As technology continues to advance in the logistics industry, the role of the Transportation Management System (TMS) is becoming more vital. Leveraging the most up-to-date industry technology is crucial for all TMS providers as the demands of the market, and TMS users, continue to rise. Digitization, automation, and live visibility are crucial functions that TMS companies must provide for their customers, and the best way to achieve them is by partnering with best-in-class technology providers.
Enhancing Your TMS
Your decisions are all about providing your customers with as much value as possible. That’s how you gain market traction and become a preferred vendor. You rely on real-time data to provide your customers with industry-leading visibility, exception management, business intelligence, and up-the-funnel optimization. The best way to get real-time data is through the digitization and automation solutions that project44 provides.
Even the best TMS can be made better through the strength of its integrations. Finding excellent technology partners is only going to enhance your TMS for your customers. project44 is a single, trusted vendor with a multi-modal automation network (LTL, Volume LTL, TL, Rail). Partnering with us provides your customers with access to our entire network of capacity providers.
Build vs. Buy - It’s About Partnerships
You have a wealth of industry knowledge and a great tech-focused team. You can build API integrations that handle automation and visibility, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you should. It comes down to the age-old question of build vs. buy. In today’s market, however, you’re not just buying a product off the shelf, you’re entering into a partnership with a technology provider. You’re getting the best technology on the market, and you’re getting things like support, security, and the ability to request new features and provide actionable feedback.
Partnering with an automation and visibility provider like project44 means that you’re getting our best-of-breed solutions, and that your team is free to focus their time and energy on your customers, and building your platform. We’re one team with one focus, and just because our focus is an auxiliary function of your main product doesn’t mean you can’t benefit from our expertise. Your TMS is a hub, and we’re one of the spokes that add strength and stability to it, providing you with a true competitive advantage over your competitors who attempt to develop everything in-house.
What Best-in-Class Looks Like
Not all technology solutions are created equal. Choosing to partner with a technology provider is the right decision, but you have to choose a best-in-class solution to see results. For example, some technology providers have been acquired by companies with a stake in a rival TMS. They’re still willing to sell you their solutions, but you’ll never get the attention from them that you’d get from an agnostic, independent provider like project44.
You also need a partner with a strong development team, which should go without saying when partnering with a technology company, but many technology providers try to cut costs there. project44’s company is over half dev, support, and IT personnel. They’re also all located in Chicago with the rest of the team, which ensures consistent communication, fast response times, and the same personnel handling your cases at all times. No outsourcing dev to other countries.
As a TMS provider, you have to ensure that your customers have all the tools they need to compete, especially as Amazon and other eCommerce giants continue to set new standards for consumer satisfaction. Partnering with an automation and visibility provider like project44 enhances your TMS with those tools, providing the additional value your customers both want and need.