As transportation and logistics companies keep pace with industry innovation, many are trading in their legacy transportation management system (TMS) for a cloud-based platform. Shifting to the cloud offers tremendous opportunities for integration across the supply chain, but the transition can be complicated, and it takes a concerted effort to make it seamless. Too many companies botch migration because they’re in a hurry, and it can cause significant problems.
Common Transition Mistakes To Avoid
- Failure to assign a project lead: A powerful new cloud-based TMS will serve as the cornerstone of smarter logistics operations. It’s critical to appoint a project lead who understands the magnitude of this transition and is committed to undertaking the rollout with precision.
- Failure to integrate systems across departments: It’s too easy to think about freight and logistics in a silo. One purpose of a cloud-based TMS is to make this data available across company operations, so open the migration to department leaders who’ll benefit from increased visibility of supply chain data.
- Failure to secure leadership support: When migration to a cloud-based TMS is half-hearted, results will fall short of already limited expectations. Make sure your C-suite has a vested interest in, and understanding of, the upgrade.
- Failure to understand how a TMS works: Make sure operators have a keen understanding of all TMS functions and features, and tailor custom use cases before your official deployment. Learning as you go is important, but it’s easier with a solid foundation of clear understanding.
- Failure to plan for comprehensive training: User understanding is critical for leveraging your TMS’s full functionality. Establish training programs to help your people learn beyond the basics and push for a higher ROI generated by new cloud-based functions and features.
- Failure to outline and document processes: Documentation is an essential part of learning the TMS and implementing its critical functions. Take the time to create standardized, repeatable processes for TMS interaction and establish parameters and permissions in advance of your official rollout.
- Failure to follow an implementation plan: You’ve taken the time to create a migration plan; now follow it! While flexibility is necessary for solving problems and overcoming obstacles in real-time, stick to a well-defined process for integrating your new TMS into operations.
- Failure to move incrementally: Remember, supplanting a legacy TMS with a new cloud-based system is not a sprint. It’s a marathon. Identifying the right solution, learning the platform, implementing, scaling, troubleshooting, and customization occur incrementally. Trying to simply “flip a switch” will create more problems than it solves.
As you keep these avoidable pitfalls in mind, remember that your choice of TMS also matters. Choose one designed for cloud-based deployment with the features and functionality to justify displacing your legacy platform. Look for a solution with migration support and customization assistance, like IMPACT TMS from nVision Global. There’s no substitute for a system that’s easy to learn and backed by resources designed to make implementation and integration seamless.