Guide ยท Shipper
Do we need a TMS to cut freight spend?
We're a manufacturer. Do we need a TMS to cut freight spend?
Probably not first. Freight spend moves with your routing guide and bid cadence long before it moves with software; a TMS pays off when the guide is designed and someone owns the decisions the data would change.
ASSUMEDWe assumed a manufacturer running freight from an ERP, spreadsheets and email, with carrier contracts in documents.
Your stack, as you described it
Where people are the glue
- Awarded lanes that never see a load
- Freight invoices audited by eye
Three ways through
- Use what you haveStart here
Fix the routing guide and run the bid with your real volumes. Many shippers do this with a managed transportation provider rather than owning software.
- ConnectWhat we'd do next
Connect the ERP to carriers and a visibility provider so tenders, status and invoices stop being emails; a TMS or a managed service sits in the middle.
- BuildNot here
Shippers build freight software only when freight is the business.
What happens next
- A Transformation conversation on guide design, bid cadence and who owns the decisions.
- Then selection, if a TMS is the answer.
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