After a long search, TransMission has succeeded in selecting a new transport management system (TMS). From January, the roll-out of the BluJay system will start across the ten depots that make up a finely-meshed distribution network. In particular, the complicated invoice flows between TransMission's various partners are a major challenge, director Raymond Cools' presentation at ICT & Logistiek revealed.
It sounded like an easy task given to Raymond Cools after his appointment as director of TransMission: select and implement a new transport management system (TMS). But the former Logistics Manager of the Year soon discovered that assignment was a lot trickier than expected. "TransMission is a complicated organisation, an alliance of independently operating transport companies. We have a head office in Zoetermeer, but that's not the boss. Those are the shareholders who all have their own views and opinions."
Out of the DOS era
A new TMS was badly needed, however. The old system was still from the DOS era and had become an abomination of a customised system due to all the vagaries and quirks of the 10 different depots. "We first started investigating exactly what we needed. We sat down with all shareholders to draw up a reference process. A difficult process because of the differences in culture and ways of working. The reference process that was finally accepted by everyone, we submitted to a number of TMS suppliers," Cools says.
As well as supporting the reference process, the TMS had to meet other requirements. TransMission wanted a cloud-based system so that the IT department at headquarters could be reduced. The system had to be able to support the 800 to 900 mobile scanners. The system also had to be able to tell the sorting systems in the ten depots which parcel needed to be sorted out to which destination. "And unlike before, customisation was no longer allowed. A tricky message," Cools experienced.
Paying for use
A large number of TMS suppliers soon dropped out. Their solution did not offer the necessary support for an organisation with multiple depots and multiple companies. The choice finally fell on BluJay's TMS. "That met most of the requirements. Moreover, we could arrange with BluJay that the shareholders jointly own the system and share the one-off costs, but that they pay for use afterwards. After all, one depot processes more shipments than another. The more parcels they process, the more they pay."
The new system is currently being prepared for implementation, which will start in January 2020. A key focus is invoicing: After all, TransMission not only sends invoices to customers, but the shareholders also send invoices to each other. "Each depot only has customers in its own postcode area. Collecting shipments from those customers is borne by this first depot. The cost of transport from the first depot to the second depot is shared fairly. The cost of delivery to the final destination by the partner of the second depot is settled via a flat rate," Cools explains.
Selfbilling
When a shipment crosses the border towards Belgium or Luxembourg, invoicing becomes even more complicated. "So we have different invoice flows, all of which the TMS has to support. Eventually we want to move towards selfbilling, where the head office indicates what the different partners have to pay," says Cools, who, apart from a new TMS, is also working on a new portal. "That's where customers can enter their orders, but also track the status of their shipments. We need to link that with the TMS, of course."
The roll-out of new TMS will start in January. By the end of 2020, all ten depots should be switched to BluJay's system. "The point of focus is that we link the new TMS with partners' existing systems via APIs. From those systems, among other things, we extract shipment status updates, which we make available to customers via the TMS and the new portal. With a slight delay, customers will see there at what times and locations their shipment has been scanned."
