This case study is about moving away from in-house TMS to a market solution for a logistic company, freight forwarder, operating in the medical space.
Client’s Problem:
Our customer would like to have a benchmark of the transport management systems (TMS) existing in the market to manage value-added shipments (low value, high value).
The TMS should allow us to manage value-added shipments from point A (Mumbai, for instance) to point B (Chicago, for instance) using multimodal transport (usually three legs – leg 1 (pick up by road), leg 2 airline (commercial flights (American Airlines, for instance), cargo or integrators (DHL, FedEx, UPS, for instance), and leg 3 delivery to the customer (made by a local transportation company).
They would like to be able to book directly into supplier’s systems, track and trace our shipment, give visibility to customers, receive the supplier quotes and invoices into the system, and have blind shipment. Additionally, inventory management and quality management systems should also be included in the system.
KPI
– KPI 1: Manage the full shipment flow through 1 single tool
– KPI 2: Have full visibility in real time and allow the customer to have full visibility too (shipment tracability + related documentation – POD (proof of delivery, quotation, surcharges, T&C,…)
– KPI 3: Control our cost with a capacity to compare supplier quotations vs actual invoices by shipment
– KPI 4: capability to interface with internally developed systems (billing, customer dedicated interface, etc…) and accounting systems (Sage, Xero, Netsuite mainly)
Scope:
1 – global coverage (APAC, EMEA, Americas)
2 – 200 users in 20 countries (incl Korea, India and Japan)
3 – > 300 000 shipment per year
List of relevant vendors
SAP, Oracle, Cargowise, E2Open, Descartes systems, Blue Yonder, Mercury Gate, Alpega TMS, Neurored, Ratelinx, DDS Logistics, Transporeon, Manhatan Associates, Loginext solutions, One Network Enterprises, McLeod, Starship, PTV, Meta Pack, Cargobase PTE LTD, Elemica Inc, nShift, Rose Rocket, 3T Logistics, Kinaxis SCE, Generix Group, Shiptify, TDI, Akanea, Logistically TMS, ProAct International, Fretron Private Limited, Bluejay, Pacejet, Shippypro
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Performance Matrix
Vendor’s answers
Cargowise’s answer
CargoWise has multiple solutions on its plateform. All modules are available for each company are department involved on a product transport from A to B. The modules are : forwarding, customs, land transport, warehousing, port managment, etc All are integrated between each others which brin productivity. We also have a webtracker and a tracking tool for better customer visibility. The module workflow and tracking helps to integrate SOP, set up milestones, which gives better visibility to operation managers and operators. CW is can get connected to any others external solution. Various interfaces are already in place. The platform is also connected to ports, carriers, government systems.
What others think of Cargowise
One:
CargoWise offers a platform with a single data model allowing capabilities to be activated as needed, but is limited by: a) not being a network platform – all connections with your carriers have to be set up from scratch
b) it does not allow you to dynamically replan parts of your network – plans run in batch not incremental mode
c) its traditional solution configuration means that users need to for example make changes to the UI via the registry d) its use of AI and predictive analytics is very limited
Akenea:
No custom development and light support international.
What others think of E2Open
CargoBase:
We are quicker to implement and easier to adapt as our scope of work is clearly defined. We are more affordable and focussed on the in and outbound logistics operation.
One:
E2open’s TMS capabilities are broad but its offering is constrained by:
a) not being a network platform – all connections with your carriers have to be set up from scratch;
b) it does not allow you to dynamically replan parts of your network – plans run in batch not incremental mode;
c) its focus on transportation (vs a fully integrated supply chain and logistics platform) means that you cannot quickly expand into value-added areas such as inventory and quality management;
d) having grown quickly by acquisitions, the different modules of e2open’s solution run on different data models with different technology, generating a challenge for IT to maintain an extended solution;
e) whilst e2open has created an internal messaging system to communicate between its different data models, this configuration severely constrains the use of autonomous or semi-autonomous AI-driven resolutions to execution issues across the end-to-end network.
BlueYonder’s answer
We have a big experience in the healthcare sector as we have been handling the logistic part of more or less 150 pharmaceutical companies and we know the restrictions that can apply to this sector. Above, our TMS product is covering the needs you describe.
Mercury Gate’s answer
MercuryGate have 5 core products owned (and the author of all software) within the MercuryGate family. We have an Enterprise TMS, Final Mile, Shipment Visibility , Multi-Modal Optimisation and our claims management tool. This means we can handle any transportation requirement from first to final mile. We can handle complex multi-leg deliveries and are already connected to many of the worlds 3PL/Logistics providers such as DHL, FedEx and UPS. In fact UPS are utilising the MercuryGate TMS in both the US and Europe to manage their transportation – and for their cold chain, functionality that will be required to support the needs of CryoPDP. MercuryGate has a powerful rating engine, meaning it can hadle any type of rating across any mode. This accompanied with our multi-modal optimisation engine will drive savings for CryoPDP. Our tools can consider 100’s of parameters and provide the best outcome whether it be reducing cost, providing the best plan based on carrier performance or through CO2 emissions. We have worked extensively within the CryoPDP sector solving many complex challenges within the temperature controlled logistics space. Our flexible tool can incorporate workflows enabling every customer, order, supplier, or product to move through the TMS based on flexible workflows in the TMS. For example if a particular product required a specific equipment type, requiring temperature controlled stops and checks on route our TMS can support this need. In fact we do this for our customers today. If you have medicines that need replacing, we can automate the final mile execution to enable the driver to complete over the threshold deliveries into hospitals or customers homes utilising our mobile embedded workflows. Our user interface is entirely configurable too. This means every user can have a different view of information that is applicable to them as a user, have their own dashboards for reporting and send automated reports.
What other solutions think of Mercury Gate
CargoBase:
Integration time and the User-friendliness together with the modern look and feel – according to customers who changed to Cargobase.
Alpega’s answer
Alpega TMS is a digital transport management solution designed to improve supply chain management. A single-platform approach drives collaboration with all stakeholders, allowing constant communication and higher visibility.
Our TMS is an end-to-end solution, designed to support CryoPDP during your logistics processes: sourcing and procurement, planning and optimization, real-time tracking, cost management and reporting. With our TMS system, you can focus on exceptions and automate the day-to-day tasks, so your team can perform more high-value work.
Alpega TMS can support CryoPDP’s processes in several ways:
1. Order management: Alpega TMS can integrate with CryoPDP’s systems to manage the entire order process digitally. It can help automate order creation, track and trace shipments, and provide real-time visibility of shipments’ status. This ensures efficient order processing and reduces manual errors.
2. Carrier management: Alpega TMS offers a comprehensive carrier management module that enables CryoPDP to efficiently manage carrier selection, rates, and contracts. By digitizing the carrier management process, CryoPDP can easily compare carrier capabilities, performance, and costs, leading to improved decision-making and cost savings.
3. Routing and optimization: Alpega TMS provides advanced routing and optimization capabilities, which can optimize CryoPDP’s transportation network. It considers various factors like distance, transit times, carrier constraints, and user-defined constraints, ensuring the most efficient routes are chosen. This helps reduce transportation costs and improve on-time delivery.
4. Documentation management: With Alpega TMS, CryoPDP can digitize and automate the documentation process, such as generating shipping labels, customs documentation, and proof of delivery. We can also Generate Air Way Bills and MAWB and add to the transportation order all the documents you need to share. This eliminates manual paperwork, reduces errors, and streamlines the document flow, improving overall operational efficiency.
5. Analytics and reporting: Alpega TMS offers robust analytics and reporting capabilities, providing CryoPDP with actionable insights into their transportation operations. It enables in-depth analysis of key performance indicators (KPIs), such as carrier performance, on-time delivery rates, and shipping costs. These insights can help in identifying areas of improvement and making data-driven decisions.
Regardless of the complexity of your logistics processes, Alpega TMS scales to fit your transportation management needs:
• Transportation modes: road, air, ocean, rail, barge, small package • Logistics: multimodal, intermodal
• Shipping types: FTL/LTL, FCL/LCL, pallet, parcel
• Regional to global transportation planning and execution
Alpega TMS is a cloud solution that avoids any specific development and allows you to take advantage of continuous updates. Finally, our solution has been named among the best solutions on the market by Gartner for 12 years thanks to advanced functionalities such as blind shipment, controlled temperature management and thanks to the satisfaction of our customers.
Overall, implementing Alpega TMS can significantly enhance CryoPDP’s transportation operations by digitizing and optimizing processes, improving visibility, reducing costs, and increasing operational efficiency.
Some of the personal data anonymization software responses are not published in this blog. Please contact@vektiq.com for more information.
