What is a Broker Transportation Management System (TMS)?
Brokers are an essential part of the trucking industry. They serve as middlemen between shippers and carriers, facilitating communication and ensuring that everything goes as smoothly as possible so loads arrive safely and on time. But they can’t do it alone — at least not successfully.
Behind every great broker is a great broker transportation management system, or TMS. If you don’t already use a transportation management system, it’s probably a good time to start. Read on to learn more about the key features of a top broker TMS and see why it is so essential to success in the trucking industry.
What is a broker transportation management system?
So, what is a TMS system? It’s a holistic software that helps companies move freight more effectively. It’s a powerful logistics platform that simplifies and optimizes the movement of goods and provides valuable visibility into transportation operations and compliance, whether the cargo is being transported by land, air, or sea. Shippers and carriers also use TMS software — but it’s also an incredibly valuable tool for freight brokers as well.
Not only can a TMS find the most cost-effective options for your freight brokerage, but it can also streamline operations and boost profitability. With a modern TMS, there’s no need for repetitive and time-consuming processes like emails, faxes, and calls regarding loads, routing, dispatches, and more. Instead, a TMS can automate these processes and provide insights across your entire network of operations.
Put simply, a broker transportation management system is a type of software that simplifies the physical movement of goods, from the planning process to the execution. The right TMS streamlines daily tasks, provides visibility into freight every step of the way, and ultimately enables brokers to better manage and optimize their operations, saving time and money while ensuring that loads are properly delivered.
What does a broker TMS do?
The best freight software will handle many of your tedious and time-consuming daily tasks and provide valuable insights into operations. More specifically, TMS software for brokers can help when it comes to:
Carrier selection
Finding the right carrier for a load is a time-consuming task — and an unavoidable part of life for brokers. That’s where a TMS can help! Not only can a TMS help you gather the necessary information itself, a TMS can also integrate with other tools that make connecting to qualified carriers quick and straightforward. For example, a TMS might locate carriers that have previously moved similar loads or it may even integrate with a load board service, meaning posting a load could be as easy as hitting a button right within your single TMS platform.
Carrier qualification
Brokers should qualify carriers before dispatching any loads, as placing a load with a carrier that lacks insurance, proper authority, or a good safety rating is a significant risk. A TMS can help enforce carrier qualification procedures, giving your clients extra peace of mind without adding an additional burden to your plate.
Carrier confirmation
A TMS can also come in handy when it comes to getting the paperwork in order after a carrier agrees to a load and rate. The TMS will then generate and send a rate confirmation to the carrier so you have everything in writing before the load gets on the truck.
Freight tracking
Tracking freight is a major part of a broker’s job — and a TMS makes it much easier. For one, carriers and drivers can quickly input their current location into a TMS, letting brokers and shippers know a load’s exact location at any given moment. What’s more, a TMS solution can be integrated with tracking services, meaning location updates will be automatic, seamless, and current. With a TMS, status updates throughout the lifecycle of a load will be a breeze.
Customer invoicing
Invoicing customers can be complicated, but it doesn’t have to be! Some TMS software comes with integrated accounting software and can interface with the most commonly used accounting systems. Freight software can completely transform the customer invoicing process, making it faster and easier than ever, because all the information required to create invoices is stored in the TMS, as is the necessary paperwork like Proof of Deliveries (PODs) and BOLs (Bill of Ladings).
Carrier payments
Once you’ve received a carrier’s invoice, you’ll have to match rates, make any necessary changes, and then create a payable. Your TMS should be able to provide a few payment methods, including ACH transactions and printed checks. What’s more, a TMS can help with auditing each invoice and analyzing costs, saving you even more time and energy.
Analysis
It’s difficult to make solid business decisions without proper analysis and historical data. Luckily a good TMS can provide valuable insights into freight history as well as access to useful tools that can help you dive into the past and determine everything from which carriers are worth working with again to which lanes are the most profitable. With these performance insights, planning for the future and cutting unnecessary expenses will be far easier. Some TMS solutions can even forecast transportation demand, enabling you to make the best possible decision every time.
What are the benefits of a broker TMS?
TMS freight brokerage software has plenty to offer brokers.
For one, it can help cut costs and save time on manual processes. Since TMS software can automate the booking process, there’s no need to dedicate hours of personnel time to manually comparing rates or calling carriers to book loads. What’s more, freight software can help streamline, integrate, and automate other everyday processes, such as invoicing, audits, and order schedules. Not only can a good TMS decrease the amount of time dedicated to administrative tasks, but it can also minimize errors and allow for more accurate quoting.
On top of that, a TMS solution can help you land lower shipping costs, leading to higher profits. After all, it can quickly and automatically identify the most cost-effective loads and routes, catching options a worker might easily miss. Plus, a TMS can also help optimize loads and execute freight movement more efficiently, further raising profits.
Order management is another area where a TMS can prove beneficial. On the order entry side, a TMS can automatically enter information, including weight, current location, destination, or ETA. Additionally, a TMS can provide a comprehensive order overview, allowing you to instantly see planned and current trips.
A great transportation management system can also provide real-time visibility into the entire logistics process, meaning you’ll know exactly where a load is at any given moment. However, this increased visibility isn’t just beneficial for you — it’s also an incredible asset for your customers. It means you can quickly improve your customer service with real-time, accurate updates from a TMS that let you provide shippers with expected arrival dates in no time whenever they ask. Plus, once you know what’s happening with your shipments, you can use that data to make better business decisions that improve your bottom line.
What’s more, the visibility, metrics, and KPIs that TMS software provides can help you identify any issues behind delays and customer frustrations, allowing you to adapt on the fly — or even discover potential inefficiencies before they become problems. The end result? Happier, more loyal customers and, ultimately, higher profits.
What to look for in a broker TMS
There are quite a few TMS software solutions on the market, so it can take time to pinpoint which one is right for you.
To narrow your options, you’ll want to look for a solution that can improve analysis for better business decisions that help your brokerage succeed. After all, your historical data is one of your most important assets, but only if you use it correctly. If you have the data and the right tools to understand it at your fingertips, you can repeat good decisions and avoid poor ones moving forward.
A good broker TMS should also help with the carrier selection and qualification processes. Not only should a TMS provide information about carriers themselves, but it should also deliver insights on load count and lane rates and make posting loads to a load board fast and easy. On the qualification side, a TMS should qualify carriers before allowing any loads to be dispatched and provide all the necessary tools for carrier qualification policy enforcement.
Additionally, check that your transportation management system can help you track freight. This will allow you to see every load’s location at any moment, meaning you can stay on top of freight movements, can keep shippers in the loop, and can make better business decisions down the line.
And that’s not all. You’ll also want to get a broker TMS that can help with customer invoices and carrier payments. That means finding a TMS that’s compatible with commonly used accounting software that allows for various payment methods.
Finally, you’ll want to find a TMS that can seamlessly integrate with other internal and external tools you use. That way you’ll be able to manage your entire broker business from a single platform instead of switching between countless tools and tabs.
For example, DAT’s Broker TMS can easily connect with the DAT load board, enabling you to post and repost loads in a single click. Broker TMS can even automatically update and cancel postings for loads that have already been dispatched. Broker TMS is also compatible with CarrierWatch, a tool designed to make qualifying carriers more efficient than ever. Other optional modules you can add to Broker TMS include DAT Freight Tracking, CRM Sales Module, HubTrain Interface, LTL Consolidation, Outside Agent, Rating, Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), and Imaging System modules.
Save time, money, and resources with Broker TMS
The right broker transportation management system can make all the difference, saving you time, money, and energy while also providing valuable insights that help your business succeed. However, the wrong one can be a waste of money and make everything more complicated than it needs to be.
If you’re looking for freight brokerage software that does it all, look no further than DAT Broker TMS! Our comprehensive broker transportation management system has everything you need to do your job efficiently and grow your business. Built specifically for freight brokers, our solution is ready to streamline your operations, support communications, and boost productivity.
Streamline operations with Broker TMS!
As a broker, you have a lot on your plate. Luckily, DAT Broker TMS is here to help! Not only can it provide you with insights into your operations, but it can also cut costs, reduce manual work, and more!
Request a demo to see DAT Broker TMS in action today!
