Insights - May/June 2017 - 23
3PLs Rely on Transportation
Management Systems to Meet
Customer, Company Information
Requirements
T
he particular characteristics of intermodal freight that require harmonization
of services by multiple carriers, are the impetus for 3PLs to operate transportation
management systems, or TMS, suited to the needs of the industry and its customers.
Five TMS operators outlined for Intermodal Insights how
their companies meet the challenge of orchestrating those
services to achieve the ultimate goal of maximizing customer
service, with an accent on effective delivery of shipment
information.
"Customers care about great service with visibility into each
waypoint, and a shipment that arrives as scheduled," said Paul
Smith, president of intermodal at XPO Logistics, which also
provides brokerage as well as assetbased trucking services. "All of the
intricacies of this TMS process take
place behind the scenes, which is
fine with customers.
"A TMS system in the intermodal
environment needs to handle
mode-specific processes, business
practices and data sets in relation to
each other," Smith said, identifying
capabilities also cited by other
Smith
executives. "It has to manage multiple
carrier choices, including dray, equipment types and availabilities,
commodity and weight constraints, rail ramp locations and
timing considerations, as well as end-customer delivery
requirements.
"The system must be both sophisticated enough and robust
enough to determine the optimal service, price and transit times
- and then deal with exceptions proactively," he added.
Doug Punzel, president of Celtic International, said that one
of the keys for Celtic's TMS is the ability to provide information to
its operations personnel and to customers, who aren't interested
in knowing every detail of a move. Instead, they rely on Celtic to
do the exception management as needed to provide excellent
service.
'Real-Time Updates'
"Customers have forced us to become better," said Phil
Shook, director of intermodal at C.H. Robinson. "They want
real-time updates. Now they have delivery windows of 30 to 60
minutes, not four to six hours like in the old times."
C.H. Robinson's TMS operating system takes information
from each of the three carriers involved in a shipment and
C.H. Robinson's TMS manages both intermodal and truckload
freight.
presents it in an order that works well for both the customer and
the company, he said. The goal of the intermodal TMS, he said,
is to not look very different compared to information customers
receive from Robinson about its predominant over-the-road
moves. Nearly 90 percent of Robinson's revenue is from OTR
freight.
Robinson relies on its intermodal drayage fleets to provide
real-time updates of deliveries and on the railroads to provide
out-gate notifications and freight location data. Drayage carriers
communicate based on their preference, whether it is electronic
data interchange, a Web portal or mobile app, Shook said,
because it isn't up to the 3PL to tell them what communications
approach to use.
Each of the companies interviewed by Intermodal Insights
has adopted a different approach, suited to their needs, to create
a TMS. The systems used by 3PLs largely are built to support
domestic and cross-border traffic, with some adaptations such
as managing reloads in international containers.
Hub Group Executive Vice President Vava Dimond outlined
the company's approach.
"All of our operations will be run on the same core
transportation management system," she said, to leverage
decision support tools and manage the unique characteristics of
intermodal.
May/June 2017 | Intermodal Insights
23
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Insights - May/June 2017
President’s Message
IANA News
As Infrastructure Plan Excitement Builds, Payment Questions Are Still Prominent
Full Year 2017 Intermodal Business Volume Growth Is Projected
Maintenance & Repair Committee Focuses on Practical Steps to Aid Safety
Operations Committee Advances Chassis and Terminal Safety Efforts
Progress Achieved in Chassis Safety, More Work Ahead
Highlights from IANA's Operations & Maintenance Business Meeting
3PLs Rely on Transportation Management Systems to Meet Customer, Company Information Requirements
Freight Report
Suppliers’ TMS Offer Flexibility, Visibility to Meet Unique Intermodal Requirements
Independent Contractor Status Could be Strengthened by Recent Developments
Government News
Intermodal Information Services News
International Intermodal News
People News
New Members
Intermodal Calendar
EXPO 2017 Education Sessions Descriptions
Insights - May/June 2017 - Cover1
Insights - May/June 2017 - 2
Insights - May/June 2017 - 3
Insights - May/June 2017 - IANA News
Insights - May/June 2017 - 5
Insights - May/June 2017 - 6
Insights - May/June 2017 - 7
Insights - May/June 2017 - 8
Insights - May/June 2017 - As Infrastructure Plan Excitement Builds, Payment Questions Are Still Prominent
Insights - May/June 2017 - 10
Insights - May/June 2017 - 11
Insights - May/June 2017 - 12
Insights - May/June 2017 - Full Year 2017 Intermodal Business Volume Growth Is Projected
Insights - May/June 2017 - 14
Insights - May/June 2017 - Maintenance & Repair Committee Focuses on Practical Steps to Aid Safety
Insights - May/June 2017 - 16
Insights - May/June 2017 - Operations Committee Advances Chassis and Terminal Safety Efforts
Insights - May/June 2017 - 18
Insights - May/June 2017 - Progress Achieved in Chassis Safety, More Work Ahead
Insights - May/June 2017 - Highlights from IANA's Operations & Maintenance Business Meeting
Insights - May/June 2017 - 21
Insights - May/June 2017 - 22
Insights - May/June 2017 - 3PLs Rely on Transportation Management Systems to Meet Customer, Company Information Requirements
Insights - May/June 2017 - 24
Insights - May/June 2017 - Freight Report
Insights - May/June 2017 - Suppliers’ TMS Offer Flexibility, Visibility to Meet Unique Intermodal Requirements
Insights - May/June 2017 - 27
Insights - May/June 2017 - Independent Contractor Status Could be Strengthened by Recent Developments
Insights - May/June 2017 - 29
Insights - May/June 2017 - 30
Insights - May/June 2017 - Government News
Insights - May/June 2017 - Intermodal Information Services News
Insights - May/June 2017 - 33
Insights - May/June 2017 - International Intermodal News
Insights - May/June 2017 - People News
Insights - May/June 2017 - New Members
Insights - May/June 2017 - 37
Insights - May/June 2017 - 38
Insights - May/June 2017 - Intermodal Calendar
Insights - May/June 2017 - EXPO 2017 Education Sessions Descriptions
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