10 Essential Questions to Ask When Evaluating a TMS

10 Essential Questions to Ask When Evaluating a TMS

Knowing the right questions to ask when beginning a search for the right Transportation Management System (TMS) can be a challenge. That’s why we’ve put together a list of 10 questions it is essential to ask when evaluating a transportation management system. This list will help you gain an understanding of key capabilities and help you start the conversation to find the right TMS for your business.

How do current customers rank this TMS on review sites? (Gartner Peer Insights, Capterra, G2)

This is something you can do your due diligence on prior to engaging with a provider. AI summaries are oftentimes helpful to get the main pros and cons across platforms — directly from users.
What will the implementation process look like and what is the expected turn-around time? If you have time to wait, or if you need a solution in a matter of weeks, this a good question to ask.

How do you connect with carriers?

As follow up to the implementation process, one of the lengthiest processes to implementation is if the TMS provider doesn’t have prebuilt or an easy way to connect with carriers. So understanding what this looks like will help you determine implementation timeframe, but as your carrier strategy evolves and changes the timeline for changes in the future.

Will this TMS work for teams across my company? (Logistics, sales, warehouse teams, customer support, etc.)

This is one of our favorites for prospects to ask, because of how user friendly Kuebix TMS is. That said, if you just need a small group of highly technical supply chain team members in the tool, then ease of use may not be a key deciding factor. But if you have lots of different teams using the TMS, or if you don’t have resources to train new employees, understanding how user friendly and ongoing training and support is critical.

Are there benefits for being a member of this TMS’ community?

Whether a preferred carrier program or access to exclusive rates, understanding any additional benefits to this TMS. This is a good nice to have question if multiple TMS providers are all at the same level.

Will this TMS save me time with a user friendly UI and simple processes?

Easy navigation, fewer clicks to get data, these are all important considerations, because time in money when using a TMS.

Does this TMS have a history of creating outstanding ROI for its users?

Whether analyzing on-time performance, rules in place to select the least cost carrier, and more. Understanding the near-term, but also long term ROI of a TMS is important.

Will this TMS be able to adapt and grow alongside my business?

This is another great question to ask TMS providers. Asking for examples is helpful here too. But if you potentially want to start a direct to consumer channel and ship parcel, need to offer new modes, add new carriers, or just grow your business painting the picture of any growth plans and how this TMS could support that in the long term is important.

Can I manage all modes of transportation with this TMS?

This is one of the best questions you can ask. Most TMSes will support less-than-truckload and truckload at a bare minimum, but we see frequently that the TMS won’t support parcel shipments. So therefore there are two systems for the rating and routing of shipments, you don’t have a single source of truth and lose visibility into shipments.

Is this TMS cloud-based or a monolithic, in-house model?

Most TMS systems today are cloud-based, but this is still a great question to ask to check the box.