The make-or-break months
Choosing a TMS gets most of the attention. Implementing it is where the money is made or lost. A well-run implementation gives you clean data, rates that calculate correctly the first time, settlements drivers trust, and a team that knows the system. A rushed one gives you months of billing overrides, payroll corrections, frustrated dispatchers and a system everyone blames.
The software is capable. As our original site put it, "You need to install it right, customize it and train your staff to get the most out of it." The risk is in everything around the software:
- Waiting in the vendor's queue. Implementation teams are stretched, and your start date keeps moving.
- Dirty source data. Duplicate customers, old addresses, stale rate tables and inconsistent codes get converted straight into the new system.
- Generic setup. Tariffs, fuel surcharge tables, accessorials, pay plans and document formats are left at defaults that don't match how you run.
- Thin training. A couple of webinars, then everyone learns the hard way on go-live Monday.
- No one on the floor. When something breaks during go-live week, there's a support ticket instead of a person who can fix it.
Get started sooner
If you're moving to a new transportation system and the software company's timeline is too far out, we may be able to bring it back in by taking on the installation and training parts of the project. Vendors have limited resources, and we can help you get up and running sooner while staying aligned with the vendor's methodology and support team.
The same applies to upgrades. When it's upgrade time and the vendor is backed up for months, we can plan and run the upgrade, including custom code compatibility checks, in a test environment first (see Legacy TMS Advisory & Migration).
What we do in an implementation
Installation & environment
Server, database and workstation setup, user access, test and production environments, and the backup and recovery plan that should be in place before the first live load (see Data Protection & Business Continuity). As your business grows, we also handle adding workstations, licenses and terminals.
Configuration for how you haul
- Company, terminal, division and GL structure
- Customer tariffs, mileage bases, minimums and fuel surcharge schedules
- Accessorial codes and rules: detention, layover, stop-offs, lumpers, TONU, hazmat
- Driver and owner-operator pay plans, deductions, escrow and advances
- Equipment, trailers and maintenance setups
- Invoices, settlement statements, cheques, manifests and other business documents (see Reporting & Business Documents)
Data conversion
We plan the data path before anything moves. Customers, consignees and locations, rates, equipment, drivers, vendors and carriers, open AR and AP, and the history you need for reporting and audits are each mapped, cleansed, test-loaded and reconciled. We don't trust a conversion until the AR aging, open payables and key reports tie out to the old system. Cleanup often uses SQL directly against the source data (see SQL Data Mining & Analytics).
Interfaces
ELD and telematics feeds, EDI trading partners, fuel card imports, imaging and the accounting interface each need to be connected, tested and monitored. We coordinate the other vendors so the interfaces are ready on the same day as the TMS (see ELD, EDI & Back-Office Integration).
Testing
We test with your real freight: multi-stop loads, brokered loads, detention, consolidated invoices, owner-operator settlements with deductions, an EDI tender and status update. Then we run parallel where it makes sense, comparing invoices and settlements between old and new systems until they match.
Training
Role-based training for customer service, dispatch and planning, billing, payroll and settlements, safety, maintenance and accounting, on your data, on site or remote. Super-users get deeper training so knowledge stays in the building after we leave (see Training & Enablement).
Go-live week
A written cutover plan, a go/no-go checkpoint, and an experienced person on the floor. During go-live we sit with dispatch, billing and payroll, fix issues as they surface, and work the vendor's support queue on your behalf.
Scott had the knowledge, skills, and tools to train our staff and do necessary hardware setup remotely. […] Scott was able to make the transition that week smooth.
Independent by design
Strong Tower Consulting never requires you to buy our software. Our sister company, Exspeedite, builds a TMS, and that's why we understand implementations from the inside. We help you implement the system you chose, and we answer to you, not to a vendor.
Go-lives our clients remember
Since 2008, Strong Tower Consulting has helped carriers through first-time installs, software conversions, upgrades and go-live weeks. Our team includes people who led Training & Installation for a transportation software company and coordinated installations, training and go-lives across North America. Here's what clients have said, in their own words:
Scott Elliott was the key to our successful software transition. He had a cool head and a never say die attitude which no doubt played a huge part in our conversion success. He truly knows how to get the job done.
Scott was key in getting my company up and running with our new software package.
It was a seamless transition and the few small issues we ran into, common to any upgrade, were addressed quickly. We will certainly look to Strong Tower for future projects.
How an implementation runs
- Readiness review. Requirements, data quality, interfaces, hardware, staffing and calendar. We flag the risks before they become problems (see Business Analysis).
- Plan. Schedule, responsibilities across your team, the vendor and us, test plan, cutover plan and rollback plan (see Project & Program Management).
- Build. Install, configure, convert and connect interfaces, with regular checkpoints.
- Test & train. Scenario testing, parallel runs and role-based training.
- Go live. Cutover weekend and on-site go-live week.
- Stabilize. Post-go-live support, punch list and follow-up training as you use more of the system.
Are you ready to go live?
Before we recommend a go-live date, we want clear answers to a short list of questions. If any answer is "not yet," the date should wait.
- Do converted open AR and AP balances tie out to the old system, customer by customer and vendor by vendor?
- Have real loads been rated in the new system, including fuel surcharge and accessorials, with results that match what you bill today?
- Has a full payroll cycle been run in test, including owner-operator deductions, advances and escrow, and do the settlement statements match?
- Are EDI trading partners tested and ready to send tenders to, and receive status updates and invoices from, the new system?
- Are ELD, fuel card, imaging and accounting interfaces connected and verified with real data?
- Has every user been trained on the tasks they'll do on day one, and do you have super-users in each department?
- Is there a written cutover plan, a go/no-go decision point, and a rollback plan everyone understands?
This list is short on purpose. It's the difference between a go-live that feels like a busy week and one that feels like a crisis.
After go-live: using more of what you bought
Go-live is the beginning, not the end. Most carriers start with the core: order entry, dispatch, billing and settlements. Once the team is comfortable, there's usually much more value in the system. As we told clients on our original site, "There is a lot to the software, and you have more there than you know." Mid-Way Transportation, for example, kept us on for ongoing training and consulting as they implemented new parts of their software after go-live. We help you phase in the next layer, whether that's imaging, mobile communications, repair and maintenance, deeper reporting or new EDI partners, with the same care as the first.
What you get
| Deliverable | What it gives you |
|---|---|
| Readiness assessment | Known risks and gaps before the project starts |
| Configured system | Tariffs, pay plans, accessorials and documents set up for how you operate |
| Reconciled data conversion | Clean master data and open balances that tie out to the old system |
| Tested interfaces | ELD, EDI, fuel card, imaging and accounting connections verified before go-live |
| Trained staff & super-users | A team that knows the system on day one, with internal experts to carry it forward |
| Cutover & go-live support | A written runbook and an experienced person on the floor |
Who this is for
Truckload and LTL carriers, brokerages and 3PLs, intermodal and drayage operators, and private fleets that are:
- Implementing a TMS for the first time
- Replacing an older system and converting years of data
- Stuck waiting for a vendor implementation slot
- Mid-implementation and worried about go-live
- Live on a new system but using only part of it
Frequently asked questions
The vendor's implementation date is months away. Can you help us start sooner?
Often, yes. Software vendors have limited implementation resources. We can take on the installation, configuration and training parts of the project so you are not waiting in their queue, while coordinating closely with the vendor.
What data do you convert?
Typically customers, consignees and locations, rate tables and tariffs, fuel surcharge schedules, accessorial codes, equipment, drivers and pay plans, vendors and carriers, plus open AR and AP and whatever history you need for reporting. We map, cleanse, test-load and reconcile before cutover.
Do you train our staff?
Yes. Training is role-based: customer service and order entry, dispatch and planning, billing, payroll and settlements, safety and maintenance, and accounting. It can be on site or remote, and we train on your own data and scenarios.
Are you on site for go-live?
Usually, yes. Go-live week is when an experienced person on the floor matters most. We work alongside dispatch, billing and payroll, fix issues as they surface, and coordinate with the vendor's support team.
Do we have to be implementing Exspeedite for you to help?
No. Strong Tower Consulting is independent. Our implementation support never requires buying our sister company's software. We help carriers implement the system they have chosen.