Does the TMS lend itself to business intelligence?
Transportation transaction data are some of the richest sources of intelligence within a company. The physical movement of product across the world can provide insights into new trends, pricing shifts, and demand pattern changes. Additionally, transportation is one of the only functions within a company that routinely involves both suppliers and customers in practically every transaction. Sadly, most TMS treat the transaction history data as an after-thought rather than a source of intelligence. Getting data on what actually happened out of a TMS is typically an extremely time consuming and manual process. Rather than disposing of the data or using it solely for payment, it should be archived and actively mined. • Are lengths of haul increasing? • Are shipments trending to higher cost origins and destinations? • Is the dwell time increasing at certain locations? • How does carrier performance relate to the placement in the routing guide? These are all important and insightful questions
