It’s a chronic problem for many shippers. They have a Warehouse Management System they rely on for inventory and order management, but they struggle to find a 3PL provider that can work with the system they have in place.
The workaround is often to copy a lot of data from one system into another, or just forward only the minimum necessary information from your WMS to the carrier so they can generate the necessary shipping documents. It’s inefficient, but it’s better than nothing at all.
Many shippers don’t realize there’s a better way.
Working with a technologically advanced 3PL can impact your overhead in a major way.
There’s a more efficient solution to the problem of separate WMS and TMS (transportation management system) between your business and that of the 3PL you work with.
When you work with a company like Diversified Transportation Services, the technology used to manage transportation needs can be connected to your WMS.
Your customer service team can pull rates for shipments through API calls from our TMS platform into your WMS platform.
APIs, in case you’re unfamiliar with the term, determine how software components should interact. In our case, they allow for instant updates on data regarding rates. It’s a relatively small thing, but the ability to handle everything you need for your shipping needs in a single place is incredibly valuable.
It means your shipping department can focus on tasks other than simply copying data from one system to another. Instead, they can spend that time checking in shipments thoroughly, taking care of customers, or otherwise engaging in activities directly productive for your bottom line.
More than just reducing admin costs, there are additional benefits to integrating your 3PL’s TMS with your WMS:
Your shipping department can not only pull rates and view which carriers are offering the best rates, but they can also select that carrier and schedule a pickup.
No more calls, emails, or faxes – it’s just handled for you within the software platform. Something that may have taken half an hour to an hour or more to find rates and schedule the pickup can be reduced to a task that takes only minutes.
Less hassle for your team, and your customers will be happier at the increased speed at which you can get shipments out.
It reduces time in more ways than one. You don’t have to call or email around to get rates or log in to multiple platforms to compare. It’s all in one place – making the decision-making process for selecting carriers about as fast and easy as possible. That improved decision-making model gives your shipping department more confidence that they’re finding the best rates with the best carriers for the shipments going out.
These streamlined shipping costs also mean you get the direct benefit of reduced costs by working with a 3PL. Diversified Transportation Services offers more than just ease of use; our team works with your business to ensure the carriers you work with are cost-effective, as well as provide the level of service you need.
You don’t need to be a technological genius to take advantage of the benefits, either:
Diversified Transportation Services utilizes a TMS rated as #1 among its users for the simplicity of its use.
You can choose to log in to the customer portal we’re able to provide, letting you view your shipments, tracking information, as well as any associated documents. It also can be where you generate quotes or book shipments, if you prefer logging in directly to the TMS side.
The thing is, you don’t have to.
Thanks to that WMS connection I mentioned earlier, it’s possible for your shipping team to manage everything they need directly within the system they already use.
When you work with us, it’s more than working with “just another freight broker”. We work with you as partners in logistics management.
As a sample of the experience and help you’ll get when you work with us, we’ve created a free shipping and receiving guide for your LTL shipments.
Whether you're a company looking to improve one facet of your supply chain, your entire supply chain, or simply looking for a transportation and logistics consultation, we can help.
