Today’s highly interconnected supply chains are, in effect, massive networks that rely on all the players to do their part. Despite this, inadequate communication often results in lackluster coordination and is a primary chokepoint, leading to any number of failures. That’s why implementing a true supply chain TMS (transportation management system) is a key success factor.

TMS software is one way organizations look to create unified communication among supply chain stakeholders. Unfortunately, most systems today fail to achieve this objective, as they’re cumbersome, inflexible, and out of sync with interdependent pieces of the tech stack.

A lack of integrated communication and collaboration among external and internal supply chain partners ultimately frustrates customers and leads them to jump ship. Throw in all-too-common disruptions — tight capacity, port backups, geopolitical conflicts — and companies with poor supply chain visibility can’t give customers the kind of transparency they’ve come to expect.

This is where Tramm comes in. Tramm is a comprehensive TMS that is purpose-built to streamline supply chain operations within a unified platform approach. By integrating communication, route optimization, order management, and a control tower for real-time visibility, Tramm ups efficiency, reduces costs, and helps improve CSAT scores. All of this addresses critical pain points felt today across logistics management.

In this article, we’ll explore the issues and limitations of TMS systems and how Tramm addresses them by enhancing communication across the supply chain. We’ll unpack how Tramm is built on a simple yet rarely implemented idea: a TMS can only be effective if every aspect of transport management is modeled, integrated, and visible from order inception to final delivery.

Communication: A Key Chokepoint for Complex Supply Chains

In logistics, every operational execution — whether store delivery, inbound DC shipment, or DTC order — touches multiple functional areas: transportation, order management, customer data, and warehouse management. Without a unified communication approach, things can break down quickly, as we’ll illustrate with this hypothetical scenario:

Jessica orders a dress for a friend’s wedding that's four days away, choosing the retailer’s two-day delivery. The OMS confirms her purchase, but an inventory system error shows it as in stock at a nearby store for e-commerce fulfillment when, in reality, it’s sold out. The next day, the same dress is located at a warehouse 500 miles away, and the order is re-routed, adding a day in transit.

Three days after the order was placed, it’s out for delivery, but the truck breaks down on the way. Due to poor fleet visibility, a delivery status update isn’t communicated to Jessica. On top of that, an address change she entered on the e-commerce website goes into the CRM, but this data isn’t synced with the TMS. So, a driver leaves the package at her old address. Jessica, anxiously trying to track her order, contacts customer service, but a lack of synchronization between systems leaves her without answers. The dress finally arrives — a day after the wedding — and a high-value customer is lost.

This unhappy ending demonstrates how vital seamless communication is, given the intricate nature of today's supply chains, where even a minor failure has financial repercussions. Think, for example, of the high cost of customer acquisition vs. retention.

We’ll now look at three specific challenges of supply chain communication faced by organizations today.  

Fragmented Systems

Fragmented systems create significant barriers to effective communication. This disconnection leads to the creation of information silos across disparate systems, making it hard for each operations team to access accurate, consistent data. Poor integration hampers their ability to coordinate assets and tasks, increases the likelihood of errors, and reduces operational efficiency.

Inconsistent Data

Inconsistent data poses a major supply chain challenge, as variations in formats and sources lead to bad information and worse decisions. This undermines the reliability of communication, causing confusion and errors. Ultimately, it hampers your ability to coordinate effectively with other functional teams, limiting efficiency and dinging customer satisfaction.

Manual Processes

Manual processes increase the risk of errors and slow down the flow of crucial information. Depending on paper-based methods often causes delays and makes it difficult to maintain accurate, timely communication. This ultimately impacts decision-making and results in poor operational performance.

To quote Strother Martin to Paul Newman as the cruel prison captain in “Cool Hand Luke”: “What we’ve got here is … failure to communicate.” Updates from manual processes, sometimes using Excel sheets, is a recipe for disaster, especially considering the need for real-time data sharing between systems, internal teams, carriers, 3PLs, and customers.

Integrated Communications: Revolutionizing Coordination with Supply Chain TMS

Tramm has developed an innovative TMS solution that integrates supply chain communications in a single powerful, intuitive platform. It ties together order management, route optimization, planning and scheduling, carrier management, a control tower for shipment visibility, and a mobile app with customizable workflows and electronic proof of delivery (ePOD) for driver management.

A true supply chain TMS, Tramm offers broad optimization across many aspects of logistics operations, from order processing to delivery, carrier billing, returns, and exception management. The results are greater efficiency, reduced costs, improved performance (order accuracy, on-time delivery, etc.), and enhanced customer satisfaction.  

Tramm’s configurable solution has many automation capabilities for a variety of supply chain functions,  including alerts for off-plan events, automated reporting, driver debriefing, and communication via standard tools (WhatsApp, email, SMS) with customers, drivers, and managers.                            

Here are more details on different aspects of Tramm TMS and what sets it apart from traditional solutions.

Platform Unification

Tramm TMS addresses the problem of fragmented supply chain systems by integrating key functions into a unified, scalable platform. It centralizes data, ensuring consistency, accuracy, and integrated communication. The FleetVision control tower provides real-time visibility into vehicle location and ETAs, route adherence, and load status.

Transportation managers can set up customized, automated workflows to manage drivers and routes via the Tramm mobile app. For instance, it can include detailed instructions such as the level of signature required for each stop, when to scan a code, if a confirmation picture is required, etc.

Information from the app is fed back into the Tramm system for planning, reporting, and performance management purposes. For instance, location data from the driver’s device is compared to the onboard GPS to identify any errors or inconsistencies.

Seamless Data Integration

Tramm TMS centralizes all supply chain data in an accessible, intuitive platform with mobile access. This ensures data consistency and accuracy, eliminates discrepancies, and provides organizations with a single source of truth. Real-time updates and automated workflows further enhance data reliability, improving decision-making and overall supply chain efficiency.

Data usability and accessibility are some of the main benefits. Team members across supply chain functions get access to precise data and analytical insights for improved performance monitoring, planning, and reporting.

Tramm’s platform brings in data from internal as well as external partners (carriers, brokers, freight forwarders, 3PLs, etc.) via APIs. Drivers, managers, planners, and executives all get a unified view via the app to real-time tracking and status information, hours of service remaining, precise delivery locations and pickup requirements, KPIs, and much more.

Automated Supply Chain Accuracy

Tramm TMS alleviates cumbersome manual processes by automating key workflows to reduce reliance on manual data entry and paper-based methods. It streamlines operations with dynamic updates, integrated communication tools, and centralized data management.

Tramm’s rules-based order processing automates things like order splitting based on operational and resource requirements, as well as designated delivery days and windows for end customers, with the option of manual intervention where necessary. Tramm’s dashboard includes automated reporting, analytics, and business intelligence capabilities. This empowers decision-makers with a clear understanding of operations, performance, and growth opportunities.

Jessica’s Story, Reimagined

Now, let’s return to our earlier example of the fictional Jessica and her ill-fated dress order, with Tramm as the hero of the story.

Jessica orders her dress, and Tramm’s OMS confirms her purchase, pulling directly from the retailer’s inventory management system to confirm it’s in stock. Tramm also selects the optimal carrier and delivery window based on the customer’s location and the retailer’s requirements, handing this information off to the TMS for dispatch.

On the promised date, the driver, using the Tramm mobile app, notes Jessica’s delivery preference (side door). The ePOD function notifies the system of a successful dropoff for performance monitoring and reporting. Jessica, meanwhile, having received regular notifications of the order in transit at every scan, is thrilled with the experience (and the dress). She has a blast at the wedding, and the retailer gets a smiley rating from their happy customer.

Yesterday’s TMS Can’t Handle Today’s Exacting Supply Chain Communication Needs

How is it possible to have an optimized, efficient supply chain when internal and external data is siloed, and stakeholder communication sometimes feels like today’s equivalent of cans and strings? Answer: it’s not possible.

This leads to all kinds of negative downstream effects: missed opportunities, time-consuming manual processes to cover system gaps, inadequate reporting, and business intelligence insights, poor visibility into assets and deliveries, increased costs, and dissatisfied customers.

Tramm’s unified suite enables shippers, 3PLs, carriers, and their partners to accurately communicate the intricacies of day-to-day supply chain operations. Through our powerful app, control tower visibility, customizable dashboard, and precision planning capabilities, companies can increase efficiency and optimize execution. Analytics and reporting, including KPI-based internal and external scoring, lead to smarter decisions and better outcomes for customers and businesses.

To learn more about how Tramm can make a difference by unifying your supply chain communications, request a demo today.

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Supply chain analytics is the process of studying historical, transactional, and real-time data in order to uncover ways to improve supply chain efficiency and performance. As such, it is a vital function of any organization involved in the transportation of goods, addressing not only cost management but performance management.

And supply chain management has grown more complex, with frequent disruptive factors the norm, on top of major pandemic shocks that exposed flaws needing strategic resets. In this context, supply chain analytics are called upon more than ever to surface patterns and insights that drive intelligent decisions.

This article will present three key tactics for effectively implementing supply chain analytics, helping companies drive down costs and improve performance.

Modern Supply Chain Management Demands Modern Supply Chain Analytics

To define it further, supply chain analytics pulls in data from throughout the supply chain (procurement, manufacturing, inventory, orders, and distribution) for deep analysis in order to predict and improve performance. This data comes from external (carriers, partners, suppliers) as well as internal (ERP, SCM, TMS, WMS, inventory management, OMS, etc.) sources.

The ability to gain supply chain efficiency by improving data analytics can achieve a number of important business goals. This includes (but is not limited to):

• Minimizing inventory carrying costs
• Optimizing order fulfillment
• Proactively managing material costs
• Avoiding stockouts and overstocks
• Managing suppliers and purchases

Supply chain analytics also empowers businesses to engage in data-driven decision-making in the supply chain that can lower costs and improve resiliency and responsiveness. They can anticipate challenges and adapt to market fluctuations, helping them maintain a competitive edge even as challenges proliferate.

Three Tactics for Effective Implementation of Supply Chain Analytics

In order to receive the full benefit of supply chain analytics, companies need to look at it strategically and implement tactics designed to drive results in supply chain management. Here are three ways to achieve this.

Tactic 1: Integrate Data Across the Entire Supply Chain

The ability to gain a unified view of data across the supply chain is foundational in making supply chain analytics work effectively and glean actionable insights. This requires data feeds, ideally through API integrations, from all internal and external sources.

It’s often easier said than done. Data silos and fragmented systems, unfortunately, are still a thing. Enterprise systems that can’t communicate without IT intervention pose a challenge to integration.  

One surefire way to achieve effective data integration is by using a true supply chain TMS that centralizes data from across multiple sources, such as those listed above  (orders, shipments, inventory, etc.). A key prerequisite is compatibility with your current tech stack (ERP, WMS, TMS, etc.).

Tramm is a comprehensive TMS that is purpose-built to streamline supply chain operations within a unified platform approach. Its integration capabilities unify data from across the supply chain, creating a single source of truth. Tramm’s consolidated platform helps teams pull together actionable insights based on real-time data. This unified approach eliminates data silos, streamlines processes, and ensures consistency of actions across the supply chain.

Tactic 2: Implement Real-Time Analytics for Proactive Decision-Making

Real-time analytics is the process of analyzing and responding to data as it's generated, with the goal of providing quick insights to help users make better-informed decisions. Conversely, relying on delayed or outdated data acts as a drag on supply chain performance.

It's often used in applications where the timeliness of data is critical, such as in supply chain and logistics. Artificial intelligence and its cousin, machine learning, have added the ability to quickly read, comprehend, and correlate data from across sources, advancing real-time analytical capabilities.

Adopting a TMS with real-time data processing and monitoring capabilities ensures a seamless data flow and communication between systems and stakeholders. For example, Tramm’s FleetVision control tower module provides real-time vehicle tracking through integration with telematics, and status updates. It enables communication with all stakeholders via WhatsApp, SMS, or email for visibility into delivery status, deviations, and reporting.

Tactic 3: Utilize Advanced Analytics for Predictive and Prescriptive Insights

In the context of supply chain management, predictive analytics takes historical, transactional, and real-time data to create models that identify patterns for risks and opportunities. This helps guide decision-making by anticipating specific future events.

Prescriptive analytics takes this process a step further. It pulls together insights gleaned from predictive data analysis to suggest optimal actions, anticipating and solving potential issues before they arise.

This type of advanced capability for supply chain management involves integrating AI and machine learning to drive both predictive and prescriptive analytics. Staff must be adequately trained and processes aligned to take full advantage of these tools for real-time decision-making that drives greater supply chain efficiency.

Tramm’s advanced analytics include both predictive and prescriptive tools that optimize routing, and risk management. Tramm enables businesses to anticipate future challenges and take proactive steps in response. This type of real-time decision-making improves supply chain efficiency and resiliency.

Analytics Power Better Supply Chain Management

In reality, supply chain analytics is what drives supply chain management. The ability to pull in and quickly analyze internal and external data to formulate strategies and inform decisions is a foundational discipline. Mix in a complex global economy and disruptive events, and this capability becomes even more critical.

Tramm gets this, which is why it has developed a comprehensive suite that helps companies address multiple aspects of supply chain management. Its innovative supply chain TMS provides in-depth performance analytics backed by real-time data. Users gain planning and route optimization (Planning and Optimization Module), transporter management (Transact Module), real-time visibility (FleetVision Module) and impactful business insights (Dashboard Module), and much more. To learn more about how Tramm can transform your supply chain management, request a demo today.

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As supply chains become increasingly complex, the demand for efficiency and flexibility has never been greater as companies struggle to meet rising customer expectations and deal with global disruptions. Having detailed order data is one key ingredient in supply chain optimization, enabling better decision-making, improved efficiency, and reduced costs.

The ability to access and analyze clean, accurate data improves demand forecasting, inventory management, and fulfillment operations by providing greater visibility into SKU levels and order status. It also helps streamline transportation, reduce lead times, and optimize carrier selection.

Conversely, a lack of detailed order data leads to a variety of negative consequences. These include mismanaged inventory (more stockouts, overstocks), fulfillment delays, disrupted workflows, inaccurate demand forecasts (over or underproduction), strained customer relationships, and financial impacts.

This is why order data accuracy is critical in supply chain optimization. It improves decision-making, enhances efficiency, and reduces costs.

Understanding Order Data’s Role in Supply Chain Optimization

Order data includes information on products, quantities, prices, customer preferences, delivery schedules, and fulfillment status. Sources of order data include order management systems (OMS), enterprise resource planning (ERP, often the central hub), customer relationship management (CRM), procurement systems, and, if there’s a retail component, point-of-sale (POS) systems.

Detailed order data is the foundation for optimizing inventory management, transportation and delivery, warehousing, and fulfillment — in short, every operational aspect of the business.  

An inability to control how orders are handled from inception contributes to poor decisions, and inaccurate data is often the culprit. The lack of a unified, efficient system for moving orders from planning to execution and doesn’t enable real-time visibility is a recipe for disaster. The result is a limited ability to represent actual order status in a meaningful way.

Enhancing Demand Forecasting and Inventory Management

A business’s success or failure is inextricably linked to its ability to accurately forecast demand and, from there, properly manage inventory levels. Detailed order data (current and historical), as well as factors like market trends and customer feedback, allow businesses to predict demand more accurately and optimize inventory levels.

Using manual processes to handle order data, even in small-to-medium businesses, is a system rife with errors and inaccuracies. The ability to access real-time order data informs smarter reordering and replenishment strategies. This helps reduce overstocks or out-of-stocks by leveraging actual demand patterns, maintaining cash flow, reducing carrying costs, and keeping customers happy.

Improving Order Fulfillment and Reducing Lead Times

Having detailed order data helps minimize fulfillment errors by optimizing picking, packing, and shipping processes. By accurately tracking customer demand, businesses can expedite order processing and optimize transportation routes to reduce lead times.

Order allocation can be fine-tuned based on stock availability and proximity to customers, enabling faster, more efficient fulfillment. This not only speeds up deliveries but also improves customer satisfaction.

Optimizing Transportation and Logistics

Another benefit of having detailed, accurate order data is on the logistics side. With it, businesses can optimize order routing, consolidate shipments, and reduce delivery costs. They can also choose the most cost-effective carriers and shipping methods based on order data.

Order consolidation involves centralizing items from multiple orders into a single location or by combining multiple orders from different sales channels into a single system. This helps lower transportation costs, improve inventory management, simplify logistics, and provide a better customer experience by reducing split shipments.

With the ability to access and analyze detailed order data, businesses can save by taking advantage of bulk shipping discounts, optimizing carrier selection, and avoiding last-minute changes in shipping schedules.

Supporting Customer Satisfaction and Personalization

Detailed order data allows businesses to track customer preferences, providing personalized offerings and recommendations. It also improves proactive communication, informing customers about order status, estimated delivery times, and potential delays.

This type of transparency enhances trust and helps companies to manage customer expectations. It contributes to a consistently excellent customer experience, boosting satisfaction scores, repeat business, and brand loyalty.

Without Detailed Order Data, Things Break Down

Detailed order data is critical for supply chain optimization, enabling better demand forecasting, more efficient inventory management, and faster fulfillment. It allows businesses to streamline transportation, optimize routing, and reduce delivery costs. Accurate order data also supports customer satisfaction by providing real-time order status and personalized offerings, reducing errors and improving efficiency. A lack of such data, for instance, due to manual processes or outdated software, leads to fulfillment delays, inventory mismanagement, and strained operations.

Tramm, a developer of a leading unified supply chain management platform, combines a powerful OMS within its transportation management system (TMS) suite. This integrated approach provides end-to-end visibility and control over order fulfillment and shipping processes. Tramm’s Order Management Module ensures that orders are fully consolidated before being released for shipment, while the TMS manages transportation in the most efficient, cost-effective manner.

The power of Tramm lies in its ability to optimize the entire process from order management through planning and route optimization, contract management, fleet management, and performance analytics. A versatile driver app provides workflow management, electronic proof of delivery, compliance tracking, and auditing.

Request a demo today to learn more about how Tramm can drive supply chain optimization through its cutting-edge tools and holistic approach.

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The world of logistics and transportation cannot afford to slow down, and the trend toward sustainable logistics is working hard to catch up. Demand for shipping and delivery services is only increasing in a fast-moving, interconnected global economy. But with this growth comes greater pollution levels from vehicles and logistics networks.

For this reason, it shouldn’t be surprising that 75% of logistics companies have a focus on sustainability, according to a May 2024 survey by the Germany-based Logistics Hall of Fame. A majority of respondents rated the risk of financial loss due to climate change as “medium to high.”

This is why major efforts are underway to reduce trucking-generated pollution by implementing a sustainable logistics program. These include efforts to optimize routing, grow alternative fuel fleets, increase the use of automation, enforce stricter emissions standards, and ramp up intermodal transportation.

Optimized routing, in particular, has emerged as a powerful tool to not only reduce transportation costs but also significantly minimize carbon emissions, making logistics operations more sustainable.

The Environmental Impact of Logistics

Transportation contributes more than a third of all CO2 emissions globally, with nearly two-thirds of that coming from trucking, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). In addition, transportation relies on petroleum products for nearly 91% of its energy, down just 3.5 percentage points from the early 1970s.

Excessive fuel usage in everything from long-haul trucking to last-mile delivery, traffic congestion, and poorly planned routes contribute to higher CO2 emissions. At the same time, regulatory pressure and consumer demand for more sustainable business practices are forcing companies to adapt.

The Basics of Route Optimization

Route optimization tools use advanced algorithms and predictive analytics, parsing historical and real-time data to identify the most efficient delivery routes. Factors taken into account include traffic conditions, weather, vehicle capacity, delivery windows, and road restrictions.

Many routing tools within a transportation management system (TMS) also include load optimization capabilities, enabling companies to maximize their available freight capacity and improve key metrics like revenue per mile, cost per delivery, and fleet utilization.

State-of-the-art route optimization tools employ dynamic multi-day route planning and scheduling across trucking modes, everything from LTL, TL, middle mile, last mile, private fleet and dedicated transportation services.

Reducing Fuel Consumption and Carbon Emissions

As route optimization enables companies to reduce the number of miles driven, an immediate, tangible benefit is a significant saving on fuel consumption.

These tools also allow drivers to avoid areas of traffic congestion, helping to improve on-time delivery performance. This not only reduces truck dwell time and, thus, tailpipe emissions, but also increases customer satisfaction.

By optimizing load capacity, companies can put fewer trucks on the road, further reducing fuel usage and emissions — further driving sustainable logistics.

The Role of Real-Time Data in Sustainable Routing

Access to real-time data on traffic, weather, and road conditions allows for dynamic rerouting to avoid delays and minimize emissions. Traffic data can come from GPS systems and platforms like Google Maps or Waze for information on congestion, accidents, and road closures.

Weather data from apps like The Weather Channel or OpenWeatherMap provide updates on conditions (thunderstorms, high wind, fog, snow) that might affect a trip, rerouting if necessary. Telematics and sensors take in data on vehicle location, speed, fuel usage, and status from onboard systems or fleet management software.

Updates from order management systems (OMS) on delivery windows and customer availability also become part of the routing equation, as does data on weight or height restrictions and road closures from transportation departments. Routing software also tracks fuel efficiency and vehicle performance, reducing environmental impact.

Other Benefits of Route Optimization

In addition to reduced fuel consumption and lower operating costs, route optimization enables faster, more reliable deliveries, improving customer relationships and fostering loyalty.

Optimized routing also helps companies meet their environmental goals through sustainable logistics. This includes compliance with government regulations and qualification for certifications such as LEED, ISO14001, and SmartWay.

Route Smarter, Stay Greener

Route optimization improves logistics efficiency and plays a crucial role in reducing carbon emissions. An investment in this technology helps drive both sustainability and competitiveness in a business climate that increasingly values environmental responsibility. By embracing sustainable logistics practices through the use of these tools, companies can reach their goals while driving down costs through efficiency gains.

Tramm, an innovator in supply chain technology, has developed an end-to-end TMS platform that combines route planning, load building, transporter management, a supply chain control tower, and a powerful mobile app. With this end-to-end approach, Tramm has solved the problem of fragmented supply chain systems by integrating key functions into a unified, scalable platform.

Tramm’s Planning and Optimization Module handles complex routing environments, accounting for variables such as rules and constraints that accurately reflect on-the-ground transport operations. It allows users to easily adapt their plans based on changing needs, including “what if” visualization and scenarios that enable real-time adjustments. A load builder/stackability app lets them automatically plan loads that are tightly synced with capacity and route optimization.

To find out how Tramm’s unified approach can drive transportation efficiency and cost savings while helping you realize sustainability goals, request a demo today.

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