Supply chain software developer Manhattan Associates Inc. said today it has partnered with freight marketplace provider FreightRover on a project to enable Manhattan's transportation management system (TMS) software to expand its tools for handling capacity constraints and shipment visibility regulations.
Manhattan's cloud-based TMS now offers enhanced carrier collaboration, connectivity, and improved in-transit visibility, including management of temperature tracking requirements, the Atlanta-based company said.
The expanded features are critical for transportation challenges including a driver shortage, decreased delivery timelines, and increased regulations requiring shippers to be more accountable for the safety of goods in transit, according to Manhattan. To combat these issues, shippers need the ability to find dependable capacity through a multitude of sources, the company said.
Partnering with Indianapolis-based FreightRover helps address those challenges by giving shippers the ability to find capacity matches for their specific freight needs, Manhattan said. By using FreightRover's digital freight matching platform, Manhattan TMS users can now locate and contract cost-effective alternative carriers, reduce turndown rates, track their freight, and expedite payment services.
In another upgrade to the platform, Manhattan has enhanced its TMS Mobile application to improve carrier collaboration, connectivity, and visibility. The mobile app now offers geo-fencing functionality that simplifies the shipment tracking process, improves driver safety, and increases compliance, the firm said. "Automating the tracking process with geo-fencing provides advanced visibility into in-transit inventory and helps improve yard and dock management, allowing facilities to better prepare for arrivals and improving the flow of product," Gregg Lanyard, director of product management for Manhattan Associates, said in a statement.
The expanded TMS features could be a good match for a transportation market that is currently struggling with a number of market constraints, one industry expert said. "Fundamentally it makes sense. Capacity, visibility, and condition monitoring are all among the top-of-mind issues that need to be addressed," David Krebs, executive vice president for enterprise mobility and AIDC at the Natick, Mass.-based analyst firm VDC Research Group, said in a phone interview. "Certainly this is in line with the solutions that organizations are looking for, whether they're trying to deal with shorter turnaround times, the driver shortage, or the empty space in trucks on today's roads."
