Route and load planning
Multi-drop planning against vehicle capacity, driver hours and customer delivery windows, built around how your planners actually decide, not a generic algorithm.
✦ Transport management
Transport management system development
A transport management system should tell you what is happening on the road before the customer rings to ask. If your planners are still working from a whiteboard and a spreadsheet, or your off-the-shelf TMS has bent so far out of shape it no longer fits the fleet, we build one around how your operation actually runs.
✦ The problem
Why generic transport management software stops fitting
Most fleets start on an off-the-shelf transport management system because it is the sensible first step: quick to buy, well documented, and cheaper than building anything. It works well while the operation looks like every other operation the vendor sells to.
The trouble starts when your fleet does not look like every other fleet. Multi-drop routes with customer-specific delivery windows, backhaul rules that only make sense to your traffic planners, a mix of owned and subcontracted vehicles, or a billing model with agreed rates per customer rather than a standard rate card - generic transport management software copes with none of these gracefully. You end up running the system alongside three spreadsheets that do the parts it cannot.
A bespoke transport management system is not about having software for its own sake. It is about the planning screen matching how your planners actually think, the pricing engine matching how you actually invoice, and the driver app matching the paperwork your customers actually require.
✦ Capability
What a bespoke TMS typically covers
Live tracking and ETAs
Vehicle positions and delivery status visible to planners and, where you want it, to customers directly - without a phone call.
Proof of delivery
Signature, photo and timestamp capture on a driver app, synced straight back to the job and the invoice, with no paper to chase.
Rates and billing
Customer-specific rate cards, fuel surcharges and subcontractor costs calculated automatically, feeding straight into invoicing.
Compliance and driver hours
Working time and driving hours tracked against the rules that actually apply to your fleet, with alerts before a limit is breached.
Reporting for the office
Cost per mile, on-time performance and utilisation reported the way your finance team and your customers ask for it.
✦ Honest advice
When an off-the-shelf transport management system is the right answer
Not every fleet needs bespoke software, and we would rather tell you that now than take on a project that should not happen. If your routes are simple single-drop or hub-to-hub work, if your pricing is a standard rate card, and if a mainstream TMS already covers your compliance and reporting needs without workarounds, buying is faster and cheaper than building.
Bespoke development earns its cost when the off-the-shelf option is forcing your planners to work around the software rather than with it, when you are paying per-vehicle licence fees that scale badly as you grow, or when your pricing and customer agreements are genuinely non-standard. If you are not sure which camp you are in, that is exactly what the first call is for - we will tell you honestly if a configured off-the-shelf system will do the job.
✦ Integration
Systems a TMS usually needs to talk to
A transport management system rarely stands alone. It sits between order intake, the vehicles, and finance.
- Order and warehouse systems, so a picked order becomes a planned delivery automatically
- Telematics and vehicle tracking hardware already fitted to the fleet
- Accounting software, so proof of delivery triggers an invoice rather than a manual check
- Customer portals, so clients can see their own delivery status without calling
- Driver apps on the handsets drivers already carry, not new hardware to issue and lose
✦ Approach
How we build a transport management system
1
Map the real planning process
We sit with your traffic planners and watch how routes actually get built, including the exceptions and workarounds nobody has written down.
2
Design around your pricing and compliance rules
Rate cards, surcharges and driver hours rules are configured to match your contracts, not a generic template.
3
Build and integrate incrementally
Planning, tracking, proof of delivery and billing are delivered in stages, connected to your existing telematics and accounts systems as we go.
4
Support as your fleet changes
New customer contracts, new vehicle types and new compliance rules get built in over time rather than waiting for the next vendor upgrade cycle.
✦ Questions we get asked
Transport management system questions
How long does a bespoke TMS take to build?
A working first version covering planning, tracking and proof of delivery typically takes a few months. We usually launch with one part of the fleet or one depot and expand from there, rather than attempting a full replacement on day one.
Can you integrate with our existing telematics hardware?
In almost all cases, yes. Most telematics providers offer an API or data feed, and we build the TMS to pull positions and events from what is already fitted rather than asking you to re-equip the fleet.
We already use a TMS - can you extend it instead of replacing it?
Sometimes. If the core planning engine is sound but reporting or billing is the weak point, integration or a bolt-on module can be cheaper than a full rebuild. We will assess that honestly before recommending a rebuild.
Do drivers need new hardware?
Usually not. Driver apps are built for the phones or handheld devices drivers already carry, which keeps rollout simple and avoids a hardware budget line.
What does a bespoke TMS cost compared with an off-the-shelf licence?
It depends entirely on scope, and we only discuss real numbers on a call once we understand your fleet. As a rule, bespoke development suits fleets where per-vehicle licence costs on an off-the-shelf system have already grown large enough that a fixed-cost build pays for itself over a few years.
Can customers see their own deliveries without calling us?
Yes. A customer-facing tracking view is a common addition, showing live ETA and delivery status without your office fielding the call.
Talk to us about your transport management system We'll tell you what we'd build.
Tell us how your planners currently work and where the off-the-shelf system is getting in the way. We will give you an honest view before any quote.
No pitch deck · We map your process · You own the software