5 Signs Your Transport Management Operation is Ready for a Transport Management System

If you’re still planning routes on spreadsheets and chasing drivers for PODs, you already know something needs to change. The real question is whether now is the right time to invest in a proper Transport Management System (TMS).

We’ve worked with over 200 UK hauliers, 3PLs, and distribution companies who have wrestled with this exact decision. The triggers that finally push operators to invest in a TMS are all pretty consistent, whether you’re running 10 vehicles or 100.

Here are five signs we see time and again that clearly indicate that your operation has outgrown manual processes and is ready for transformation.

1. Planning Takes Hours Every Morning, And You’re Still Not Getting It Right

Your transport manager arrives at 5 AM to start planning. By 9 AM, they’re still shuffling jobs between vehicles, dealing with last-minute changes, and trying to work out who can fit in that urgent collection.

Sound familiar? Whether you’re running full loads, groupage, or multidrop, manual planning means constant firefighting, as well as:

• Wasting hours on work that should take minutes
• Running inefficient routes because you can’t see all the options
• Underutilising vehicles (but you won’t know by how much)
• Redoing plans multiple times as jobs change

What a TMS can provide

Drag-and-drop planning cuts this from hours to minutes. We’ve had transport managers go from three-hour planning sessions to 30 minutes. The system suggests optimal vehicle assignments, calculates routes, and handles last-minute changes in seconds.

For 3PL operators juggling multiple clients, you can plan client-specific work separately or consolidate for better margins, whatever works best for each job.

2. Customers Keep Asking “Where’s My Delivery?” and You’re Scrambling for Answers

Customer calls. You put them on hold while you ring the driver, check your planning sheet, or make an educated guess based on when they left the depot. It’s not exactly streamlined.

Some larger competitors offer real-time tracking and automated updates. If you can’t match that visibility, you’re losing business, especially when quoting larger accounts that expect professional logistics operations.

What a TMS can provide:

• Real-time GPS tracking on every vehicle
• Automated customer updates via SMS or email
• A customer portal that gives them tracking without them needing to call you
• Accurate ETAs instead of “should be with you this afternoon”

For 3PL operators, client portals are huge. Each customer gets their own branded tracking experience, which proves you can deliver the same visibility as the big players. That’s what wins you accounts.

For pallet network members, our automated network routing works with Palletline and others. You can manage network traffic alongside your own account work in one system, hitting those tight SLAs without the chaos.

3. You’re Losing Margin and You Can’t Work Out Where

Revenue’s up. But profit, not so much. You suspect you’re running inefficient routes, paying too much to subcontractors, or undercharging certain customers. But proving it is difficult as it requires data that you simply don’t have.

Here’s what you don’t have visibility on:

• Which customers are actually profitable
• Which routes are bleeding money
• How much you’re spending on empty miles
• Whether you really need those subcontractors or if you’ve got spare capacity

Proper reporting shows you exactly where every pound goes. With our customers, they typically see 15-25% cost reductions in the first year. That’s not software cost, that’s money going straight to your bottom line.

Most Vigo customers hit payback within six months. After that, it’s pure margin improvement.

What the data usually shows:

You thought vehicle utilization was 85%? It’s actually 68%. Those routes you’ve always run? They’re 15% longer than they need to be. That subcontractor you use regularly? You’re paying premium rates when you’ve got spare capacity sitting idle.

These insights alone pay for the system.

4. You’re Spending Evenings and Weekends Chasing Paper PODs

Every job needs a proof of delivery. Getting them back from drivers, matching them to invoices, filing them properly – it all takes days. Meanwhile:

• Customers are calling asking where their POD is.
• Your finance team can’t invoice because the paperwork’s still in the driver’s van.
• You’re working weekends just to catch up on admin.

For owner-operators especially, this one hurts. You’ve done the work, but you’re waiting weeks to get paid because of paper-based admin slowing everything down.

What a TMS can provide

Digital POD capture means proof of delivery hits the system seconds after the driver gets a signature. No more paper. No more filing cabinets. No more chasing.

Your office team can invoice immediately. Customers can view their PODs through a portal 24/7, which cuts your inbound calls massively.

5. You’re Turning Down Work Because You Can’t Scale

You’ve got opportunities to grow: new enquiries, bigger contracts, maybe even a chance to acquire a competitor. But you know your current setup won’t cope. Your operations director is telling you that doubling your vehicle count means more than doubling your office headcount. So you’re stuck. Growth sounds good in theory, but the reality is that tour systems will break.

The problem with manual systems: They don’t scale, they collapse.

• Adding 10 vehicles creates exponentially more complexity
• New depots mean duplicating broken processes
• Mixed work types (network and own account, or warehousing and transport) become unmanageable

We’ve watched operators go from 15 to 50 vehicles without adding planning staff. We’ve seen 3PLs double their client base while cutting admin overhead.

So… Is Your Operation Ready?

When a TMS Might Be Premature

Not every operation needs a TMS immediately. If you’re running fewer than 5 vehicles with simple, repetitive routes, spreadsheets might genuinely be enough for now. If your team is resistant to technology and you don’t have time to invest in proper training, the system won’t deliver value.

A TMS also won’t fix fundamental business problems. If you don’t know your costs or you’re undercharging customers, you need to sort that out first. The software will just give you better data about problems you will need to fix.

The sweet spot for TMS investment is typically when you’re running 8-15+ vehicles, handling mixed work types, or fielding regular customer complaints about visibility. That’s when manual processes break down faster than you can patch them.

If You’re Past That Tipping Point

If you’re nodding along to two or more of these, you’ve outgrown manual processes. The good news is that you’re in the perfect position to benefit from a purpose-built TMS. If you’re planning routes on spreadsheets, working weekends on admin, or passing up growth opportunities because your systems can’t handle them, let’s have a conversation.

Book your free TMS demo session, or contact us to speak to one of our experts.