There’s more to a cutting-edge transport management system (TMS) than pure transport management. An effective TMS should incorporate additional benefits in related areas which directly affect the bottom line. Indeed, some of these are currently being used by a number of logistics operators.
Financial transport transactions are key in the final leg of the delivery of a service by a supplier to their customer, so the ability to enable real-time, transparent confirmation of this step is vital in the O2C cycle. What seems a simple step requires considerable inherent functionality to be of true value, as information needs to be confirmed at the correct level of detail, and discrepancies must be highlighted and then resolved to deliver true O2C benefits.
As a large sector of the transport and logistics industry is based on a hire-and-reward basis, so early submission of invoices that have been agreed, confirmed and accepted is vital to enabling real-time, resolution of them. A competent TMS will be able to confirm correct details, alert all necessary stakeholders should there be discrepancies, and follow an agreed pathway for speedy resolution, all with the correct authorisation. Then, once the TMS has recorded a service requirement, it needs to enable the handling of invoices, self-billing and other requirements in an automated approach (i.e. with minimal manual input). The final stage of the O2C cycle is that it needs to integrate with the transport operator’s financial reporting system.
Our CarrierNet platform and TMS already deliver all the above to transport operators but they also offer an optimised, robust and future-proof O2C approach for other industries that face similar financial reconciliation and management discrepancy requirements.
If you would like further details about how our CarrierNet platform can optimise your O2C cycle, whether you’re a transport operator or not, please contact Bashir Khan.