SCM vs TMS

Two sides of the coin!

Owners of goods want to optimize their Supply Chain. Transport companies needs to optimize loads and route plans in a profitable way, to survive in a very competitive branch. How do Supply Chain Management (SCM) and Transport Management Systems (TMS) meet in the value stream of information and goods flow?

There seems to be a gap between these two sides of the coin. Besides that, we also have to consider levels of outsourcing 1 PL – 4 PL. This can be a mess to understand. From the owners of goods point of view (Trade and Industry) the most common way, is to outsource transportation to a 2 PL (Second Party Logistics), in other words to a transportation company.

To manage consignments from several customers, the transport company needs a sophisticated TMS. It’s a real challenge to dynamically optimize routes and fleet in a profitable way. The TMS also has to feed the owners of the goods SCM system with status information.

Is this a conflict of interest or an opportunity to streamline the whole value chain? All parties involved should benefit from optimizing a greater whole.

 

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