Dive Brief:
- Transportation management system (TMS) vendors have started to offer simpler, less costly versions of their software to small and medium-sized businesses, DC Velocity reported.
- This development occurs as e-commerce and globalization allow small and medium enterprises to do business with customers and suppliers worldwide.
- Previously, businesses that couldn't afford a TMS platform turned to 3PLs or used an in-house system. Now, various 3PLs and small businesses have turned to cloud-based platforms to optimize their logistics.
Dive Insight:
One of the hidden benefits of cloud-based technology is its accessibility to small and medium businesses, and TMS vendors are the most recent group to cater to the sizeable market.
The small business appeal partly explains recent acquisitions of TMS systems by software companies, and the success of other cloud-based 3PLs. Some logistics operators have taken advantage of the cloud to connect their various clients through a single software service.
Precision software, a division of QAD, argues the cloud is not only deeply beneficial but also the future of TMS systems. Roughly 82% of survey respondents in a Precision report claimed to have saved money due to cloud based applications. While on-premise computing systems report a projected 8.9% workload benefit in a five year span, public cloud systems reported a 44% benefit.
