Why a consistent model matters
Technology projects in trucking companies rarely fail because of the software. They fail because nobody looked closely at how the business actually runs before changing it, because the plan didn't account for dispatch still needing to cover loads during cutover, or because the consultants left the week after go-live and the gains slowly leaked away. Our engagement model exists to prevent each of those failures.
Strong Tower Consulting has worked with carriers since 2008, through installations, upgrades, conversions, and go-live weeks. The four phases below are the pattern that experience taught us. Whether you engage us for a two-person training session or a full system replacement, the work follows the same logic, sized to fit.
Phase 1: Analyze
We start by understanding your company through its technology. That means more than reading a system inventory. We sit with the people who do the work: order entry, dispatch, billing, payroll and settlements, safety, maintenance, and leadership. We watch how a load moves from tender to invoice to settlement, and we note every place it gets re-keyed, held up, or worked around.
Then we look under the hood: TMS version and configuration, customizations and interfaces, data quality, reports, hardware, backups, and access. We ask the questions leadership needs answered. Is the system of record trustworthy? Where is money leaking, through missed accessorials, slow billing, or settlement errors? What is the real risk if the server fails tonight?
What you get: a written picture of where you stand, with findings ranked by business impact. For many clients, this phase is delivered as a standalone Technology Assessment.
Phase 2: Streamline
With the facts in hand, we design the better way. That may mean redesigning a workflow so billing happens the day a load delivers, cleaning up rate tables and fuel surcharge setups, reworking user roles, connecting an ELD or EDI feed so data stops being typed twice, or building a technology roadmap and budget that ties every investment to a business outcome.
Streamlining is where independence matters most. Often the answer is not new software but better use of what you already own. As we have said since our earliest days: if we don't think the answer is more licenses or features, we will tell you. When a new system genuinely is the right call, we help you choose it without vendor bias through TMS Selection & Advisory.
What you get: future-state process designs, requirements, and a prioritized roadmap with costs and trade-offs your leadership can approve.
Phase 3: Deliver
Plans don't move freight. In the Deliver phase we manage the work to completion, whether that's a configuration cleanup, a set of new reports, an integration, an upgrade, or a full TMS implementation and go-live. We set the scope, schedule, test plan, and rollback plan, assign clear ownership on your team and ours, and report status in plain language.
For cutovers, we plan around the freight. Data conversion is test-loaded and reconciled before go-live. Parallel runs are planned so billing and settlements can be checked. On go-live week we are typically on site, beside your dispatchers and billers, solving problems as they come up. See Project & Program Management for how we keep projects on track.
What you get: the agreed result, delivered and verified, with documentation your team can maintain.
Phase 4: Sustain
The day after go-live is when most value is won or lost. People slip back into old habits, new hires learn from whoever sits next to them, and small issues pile up. The Sustain phase keeps the gains in place through training, on-site and remote support, periodic reviews, and ongoing advisory.
Many clients stay with us for years in this phase. Our goal has always been a long-term satisfied client and an ongoing, mutually profitable relationship, not a one-time project.
What you get: a team that keeps getting full value from its systems, and a partner who already knows your operation when the next decision comes.
Independent by design
Strong Tower Consulting never requires you to buy our software. Our sister company, Exspeedite, builds transportation software, but our consulting works with the platforms you have: legacy or modern, packaged or homegrown. If you ever ask us about software, you'll get an honest answer, including when another product is the better fit.
Engagement types
The four phases describe how the work fits together. How you engage us depends on what you need. These are the common forms:
| Engagement | What it is | Best when |
|---|---|---|
| Technology Assessment | A defined review of your systems, data, workflows, integrations, infrastructure, and people, ending in written findings and a roadmap | You want an honest picture before committing to anything bigger |
| Project | A defined scope with a clear result: an implementation, upgrade, migration, integration, process redesign, or report set | You know what needs to happen and need it delivered well |
| Retainer / fractional leadership | Ongoing advisory and technology leadership on a regular schedule (see Fractional Freight CIO) | You need senior technology judgment without a full-time executive |
| Support agreement | Committed on-site days each month for a fixed price, plus remote support | You want dependable, budgetable help from people who know freight systems |
| Training program | Role-based classes on site or live remote sessions through STC University | Your team is using a fraction of what the system can do |
Engagements often lead into one another. An assessment can identify a project. A project usually ends in training and support. Each step is agreed separately, and there is no obligation to continue.
What you can expect from us
- Freight fluency. We speak dispatch, billing, settlements, and safety. You won't spend weeks teaching us what a tariff, a detention charge, or an IFTA return is.
- Honest answers. We tell you what we find, including when the problem is a process rather than a system, and when the right answer is to do nothing.
- Written scope. Every engagement is scoped to your operation and agreed in writing before work starts.
- Plain reporting. Regular status in business terms: what's done, what's next, what's at risk.
- Respect for the operation. We plan work around the freight day, month-end close, and pay periods.
- Knowledge transfer. Documentation and training so your company is less dependent on any one person, including us.
I am very impressed with Scott Elliott and the depth of his knowledge as well as concerted effort to be a true business partner of ours.
Frequently asked questions
Where does a typical engagement start?
Most clients start with a conversation and then a Technology Assessment. The assessment gives both sides a clear picture of your systems, data, workflows, and people before anyone commits to a larger project.
Do we have to go through all four phases?
No. Some clients need only an assessment. Others bring us in to deliver a project that is already defined, or for ongoing support and training. The four phases describe how the work fits together, not a package you must buy.
How is an engagement priced?
Each engagement is scoped to your operation and agreed in writing before work starts. On-site support agreements are a fixed monthly price. We do not publish standard rates because the right scope depends on your company.
Do you work on site or remotely?
Both. Discovery, go-live weeks, and larger training classes are usually on site. Much of the ongoing work, including analysis, report building, and support between visits, is done remotely. We match the mix to the work.
Will you try to sell us Exspeedite software?
No. Our consulting never requires buying our sister company's software. We work with the systems you have. If you ask us about software, you will get an honest answer, including when another product is the better fit.