How much does a transportation management system cost?
The cost of a transportation management system depends on the type of system. There are 2 common types of TMS:
- a custom system, specially created for the needs of a particular company
- special software or SaaS, created to meet the needs of most trucking companies
Obviously, both of these types of TMS have their advantages and disadvantages. We will not talk about them in detail. But as for the cost of these types of transportation management systems, it should be said that the first type will cost significantly more than the second. And this is obvious because a whole team of developers, managers, and testers will be involved in creating such a TMS for one specific customer, with his specific needs. The cost of such a transportation management system can reach several million dollars, depending on the size of the company and its needs. As for TMS of the second type, such a system can cover the needs of 95% of trucking companies and will cost $19 per month and more.
How much can a transportation management system actually cost your company?
If your company needs a custom TMS (the first type), you need to collect a list of all system requirements and features that the system must implement. After that, find several companies that are developing transportation management systems and send them all a request for an estimate of the cost of system development, sending them your list of requirements and features. The arithmetic average of the values of these estimates will be the possible cost of the first type of TMS for your company.
If SaaS TMS (the second type) is suitable for your company, you will only need to find several products (SaaS, special software) on the Internet that cover all your needs. The arithmetic average of the costs of these products will be the possible cost of the second type of TMS for your company.
How much should a transportation management system cost?
Before looking for answers to questions like how much a TMS costs or how much can a TMS cost, it is necessary to determine how much a transportation management system SHOULD cost. To do this, it is enough to remember one simple rule: the costs of implementing and using TMS should be less than the monetary equivalent of all the benefits from the implementation of a transportation management system.