By: Van Wooten

Transportation Software is a broad term. Large shippers and carriers began developing
transportation software in the 1960 s when mainframe computers became more widely
available and affordable. Large LTL carriers such as Roadway Express and Red Ball were
pioneers in the field. It is a little known fact that the freight industry created
E.D.I. (electronic data interchange) during this time frame. Early transportation
software was custom built and run on company mainframes at the large carriers and
shippers. As with so many other fields, transportation software for small or medium
sized companies did not begin to materialize until after the introduction of the I.B.M.
personal computer in 1980. Transportation software can be as simple as software used to
calculate point-to-point mileage or complex enough to manage virtually all shipping
functions of a carrier, broker or shipper.

Modern transportation software has standardized into basic functional groups based on
the needs of shippers and carriers/brokers. Much of the available transportation
software is sold with these functions as modules that can be purchased separately. Which
modules are purchased is usually driven by the size of the company looking for the
transportation software.

Transportation software as applied to shippers can be part of the much larger field of
supply chain management or more narrowly focused on supply chain execution. Supply chain
management can be defined as the application of information technology to economic order
quantity theory. It encompasses virtually every function within a company that deals in
tangible products and is usually best preceded by ERP. Enterprise Resource Planning is
the company getting its data house in order. It can then think in a more focused way
about supply chain management and execution.

Transportation software as it applies to shippers is most often associated with supply
chain execution. The main functional groups here are the preparation of goods for
shipment and the effective management of transportation vendors. The preparation of
goods for shipment is a function of warehouse management software. The warehouse must
stock the products that will later be shipped, pick the products that have been ordered
and package or unitize those products for shipment.

Management of transportation vendors is an important function of supply chain execution
software. Shippers usually need a number of vendors to cover their territory or find it
beneficial to have vendors competing for business. Vendor management software uses
objective measures to point out the best vendor for any given shipment based on price
and service accomplishment. The best supply chain execution software allows for
effective communication with vendors throughout the shipping process.

Transportation software as it applies to trucking or broker companies has standardized
into three basic functional groups; dispatch operations, equipment management and
accounting. Much of the available trucking software is sold with these functions as
modules that can be purchased separately. Which modules are purchased is usually driven
by the size of the carrier or broker looking for the trucking software. Very small
carriers and brokers can manage dispatch and or equipment on paper. Accounting functions
at this level are well served by software packages such as QuickBooks or Peachtree.
Carriers that grow beyond 10 so trucks and brokers with 20+ loads per month or can
usually begin to see the value of having one or more of the transportation software
modules.

Transportation software designed for the accounting functions is the least likely of
three to be offered as a stand-alone product since it depends upon the others for data.
Payroll functions can be derived from dispatch operations data such as which driver went
where. Invoicing and receivables are also derived from dispatch operations data as in
which customer sent what where. Equipment expenses are derived from equipment management
functions. Transportation software designed to integrate with the over the counter
accounting packages such as QuickBooks can ease the transition for many small carriers
and brokers.

Equipment management functions of transportation software revolve around fuel and
maintenance costs. Fuel, tires, periodic maintenance, and repairs are all important
costs to be managed by every trucking company. This type of software can get very
complex but is essential to larger carriers and can be a good value to smaller
companies. The availability of fuel cost data on the internet has given carriers a new
tool to manage those costs as in where and when and how much fuel to buy. Transportation
brokers do not have these concerns.

Transportation software designed for dispatch operations is the most likely of the
functional groups to be offered as a stand-alone product. It is also arguably the most
important of the three functional groups. It is the most important because it can have
the greatest impact on customer service. Freight brokers in particular should recognize
that this software can give them a competitive advantage. Equipment management and
accounting functions are internal; dispatch operations touch every customer the carrier
or broker has in one way or another. Dispatch operations is all about keeping the right
drivers with the right equipment in place to services the customers needs and take
advantage of opportunities that arise. Managing those resources is important but the
best dispatch software also gives dispatchers and managers tools to monitor work in
progress and communicate effectively with customers.

The internet has given rise to two interesting new developments in the field of
transportation software; software as a service and networking as a new functional group.
Software as a service is delivered via the internet by subscription and has the
following advantages:

No large upfront investment as in traditional buying of software.
No new hardware costs. Your existing network, internet connection and browser such as
Microsoft Internet Explorer are all that are needed.
Pay as you go. This type of software is often available month to month without a
contract.

Maintenance and upgrades handled at the web server with little or no bother to the user.

Networking as a functional group is a new development made possible by the internet.
Dispatch software can now be extended onto the customers desktops. Carriers, brokers and
shippers can collaborate to give and get the data that they need to get the job done.
Customer service is greatly enhanced with true real time communications and the customer
as a larger part of the process. TDNweb.com is an example of this new breed of
transportation software.

Van Wooten is the vision behind Transport Data Networks (TDN) an innovative online
application that is revolutionizing the www.tdnweb.com > transportation software
industry.

Subscribe To Our RSS Feed
You can trackback from your own site.

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.