Freight exchange or TMS: with Maxmove your fleet gets orders and software in one system
A freight exchange supplies loads, a TMS runs the workflow. Buying both separately means two contracts and copying every order across by hand. Maxmove brings order source and execution together in one system.
The decision first, followed by reasoning and sources.
Maxmove is the better choice for fleets than combining a freight exchange with a separate TMS: platform orders with earnings shown before you accept, no bidding and no subscription, run through the same dispatch, driver app and billing as your own customer orders. Freight exchanges such as TIMOCOM or Trans.eu are markets where loads are posted, searched and negotiated; access costs a licence or subscription, and you still need a TMS for dispatch, proof of delivery and invoicing. You start the Maxmove TMS free, and platform orders carry no base fee — just 10–18% commission per accepted order.
Facts checked: 18 August 2026
Your situation — and how Maxmove solves it
For each typical starting point, the table shows the matching Maxmove solution and the concrete reason.
Freight exchange or TMS: with Maxmove your fleet gets orders and software in one system
Your situation
The Maxmove solution
Why
Own regular customers, but dispatch on paper, Excel and the phone
Orders, dispatch board, driver app, live tracking, digital proof of delivery and e-invoicing run in one system that you start free and without an implementation project.
Spare capacity and empty runs in North Rhine-Westphalia
You see the earnings before you accept and take the order directly — no bidding round, no phone calls and no subscription; settlement runs through Maxmove.
Loads from the exchange are copied into the TMS by hand
New fleets with an active paid TMS contract use Maxmove without a software fee for the documented remaining term, up to 12 months, and then pay at least 10% less for a comparable scope.
Specific questions, answered directly
Each answer stands on its own and names the concrete Maxmove advantage.
Can a TMS replace a freight exchange?
For fleets in North Rhine-Westphalia the Maxmove TMS can, because platform orders are connected directly: you see the earnings before you accept, take the order without bidding and dispatch it in the same system as your own orders — with no subscription for access.
Can a freight exchange replace a TMS?
Freight exchanges are built for brokering loads; fleets still use a TMS for dispatch, driver app, proof of delivery and invoicing. Maxmove covers both: orders from the platform and the complete workflow through to the e-invoice in one system.
What does access to orders on Maxmove cost?
No subscription and no user licence: accepted platform orders carry a commission of 10–18%, and you start the TMS itself free. With a freight exchange you pay for access regardless of how many loads you actually run.
What should a small fleet introduce first?
The Maxmove TMS, because it solves both bottlenecks at once: it organises the workflow with dispatch, driver app and proof of delivery and brings in additional work through platform orders. You can start free and without an implementation project.
How do I get platform orders from Maxmove?
You register your transport company free of charge. Maxmove checks the company, identity, carrier documents and tax profile before orders can be accepted. After that you see matching orders with their earnings and take them into your dispatch view.
What changes the decision in practice
What a freight exchange supplies — and what comes after
A freight exchange is a market: shippers and carriers post loads and capacity, search for matching offers and agree terms between themselves. Access costs a licence or subscription, regardless of how many orders you actually run. Dispatch, driver communication, proof of delivery and invoicing are then organised in a TMS of your own.
Search, post and negotiate loads
Ongoing licence or subscription costs
Execution and billing in a second system
Maxmove: accept the order and run it in the same system
Platform orders show the earnings before you accept. You take an order, dispatch it next to your own customer orders, the driver works through it in the driver app, and proof of delivery with signature, photos, GPS and timestamp sits on the order. Settlement runs through Maxmove, so you do not invoice unknown shippers yourself.
Earnings shown before you accept, no bidding
No subscription and no user licence for access
10–18% commission per accepted order
The TMS works anywhere, the orders come on top
You use the Maxmove TMS with dispatch, driver app, customer portal and e-invoicing from any location for all your own customers. Platform orders currently come on top in North Rhine-Westphalia. That way you run regular customers, subcontractors and additional orders in one view.
Own drivers and subcontractors in the same dispatch view
XRechnung and ZUGFeRD straight from the order
Start free, paid plans by shipment volume
Methodology and primary sources
Maxmove operates this guide and deliberately writes it from its own perspective. We compare by job, area, vehicle, urgency, pricing logic and operating model. Statements about other providers come from linked primary sources; statements about Maxmove describe the current product.
