When to Say Goodbye: 6 Signs that You Need a TMS Overhaul

Bannockburn, Ill. – The supply chain environment is dynamic, with new challenges, opportunities and requirements lurking around every corner. To overcome roadblocks and leverage new opportunities, organizations need modern, cloud software solutions that help them tackle the “now” and prepare for what’s coming next.

The challenge is that if you and your team members spend most of the time completing daily responsibilities and putting out fires as they emerge, you may not get the chance to assess your tech stack and determine which applications are (and aren’t) supporting your company’s current goals and future plans.

Before you know it, your supply chain software is outdated, inefficient and unscalable. This issue is especially painful in the transportation management system (TMS) arena, where the demands of the current transportation environment need robust, modern, cloud-based solutions that can plan routes, select carriers, track shipments, provide proof of delivery, manage billing and invoicing, and deliver comprehensive reporting and analytics on all shipments.

If your current TMS isn’t doing this and more, then it’s time to start exploring your options and looking for a new solution that truly meets your organization’s needs. Here are six red flags that indicate it’s time for a TMS overhaul:

• Vendor upgrades are impossible. If your current on-premises TMS has been customized to the point where upgrades are challenging and impossible, then it’s time to explore new options. “This is the tipping point for many companies that started out with an on-premises TMS and that tweaked the system beyond recognition,” says Mike Horvath, COO at Revenova. “If only a handful of people knew how to upgrade, maintain and customize the system, you’re not going to be able to take advantage of your vendor’s latest and greatest functionalities.”

• Your company has grown significantly since the TMS was installed. This is the ultimate double-edged sword, right? It’s great that your organization has added customers, business lines, products and employees, but all of those “extras” can put added strain on an aging TMS that just can’t scale. If you’re expanding into a new geography, for example, your TMS has to be able to support multi-currency and multi-language transactions. “In most cases, those are both very difficult for the legacy software products to manage, and mainly because those systems are siloed in their design and made for single currency/single language usage,” Horvath explains. A modern, cloud-based TMS can solve these and other problems by managing transportation in the most economical way possible, all while your company continues to expand and reach its growth goals. 

• Software has come a long way since you put your TMS in place. No one wants to have to play “catchup” as technology evolves and improves, but the bottom line is that if you put your TMS in place at a time when green screens and spreadsheets were considered “advanced,” then it’s time to reconsider your approach. As supply chain complexity increases and as customers demand more, your company needs state-of-the-art transportation management software to help it work better, smarter and faster. If you settle for anything less you’re only doing your company—and its customers and business partners—a disservice.

• Maintaining your current system is expensive and resource-intensive. This is a major red flag that Horvath sees all the time, and that some companies choose to ignore simply because their TMS still provides the basic capabilities they need. The problem is that you’ll wind up funneling entirely too much money, effort and energy into keeping that system online. By moving your TMS into the cloud with a solution like Revenova’s, you can take the pressure off your internal IT resources and stop paying for servers and other hardware that on-premises systems require. 

• Your current system isn’t adaptable or agile. Buzzwords like “agility” and “anti-fragile” get thrown around a lot these days in supply chain circles, where events like the global pandemic are forcing companies to rethink how they approach agility and adaptability. An aging, on-premises or proprietary TMS can quickly become a company’s Achilles heel in this environment, where organizations need to be able to add new capabilities, upgrade solutions and/or switch things out without too much investment or effort. “Modern systems are just more architecturally-adaptable than their predecessors were,” says Horvath. “You can change, add and configure things and still leverage your software vendor’s latest upgrade.” Got overlapping functionalities after that last upgrade? You can also choose to keep or use only what you want—something that’s not possible with older, on-premises systems. 

• The system is stuck in the past and can’t keep up anymore. This is probably the biggest reason why companies decide to upgrade their tech stacks, but it’s an issue that tends to get ignored if the current software is doing “well enough.” The transportation sector is constantly changing, however, which means leaving a stagnant, poor-functioning TMS in place creates bigger risks than, say, using an older version of an accounting solution. Rates are always fluctuating, driver preferences change, fleets expand and equipment constraints come and go. The right TMS can help your company keep up with and even stay out in front of these changes while also streamlining your operations and minimizing growing pains.

If you’re facing any or all of these issues right now, it’s time to evaluate newer TMS options and pick one that best meets your company’s current needs and will scale as your company expands and grows. If your company relies on an outdated, on-premises TMS that no longer meets its needs, contact Revenova today to learn how our modern, cloud-based TMS can help you streamline your operations, reduce costs and enhance profitability.

To learn more about Revenova TMS Request a Demo. Follow Revenova on LinkedIn, YouTube, and X (formerly Twitter) for the latest updates and news about Revenova TMS, the original CRM-powered Transportation Management System.