Maintaining valuable relationships with a TMS

(Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

Constrained capacity has been a major issue throughout all of 2021, and is expected to continue even after the holiday season. For shippers and freight brokers, there have been serious rate increases as well as capacity constraints. Currently, there is no end in sight and sourcing capacity will likely prove difficult through at least the first quarter of 2022 as supply and demand struggle to strike a balance during the peak season.

The recent shift to online shopping has caused an e-commerce boom which has only increased the need for drivers in the freight industry. The drastic shift in adoption from paper and spreadsheets to a clickable dashboard continues to grow. Having a way to effectively communicate and also keep yourself organized is why adopting and integrating smarter and real-time technologies such as a TMS software are continuing to grow. 

Freight brokers and transportation experts continue to invest in transportation management software that has replaced bulletin boards and handshakes during COVID. 

“Relationships are the most important thing in a market like this,”  says  Sean McGillicuddy,  VP of Sales at Tai Software. “The relational aspect of this business is not going anywhere, and brokers need to double down on having good relationships with carriers.”  

It is important for brokers who have not yet adopted a modern TMS solution to understand that there are so many new features that were previously unavailable within a TMS. These enhancements can now automate the repetitive processes while also allowing a direct touchpoint to every customer. The TMS software also can now directly integrate with other systems through an API which cuts out the middleman.

“We are seeing really successful brokers take advantage of technology and adopting some of the digital tools like freight-matching software to make sure their team can move faster at getting a load out to their top carriers and onto load boards,” McGillicuddy said. “If the technology is doing a lot of work for them in the background, you free your top talent up to make more money.”

Brokers should be able to utilize these cutting-edge technologies through their TMS. A high-quality TMS – like the one provided by Tai – should be built for scalability and offer simple integrations. This makes adding on new technologies less of a headache, cutting down frustration and training time. 

Click here to learn more about Tai’s all-in-one domestic TMS.

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Ashley Coker Prince

Ashley is interested in everything that moves, especially trucks and planes. She works with clients to develop sponsored content that tells a story. She worked as reporter and editor at FreightWaves before taking on her current role as Senior Content Marketing Writer. Ashley spends her free time at the dog park with her beagle, Ruth, or scouring the internet for last minute flight deals.