TMS (Transport Management System)

A TMS (transport management system) is software that digitises a company's transport operations – from order intake through dispatch and route planning to live tracking, proof of delivery, and billing. Instead of spreadsheets, phone chains, and paper documents, the whole team works in one system on the same real-time data.

Core functions of a TMS

• Order management: capture orders digitally – via web, email, booking page, shop integration, or API – and track their status from intake to delivery.
• Dispatch: assign drivers and vehicles, increasingly with AI suggestions (dispatch software).
• Route planning: put stops in the most economical order automatically (route planning software).
• Fleet & drivers: manage vehicles, deadlines, documents, and driver profiles (fleet management).
• Live tracking: follow shipments in real time and give customers tracking links.
• Proof of delivery: document deliveries with photo, signature, and GPS stamp (digital proof of delivery).
• Billing: turn delivered orders into invoices, including e-invoices.

Cloud TMS vs. legacy systems

Legacy transport and forwarding software often runs on your own servers, is licensed per seat, and takes months-long projects to roll out. Cloud TMS run in the browser, are live in days, and grow usage-based – an advantage especially for couriers, small forwarders, and in-house fleets. Our TMS software comparison gives an honest market overview.

TMS vs. WMS vs. ERP

A TMS runs transport. A WMS (warehouse management system) runs the warehouse, and an ERP runs the whole company (finance, purchasing, HR). In practice the systems connect via interfaces: the ERP hands over orders, the TMS organises delivery and reports status and proofs back.

The Maxmove TMS

Maxmove is a cloud TMS for couriers, forwarders, and fleets: AI dispatch, route planning, fleet management, and digital proof of delivery in one system – free to start, billed by shipment volume instead of per user, plus marketplace orders for spare capacity.