Transportation Management Systems - Overview

Transportation Management is a strategic system that integrates planning, scheduling, staffing and utilizing the resources to best support the operational requirements of the organization. Transportation Management Systems (TMS) can be used in many different ways to help improve organizational performance. TMS allows for the seamless flow of resources from point A to point B. The focus on quality has helped to ensure that transportation operations are conducted in a customer-centric manner, while still providing the necessary functionality to support day-to-day operations.

 

A variety of factors are involved in transportation management. In the past, transportation management has involved the coordination of various entities such as freight brokers, airlines, ports, and municipalities. These entities operate in a highly competitive environment and have to continuously seek new methods to remain relevant in an increasingly global marketplace. With the growth and changing technologies, organizations are focusing on streamlining their processes and systems in order to remain a competitive enterprise.

 

Transportation Management Systems have been developed to provide the basis for such systems by developing methods of integrating time and labor in the management of the assets. The concept is to reduce the labor costs and streamline the entire process. This method can reduce the number of personnel needed to support the operation and save thousands of dollars per year. The ability to provide a highly functional service while reducing overhead costs has led to the growth of this industry over the last 10 years. In order to integrate these strategies, transportation managers must be well versed in all of the pertinent processes and have access to the correct resources.

 

The most popular application within the transportation management field is the scheduling systems. Within these applications, schedules are created and monitored by various modules. The most popular system within the field is the Electronic Air Traffic Control (EATC) software. The EATC maintains the federal air traffic control tower status and can notify controller stations of any potential hazards. Every airport in the United States has an electronic air traffic controller station. This system was developed to make the operation more efficient by allowing controllers to enter information about flight conditions into their computer systems.

 

Another popular application within transportation management is the Vehicle Fleet Management. Vehicle fleets are managed to ensure that there is minimal duplication of vehicles and maximizing fuel economy. Every type of transportation management requires duplication of vehicles so it is imperative that every vehicle in the fleet is accounted for. By using software, a manager can ensure that all vehicles are accounted for, and that none are being used unnecessarily.

 

The transportation market is always growing and evolving. This is why it is imperative to have the correct knowledge base when it comes to strategic planning.