computer science

Transportation management system

Transportation management system is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Transportation management system rather than just read about it. In short: A transportation management system (TMS) is a subset of supply chain management concerning transportation operations, which may be part of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. A TMS usually 'sits' between an ERP or legacy order processing and warehouse/distribution module.

Key takeaways

Transportation management system belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Transportation management system to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Transportation management system from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A transportation management system (TMS) is a subset of supply chain management concerning transportation operations, which may be part of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. A TMS usually 'sits' between an ERP or legacy order processing and warehouse/distribution module. A typical scenario would include both inbound (procurement) and outbound (shipping) orders to be evaluated by the TMS Planning Module offering the user various suggested routing solutions. These solutions are evaluated by the user for reasonableness and are passed along to the transportation provider analysis module to select the best mode and the least cost possible. Once the best option is selected, the solution is typically generated by an electronic load tendering and a track/trace system to execute the optimized shipment by the selected carrier, and later to support freight audit and payment (settlement process). Links back to ERP systems (after orders turned into optimal shipments), and sometimes secondarily to Warehouse Management System (WMS) programs are also linked to ERP.

Licensing These systems have been offered with different types of licensing arrangements. The four main offerings are:

On-premises licensing (traditionally purchased license) Hosted licensing (remote, SaaS, Cloud) On-premises hosted licensing (a blend of 1 and 2) Hosted – TMS free of licensing (same as 2 but free with no license requirements) Additionally, some software providers were either acquired or merged with supply chain management consultancies and started offering shippers "blended" managed and software services as an outsourced process. Primary Tier 1 TMS providers are still independent, carrier and 3PL neutral, and ERP neutral. While ERP providers are moving to improve their on-premises transportation management offerings by adding TMS modules to their existing, implemented base, the advent of Software-as-a-Service or "SaaS" delivery resulted in a surge of emerging TMS providers.

Functionalities Transportation management systems manage four key processes of transportation management:

Planning and decision making – TMS will define the most efficient transport schemes, according to the given parameters, which have a lower or higher importance of various factors according to the user policy: transport cost, shorter lead-time, fewer stops possible to ensure quality, flow's regrouping coefficient, etc. Transportation Execution – TMS will allow for the execution of the transportation plan, such as carrier rate acceptance, carrier dispatching, and EDI. Transport follow-up – TMS will allow the following any physical or administrative operation regarding transportation: traceability of transport events by event (shipping from A, arrival at B, customs clearance, etc.), editing of reception, customs clearance, invoicing and booking documents, sending of transport alerts such as delay, accident, non-forecast stops. Measurement – TMS have or need to have a logistics key performance indicator (KPI) reporting function for transport. Various functions of a TMS include:

Planning and optimizing terrestrial transport rounds Inbound and outbound transportation mode and transportation provider selection Management of motor carrier, rail, air, and maritime transport Real-time transportation tracking Service quality control in the form of KPIs (see below) Vehicle Load and Route optimization Transport costs and scheme simulation Shipment batching of orders Freight Negotiation Cost control, KPI (Key Performance Indicators) reporting and statistics Freight Audit Typical KPIs include, but are not limited to: % of On-Time Pick-Up or Delivery Performance relative to requested Cost Per Metric – mile; km; weight; cube; pallet Productivity in monetary terms, e.g., cost per unit weight or shipping unit Productivity in operational terms, e.g., shipping units/order or weight/load However, all the above logistical functions need to be scrutinized as to how each parameter functions.

Market Gartner predicted the global transportation management system market to grow 60% from $1.3 billion in 2019 to $2.1 billion in 2024.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Transportation management system

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Transportation management system claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Transportation management system before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Transportation management system ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Transportation management system

In research: Transportation management system appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Transportation management system in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Transportation management system is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Freight transport, Transport software, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Transportation management system outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Transportation management system in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Transportation management system means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Transportation management system out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Transportation management system in simple terms?

Why does Transportation management system matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Transportation management system?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Transportation management system.