How a TMS Can Help with Driver Scheduling

The trucking industry is a fast-paced business and efficient driver scheduling is an important factor in maximizing productivity, minimizing costs, and ensuring customer satisfaction. A Transportation Management System (TMS) acts as a powerful tool for companies that hope to streamline the process of creating and managing driver schedules. In this post, we will highlight how a TMS enables efficient driver scheduling — from optimizing routes to factoring in hours-of-service regulations — a TMS empowers trucking companies to allocate their most valuable asset effectively.

4 Ways a TMS Impacts Driver Scheduling

A TMS improves driver scheduling by automating it. The automation process considers important factors like driver availability, hours of service, preferences, and more. A TMS optimizes routes based on real-time conditions to minimize travel time and fuel costs that impact drivers and profitability.

By tracking driver hours of service within your TMS, you can ensure compliance with regulations, preventing violations and associated penalties. In addition, matching loads with drivers based on schedule, location, and driver preference maximizes utilization and reduces empty miles, all while improving driver retention.  Real-time visibility into driver locations and schedules enhances communication, customer service, and helps companies be more proactive in resolving issues.

Route Planning

Route planning is a key feature of transportation management systems, and a TMS that offers advanced route planning capabilities optimizes driver scheduling by implementing factors like distance, road restrictions, and delivery windows. This leads to more efficient routes, reduced travel time, and helps minimize driver fatigue. With more efficient route planning, trucking companies can improve scheduling accuracy and driver satisfaction.

TMS Driver Apps

TMS driver apps give drivers the ability to manage their schedules directly, view assigned loads, access real-time updates, and communicate easily with dispatchers. With select TMS platforms, drivers can even accept or reject trips, review their current schedule, and receive alerts for upcoming assignments. This level of control and transparency promotes improved driver satisfaction and operational efficiency.

Load Planning

Load planning is an important piece of the puzzle for trucking companies and a TMS excels by consolidating shipments, optimizing truck capacity, and assigning loads to drivers based on their location, availability, and equipment type. Whether it be Less-than-Truckload (LTL) or Full Truckload (FTL), a TMS performs  efficient load distribution in an effort to reduce empty miles and improve driver utilization — which leads to more effective driver scheduling.

Dock Scheduling

A TMS can help trucking companies streamline dock scheduling by optimizing appointment times, minimizing wait times, and ensuring efficient loading and unloading. More efficient dock management directly impacts driver scheduling by reducing idle time, allowing for more accurate delivery times, and promoting better planning and utilization of your drivers' time. In addition — quality TMS options can integrate with many warehouse management systems (WMS) to enhance coordination between warehouse operations and transportation, leading to even more efficient driver scheduling.

Track Hours of Service

TMS platforms are a valuable asset for tracking driver hours of service in real-time, to help ensure your company remains compliant with state, federal, and provincial regulations and prevents violations. Accurate hours of service tracking gives dispatchers the ability to make informed scheduling decisions, avoid driver fatigue, maximize productivity, and remain within legal limits.

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READ MORE: How a TMS Can Help Alleviate the Driver Shortage Problem

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You may not realize it — but a Transportation Management System (TMS) provides companies with a powerful suite of tools that optimize driver scheduling in the trucking industry. From automating scheduling processes to optimizing routes, a TMS empowers trucking companies to allocate their drivers more efficiently. By learning how a TMS helps with driver scheduling and leveraging its capabilities, companies improve driver satisfaction, enhance customer service, and achieve more efficient operations. 

Contact TransPlus today to learn more about how TransPlus TMS can revolutionize your driver scheduling processes!

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