xTrack TMS for freight forwarders – Automation of services
TMS (Transport Management System) applications are software solutions for the automated management of freight shipments, from the moment the goods leave the warehouse until they are received by the consignee. By implementing such software solutions, freight forwarders can enjoy the benefits of their business process automation.
We have designed and developed the xTrack TMS application so that it meets the needs of both carriers and freight forwarders. As these types of companies have different requirements, the application has a flexible structure and allows easy adaptation to the customer’s business needs.
What are freight forwarders?
Freight forwarders are companies that act as go-betweens between shippers and carriers. Shippers are either manufacturers or suppliers of goods and want to send products to locations agreed on with the buyers (consignees). Essentially, shippers are the companies whose goods are transported by carriers through the agency of freight forwarders.
To carry out the practical transfer of goods from one location to another, consignors (shippers) use freight forwarders who take their orders and pass them on to one or more suitable carriers. This is made possible by the contracts concluded by the freight forwarder with both sides, which enable it to manage the relationship between the shipper and the carrier efficiently.
In general, freight forwarders do not own trucks, they are not haulage companies, but they manage transport supply and demand so that the final costs are attractive for all parties involved in the process.
Optimization of transport costs
The freight forwarder receives a sum of money from the shipper from which it pays the selected carrier the transport costs and keeps a commission or fee. Why would the two other parties that, in theory, would either pay more (shippers) or charge less (carriers) use it?
Shipper’s perspective
If they arrange for transport on their own, shippers will have protracted negotiations with a limited number of carriers they have found in general, unrefined and difficult to exploit databases.
In contrast, freight forwarders have hundreds of transport companies in their database and they feel the pulse of the market. They know the applicable rates and their seasonal fluctuations, so they negotiate the transport prices with the carriers on behalf of the shippers on equal terms. In addition, they can obtain preferential, lower rates from carriers as the latter transport large volumes of goods.
Another important benefit is that shippers don’t pay double for a trip (loaded on departure and empty on return), because the intermediaries arrange for groupage transport so that nobody loses out. What’s more, freight forwarders make sure that the goods arrive at their destination on time and in the best possible condition.
All these lead to significant reductions in transport costs for shippers who use freight forwarders.
Carrier’s perspective
Carriers work with freight forwarders to secure transport orders and timely payment for their trips. In general, transport companies do not have specialized sales or marketing staff, and this shortage is made up for by the services offered by freight forwarders. They have the capacity to collect and process transport orders and consistently present carriers with a wide range of offers they would not otherwise have access to.
In addition, the groupage transport arranged by freight forwarders brings other benefits to carriers: it eliminates empty runs and maximizes freight shipments, optimizing costs.
xTrack TMS for freight forwarders
Freight forwarders need to continuously develop their ability to successfully liaise with shippers and carriers.
To this end, one of the aspects that a freight forwarder needs to consider is business digitalization. This is achieved by implementing specialized software that helps eliminate human error and offer the most advantageous groupage services that meet the demands of partners and generate profit.
xTrack TMS, like all the other Axes Software applications (xTrack MES, xTrack WMS etc.), is structurally flexible, allowing easy adaptation to customers’ business needs.
We will present below the main xTrack TMS functionalities and the benefits they bring to the freight forwarders that have already implemented this system to optimize their business.
xTrack TMS integration with systems used by shippers
The integration of the software solutions used by freight forwarders with the systems used by shippers is perhaps the most important functionality of xTrack TMS. It involves the automatic processing of transport orders placed by companies wishing to send goods to different destinations.
The data of these orders (shipper, type of goods, loading location, unloading location, special transport requirements, deadline) are automatically retrieved in the application. This shortens operating times and completely eliminates errors.
Based on the information received and taking into account constraints (working hours, capacities, tonnage restrictions, special requirements, etc.), transport requests are automatically scheduled by the application using comprehensive algorithms that optimize deliveries.
At the same time, xTrack TMS can estimate transport costs and profit for each of the available delivery options, based on stored lists containing the rates previously negotiated by the freight forwarders with the shippers and carriers.
For groupings generated by the application, contracts can be automatically created and emailed to carriers. Several contract templates can be used, for example, depending on the carrier and country.
The goods specified in the order are loaded from a warehouse owned or not owned by the shipper or directly from the shipper’s premises. In this way the loading space in the trucks is used to the maximum.
xTrack TMS integration with a WMS application
Integrating xTrack TMS with a WMS application (xTrack WMS or any other WMS application already in your portfolio) ensures automatic generation of the loading tasks to be performed by the shipper’s warehouse workers. This integration gives the shipper the ability to confirm that the loading is completed and ensures full traceability of the goods from the start, allowing KPI reporting on on-time performance.
In situations where there is no shipment tracking system in place, the completion of deliveries is confirmed through manual reporting by drivers. There is also the possibility to do this automatically by integrating xTrack TMS with a POD application, whereby the driver confirms deliveries at the touch of a button.
The alternative of integrating xTrack TMS with a POD application
The xTrack POD app is a mobile-optimized web app that enables office workers to interact with drivers. The loading and unloading locations are displayed in xTrack POD in the order set by either the dispatcher or the route optimization algorithm.
Other functionalities of xTrack POD are: displaying routes on the map in a car navigator, managing the pick-up of packages, monitoring the cash collection process, automatic rerouting in case of delivery problems, etc. The POD application integrates with xTrack TMS bidirectionally: xTrack TMS sends the drivers the list of tasks and the drivers confirm their execution via xTrack POD.
xTrack TMS integration with Track and Trace application
The freight forwarder can also provide shippers with a way to track deliveries in real time through an integration of xTrack TMS with Track and Trace, another web application in the Axes Software portfolio.
Through it, shippers can track shipments in progress or already completed, see their status and even access documents photographed by drivers.
Benefits of using xTrack TMS
Load optimization
The integration of xTrack TMS solution with WMS applications allows an automatic calculation of the space occupied by delivery orders. In this way, the available space in the transport vehicles is used to the maximum. Costs for both shippers and carriers are reduced and the shipping company’s profit is ensured as well.
Groupage benefits all three parties involved:
- the carrier avoids partly loaded trips or empty runs on return trips;
- the shipper incurs lower costs by making maximum use of the available cargo space or sharing it with another shipper;
- the freight forwarder hires the minimum possible number of vehicles.
Another way of making loading more efficient is to estimate the intervals between the pick-up and delivery of goods. These intervals are “communicated” by xTrack TMS to the WMS application and used in prioritizing the picking process. Thus, warehouse employees load orders according to the estimated time of departure.
Clear order tracking
The xTrack TMS application automatically tracks inbound and outbound orders and their related loads. This ensures the traceability of shipped goods, and enables freight forwarders to check, in real time, shipment execution or whether the deliveries are made on time and the specific transport conditions (e.g. refrigeration) are met. The forwarders may also access order history.
Calculation of costs and profitability
On the basis of lists of prices negotiated with customers and partners (shippers and carriers), the freight forwarder can calculate the costs involved and its income, determining the profitability of each shipment.
Price lists can have any level of complexity and any number of parameters (distance, tariff, volume, weight, number of pallets, number of parcels, temperature-controlled transport, etc.). Calculation of the income obtained is done at the touch of a button. The dispatcher finds out in a matter of seconds whether the groupage arranged so far is profitable or not.
This functionality gives a comprehensive and complete picture of the situation of the freight forwarder. The app provides instant feedback and profitability reports give managers all the information they need (profitability for each shipper, employee or carrier) and arguments for future negotiations.
KPIs
Through the xTrack TMS application, the freight forwarder monitors the KPIs (key performance indicators) related to the order delivery schedules or shipment profitability.
Selected indicators can be viewed in an accessible graphical format by integrating a Dashboard application. A regular monitoring of these KPIs leads to the adoption of corrective actions (penalizing or rejecting services offered by carriers that have not met their contractual obligations) as well as the identification of new ways to maximize profit or optimize and introduce new services to meet partner requests.
In conclusion, Axes Software offers freight forwarders two automation options: either the xTrack TMS application or a complex software “ecosystem” with this application at its core.
The possibility of integrating xTrack TMS with other applications already used the freight forwarders or the Axes Software application “ecosystem” guarantees the efficient management of freight shipments.
Let’s briefly recap the most important information:
- Integrating xTrack TMS for freight forwarders with WMS and POD applications ensures traceability of transport orders from the loading at the specified location to the delivery of goods;
- Through the xTrack TMS route optimization algorithm the most profitable transport routes are automatically generated;
- By integrating xTrack TMS with a POD application, the completion of each delivery is automatically confirmed;
- The results of freight forwarding and transport operations can be viewed by managers via the xTrack TMS application (as KPI reports or graphical representations);
- Shippers can track the status of their shipments and view additional data via the Track and Trace platform.
***
Do you want to enjoy the benefits of xTrack TMS? Fill in any form on our website and our consultants will get back to you in 48 hours.
