Transportation Management by Judit Dorda and Marta Suárez

Definition: software that facilitates interactions between organization’s order management system (OMS) and its warehouse management system (WMS) or distribution center (DC). It helps companies to move freight from origin to destination efficiently, reliably and cost effectively.

It is probably supply chain application that offers as many ways to save money or drive value. The main reason to be implemented is to reduce freight spend.

Although years ago transportation was seen just as something that added costs to the firm, the perception now is changing, and it is becoming a competitive advantage for the firms.

Some benefits:

1. Increased customer service: using the reporting and analytics data that we can obtain from using TMS, we can increase the customer happiness by making sure the customer has no issue with receiving their product.

2. New delivery capabilities: allows to optimize the shipment method

3. Warehouse efficiency: if combining the TMS with WMS the firm will get the overall combined Supply Chain visibility that is needed to make business decisions that lead to further costs savings and decrease inefficiencies.

4. Inventory reductions: when you know that your customers are receiving their shipments on time, you can plan better for your inventory on hand. Having an accurate forecast of your inventory is increasingly important as eCommerce freight shipping continues to increase for the foreseeable future.

5. Management of multiple carriers: allows to simultaneously manage multiple carriers in a single portal. It provides choices based on rates or transit times all on one screen instead of contacting multiple carriers for quotes.

6. Improved communications: given that most TMS communicate electronically.

7. Customized reporting: allows shipping and customer service teams to track shipments in real time. It is ideal to manage tariff ways and also, it generates pre audit and post audit reports that makes certain that you are being billed accurately for every shipment.  

FEDEX IN BARCELONA

Two weeks ago, FedEx, one of the most big international companies on express transport, opened a huge headquarter in Barcelona, located on Zona Franca. There they will have ample space for storage, advanced new technologies which will help them to improve their shippings and package classification… How will they manage this new warehouse? For which activities will they use it?

First of all, we have to take into account that they are in Zona Franca, a place which is close to the industrial seaport, the airport and with good roads connexion. So the main point for their improvement, is that they are situated in a strategic point that connects with Spain and also Europe. As the company says: “FedEx Express is creating the main logistics network in Europe through strategic investments and Spain plays a key role in this process of expansion.”

Another key factor is the space they have for their new building, it has an area of 16.905m2, of which 14.505m2 are destined to warehouse and 2,400m2 to offices.That means they have a huge area only for storage where they can have a lot of packages for sending it worldwide.

Also they count with most leading-edge technology that has the capacity to process up to 10,000 packages at the same time, making it the new FedEx center most advanced in Spain. Moreover, they have different areas for different types of ground transports, providing a greater fluidity and safety in traffic.

Judit Dorda and Marta Suárez