As the transportation sector becomes more layered and complex, transportation management solutions must respond in kind with more advanced in-app functionality and logistics planning. Most standalone transportation management systems are too limited to encapsulate the tiered complexity of an international, multi-segment supply chain, but technology that can integrate and converge transportation with other supply chain functions, such as order management, set the new industry standard.

What you look for in a transportation management system should vary depending on a variety of factors, including but not limited to:

• Distribution area (regional or global)
  
• Network size
  
• Existing operations for enterprise resource planning (ERP)
  
• Communications with in-house and/or 3PL Warehouse Management Systems (WMS)
  
• Multiple sourcing and distribution channels
  
• Product type and regulation and/or storage constraints
  
• Varying service level agreements (SLAs)
  
• Exception events
  
• Regional stability