Earlier this week, New York-based Transfix, a logistics technology services provider that streamlines shipment data to better help shippers make informed decisions to optimize time and revenues, announced it has rolled out a TMS (Transportation Management System), specifically for small- and mid-sized shippers.
Transfix said that the new offering—TrueView TMS—focuses on the various “pain points” that small- and mid-sized shippers handle, while simultaneously having fewer resources, as well as static tools and minimal data. And it added that TrueView TMS is an intuitive tool that enables shippers to secure reliable coverage at scale and also streamline tender management, and automate carrier communications, with some beta customers seeing more than 90% reductions in time to tender.
“What Transfix does better than anyone else is bring ease-of-use and analytics to the freight management process; reducing friction caused by legacy systems, and empowering decision-makers to make more strategic decisions,” said Lily Shen, CEO, Transfix, in a statement. “TrueView TMS brings transportation management into the 21st century, giving shippers the ability to manage their freight with a few clicks and tap into the most powerful capabilities Transfix offers: instant capacity, real-time visibility, and actionable insights across their entire operations.”
And Transfix VP of Shipper Solutions Shane Duncan told LM that the launch of TrueView TMS represents the next step in the company’s strategic rollout of products and services that allows its partners to move freight simply, smartly, and reliably.
“We built TrueView TMS to address the specific pain points of the small and mid-sized shippers who are tasked with having to do increasingly more with static tools and little data,” he said. “Legacy TMS systems are typically designed with enterprise customers in mind. Because of that, around 90% of small and mid-sized shippers still rely on highly manual tools like spreadsheets and email to manage their freight. Given the time-intensive management of disparate tools and information sources, these small-midsize shippers aren’t able to quickly recruit, vet, onboard, and effectively manage carriers to accommodate capacity needs, especially in the midst of the ongoing pandemic. While this initial release of the TrueView TMS focuses on small and mid-sized shippers, it’s just the first iteration of a modern transportation system that will eventually include modular point solutions that can be integrated with any existing TMS, helping shippers of all sizes address their unique needs.”
In terms of the major shipper benefits that TrueView TMS provides, Duncan said that TrueView TMS enables shippers to easily secure reliable coverage, streamline tender management, and automate carrier communications—all while getting access to data on carrier performance.
“TrueView TMS automates traditionally tedious tasks while bringing valuable data to the freight management process,” he said. “This not only streamlines operating, saving immense time, but it enables a focus on more strategic business operations, and increasing the opportunity to drive growth. In fact, a customer of ours, Plastic Ingenuity, leveraged TrueView TMS to slash time to tender from three hours to under 15 minutes—a whopping 92% reduction.”
Beyond booking capabilities, Duncan said that two of the major capabilities that TrueView TMS offers small- and mid-sized shippers are providing automated carrier communications, as well as providing access to real-time analytics to help customers make more data-driven decisions.
“In terms of carrier communications, we remove the tedious back and forth emails that shippers have with carriers to confirm tenders and manage spot auction bids and bid acceptances,” he noted. “In terms of analytics, it’s difficult for SMB shippers to consolidate data from multiple sources (spreadsheets and apps), making it hard to keep a pulse on their business ops such as carrier service levels, spend and volume analytics. So, in addition to seeing load status updates and ETAs on live loads, we also offer shippers advanced analytics such as carrier performance metrics like on-time pickup and delivery, with spend and volume analytics coming very soon to help shippers keep a better track of their freight operations from both a spend and carrier perspective.”
When asked what some of the main competitive advantages of TrueView are from a Transfix perspective, Duncan said that the company’s shippers have repeatedly commented on how intuitive it is to use TrueView TMS, adding that coordinators need little guidance to use the system, and the design makes it more enjoyable for them to use the product.
“This user experience also facilitates how quickly shippers can onboard,” he said. “Typically, they can start tendering 100% of their freight within a month, whereas normally, onboarding can take multiple months and requires extensive training. Flexibility is also a major differentiator with TrueView TMS. We enable shippers to tender freight in four ways, giving them access to our best-in-class carrier network and instant booking. This key benefit will become increasingly important as the market continues to tighten in 2021. Now more than ever, shippers are looking to guarantee coverage for their freight. Finally, as I mentioned earlier, most TMS systems don’t provide analytics on carrier performance to give shippers a pulse on their freight.”
About the Author
Jeff Berman, Group News Editor
Jeff Berman is Group News Editor for Logistics Management, Modern Materials Handling, and Supply Chain Management Review. Jeff works and lives in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, where he covers all aspects of the supply chain, logistics, freight transportation, and materials handling sectors on a daily basis. Contact Jeff Berman
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