, comprising order and contract management, optimized consolidation, carrier selection, execution and freight audit. |
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HighJump Software Eden Prairie, MN |
HighJump Transportation Management |
Hosted and licensed | The HighJump Transportation Management system is a full-featured, on-demand transportation management system (TMS) that offers significant transportation cost savings and improved customer service levels through multi-modal optimization and exceptional shipment visibility. | HighJump Transportation Management is part of a complete suite of supply chain solutions that cover multiple functional areas of the supply including supplier enablement, yard management, warehouse management, manufacturing execution with the ability to optimize transportation across each function. |
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LeanLogistics Holland, MI |
On-Demand TMS | Hosted | LeanLogistics is a global leader in SaaS transportation technology and supply chain services. On-Demand TMS currently processes millions of shipments per year representing over $5 billion in annual freight spend. Across this largest transportation network, more than 51,000 shippers, suppliers and trading partners interact with over 5,500 carriers, processing millions of transactions. | LeanLogistics On-Demand TMS delivers complete transportation planning, execution, settlement and procurement functions that improve business processes, increase operating efficiency, and reduce costs. Customer satisfaction is high with over 90 percent of customers willing to renew and reference LeanLogistics’ domain expertise, strong grasp of industry trends and real-world experience. |
|
Next Inverness, IL |
•DynamicsTMS Transportation •NEXTrack Internet Collaboration Portal •FreightMaster AMS |
On-premise Hosted (Modified SaaS) |
With 22 years of food and beverage transportation and supply chain expertise, Next Generation Logistics offers a wide variety of managed or hosted transportation management programs, all of which are tailored to customers specific needs. All solutions include a needs analysis, ROI calculation, system configuration, implementation, user training and support programs structured to fit customer requirements and corporate cultures. |
• Configurable TMS Software that works the way transportation professionals work • Available as on-premise, hosted on-premise, or remote-hosted licensing models • Scalable for single instance, regional, national or multinational global requirements • Increases user productivity by using familiar Microsoft features and technologies • Low cost of acquisition, integration and ownership • Highly functional and leverages existing IT infrastructures • Exceptional user and IT support |
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Oracle Redwood Shores, CA |
Oracle Transportation Management (OTM) |
Hosted and licensed |
Oracle Transportation Management is a robust global transportation management system that helps streamline transportation planning, execution, financials and business process automation across all modes of transportation for shippers and third party logistics providers to lower transportation costs, improve customer service and ensure asset utilization. |
Oracle Transportation Management’s unique single-platform
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Retalix Ltd. Plano, TX
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Retalix Transportation Optimization (RTO) automates and optimizes a distributor’s inbound and outbound freight planning, procurement, execution, settlement and visibility with supplier collaboration. It also creates additional revenue for distributors by identifying backhaul and freight hauling opportunities. |
RTO can be an integrated suite or separate best-of-breed solutions—utilizing advanced optimization engines and collaboration tools to analyze revenue-producing, cost-saving opportunities. When combined with other Retalix solutions it gives distributors comprehensive control from point-of-origin through the warehouse to point-of-sale. |
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Dublin, OH
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Sterling Transportation Management System |
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Sterling Transportation Management System provides world class transportation management functionality delivered through an on demand solution. This, coupled with an integrated network of carriers, means lower implementation risk, faster set-up time and more efficient transportation spend. |
Sterling TMS is market-leading because it offers a completely automated solution that works across both inbound and outbound transportation processes. As an on-demand solution, it provides immediate access to the existing collaborative network of over 8,500 carriers and shippers. |
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TMW Systems Inc. Cleveland, OH |
TMWSuite, TruckMate, TL2000 and Innovative IES | Hosted and licensed |
Food and beverage logistics can optimize private fleet utilization and reduce costs with transportation management software from TMW that incorporates the fleet in the domestic freight management process, while integrating the TMS with mid-size ERP packages, SAP or Oracle systems. |
Freight management software from TMW combines the powerful cost-tracking and asset utilization features of trucking software with the planning, optimization, what-if analysis and carrier management tools that are part of a TMS, for a comprehensive transportation automation and cost-reduction solution. |
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Transplace Dallas |
Transplace Transportation Management System (TMS) |
On demand |
TMS works seamlessly with Transplace’s advanced Scenario Pro TechnologySM (SPT) system, the brains behind building “friendly” routes, increasing load ratio and asset utilization and driving waste out of the system. |
TMS bridges shippers, carriers and modes, unlocking efficiencies that, until now, were unachievable. Customized and continually enhanced technology delivers cost savings and logistics efficiencies faster, giving customers a competitive advantage. |
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Baltimore, MD |
Roadnet Transportation Suite, Territory Planner, Roadnet, MobileCast, Roadnet Info Center, Roadnet Performance Dashboard, Roadnet Telematics |
Hosted and licensed | Strategically plan territories for the future with Territory Planner, incorporate what if scenarios. Optimize daily routes with Roadnet to reach each destination efficiently. Track your plan in real time, and manage exceptions with MobileCast. Measure all results to improve operating efficiency. | With the financial backing of UPS, UPS Logistics Technologies offers over 25 years of routing technology experience. From our robust in-house development team to our strong 24x7x365 support staff, UPS Logistics Technologies is dedicated to providing cost saving results for our customers. |
