What is a FMS and How It Works

Despite the digital revolution and Industry 4.0, how long-haul road transport is sourced and managed has remained relatively unchanged. Many logistics departments are still reliant on Excel, email, and telephone. In general, it is so because when companies think of road freight, they often ignore the inherent operations. Instead, they focus on results: saving money and being on time. 

Poor operations undermine the ability to grow companies where operating margins, as opposed to gross profits, can be extremely tight. However, thinking about how to increase efficiency and process optimization in operation can significantly improve the bottom line. 

That's why technology is enabling innovative solutions to simplify and streamline this tedious process. Regarding land logistics, the Freight Management System (FMS) is the software solution to optimize and facilitate activities related to the procurement of road freight and operations management.

The Opportunity Cost of Not Implementing a Freight Management System

The reality for many logistics operators and supply chain companies is that they have fragmented planning systems across several websites and platforms depending on the freight requirement. They often rely on multiple local databases, predominantly in Excel, making visibility and coordination difficult across the team or company.

This results in a dispersed management of suppliers and customers where there are also multiple processes, systems, or points of contact (emails, calls, WhatsApp, platform chats), which can lead to communication failures and inefficiencies.

In turn, this leads to hardships in tracking shipments, updating rates, or securing cargo capacity due to a lack of centralization. A technical barrier prevents this data, essential for business intelligence, from being integrated into a single system to access the information. And it often results in a considerable waste of time or resources.

However, a Freight Management System allows, for example, to connect the network of suppliers and customers, as well as to centralize administrative procedures, accounting, document handling, invoicing, employee performance, quality analysis, and other features.

The Advantages of the Tennders Freight Management System

The FMS developed by Tennders centralizes the bulk of the operations in one place. It is a digital platform based on connectivity and process optimization. The platform comprises a modular system with different functionalities covering all freight operation phases, from negotiation to invoicing.

Our FMS does this by connecting the transport network of companies by providing a private exchanger for their commercial agreements. It also integrates transport teams, sales, and administrative staff tasks, unifying operations.

Managing orders

Allow your traffic and sales team to connect with suppliers to register their available trucks and customers to post their loads. As a logistics operator, your agents can easily send quotations, receive counteroffers, and confirm agreed orders with just a few clicks of a button to send the load confirmation documents. All with total security and reliability. By subscribing to the FMS, your suppliers and customers connect with you rather than each other.

Tracking transport

Operation tracking tools with columnar information on transaction details, including loading, shipping, and invoicing data. Your team can easily monitor orders through optimized filters, status reporting, and other management without suffering in execution. Our tracking tool allows measurement of CO2 emissions and empty KMs generated per load to gain visibility into your operations' Scope 3 emissions and environmental footprint.

Managing invoices

Your finance team can accurately monitor the company's cash flow. Easily create all invoices, define, and manage unpaid invoices, and filter document transactions to find them more quickly and easily, among other functions. You have everything you need to ensure a healthy cash flow.

Unify information

All information is recorded and available on the platform. Benefit from greater control and clarity with the Company directory, dashboard, performance, and other modules. They are features to avoid dispersed management and time wasted searching for fragmented information.

Managing Transport With Centralization, Efficiency, and Transparency

The FMS suite of functionalities enables the centralization, efficiency, and transparency of transport operations. When these three elements come together, a substantial performance improvement is realized:

   - Centralization fosters better collaboration and coordination between all players.

   - Improved efficiency leads to cost savings and faster response times.

   - Transparency builds stronger relationships and trust between suppliers and teams.

So, the FMS contributes to each of these aspects to optimize road freight management. Tennders' tools and solutions help control operations to ensure a healthy cash flow, guarantee the efficient movement of goods, and improve performance. Thus, the Freight Management System allows companies to respond faster to the market.

Why Is FMS Valuable in Road Freight Transport?

Veterans of road freight transport know the history of their industry well. They have seen roads transform, vehicles modernize, and management systems evolve. And today, one tune is gaining volume and revolutionizing the entire landscape: data-driven decision-making.

With the continued prioritization of supply chain transparency, coupled with rising customer expectations, transportation has become a critical part of business operations. Companies leveraging data to make decisions in their shipping process are seeing significant efficiency and cost reduction improvements.

It's time to start thinking proactively about implementing efficient coordination systems to build strategic capability. Gain insights with data and see the potential impact of decisions before you even make them. Our Freight Management System is designed to help you do just that.

Book your demo now to discover all its functionalities!