Freight Trans Manager
Freight Trans Manager is a TMS and ERP solution tailored for trucking, warehousing, freight brokers, dispatching, and other transportation companies, enabling them to:
- Manage shipments
- Communicate faster
- Create freight-related documents and automate processes
- Run reports and track finances
- Integrate with third-party applications such as load boards, GPS tracking, navigation, fuel, and accounting programs
Step 1: Which FTM do I pick?
Shippers
They usually source the loads. Examples are Manufacturers, Warehouses, etc.
Typically, they do not have their trucks/trailers to transport their goods. They might use the Equipment tab for their Forklift and/or local to short-distance vehicles.
Standard Salesforce Tabs: Accounts, Contacts, Products, Price Books, Reports, Dashboards
FTM Tabs: Lane Quotes, Loads, Facilities, Item Movements, Inventory
Brokers
They are the middle man between Shippers and Carriers. Examples are Freight Forwarders, Dispatching companies, 3PLs, etc.
They usually do not have their own assets (trucks and trailers).
Standard Salesforce Tabs: Accounts, Contacts, Reports, Dashboards
FTM Tabs: Lane Quotes, Loads, Facilities, Carriers, Legs, Load and Quote Line Items
Carriers
They are the actual transporters. Examples are Trucking companies, Shuttle Services, Local Delivery companies, etc.
They usually own their own assets and also lease owner operators (drivers who own trucks) to transport Shipper’s goods.
Standard Salesforce Tabs: Accounts, Contacts, Reports, Dashboards
FTM Tabs: Loads, Facilities, Fleet, Services, Fuel, Driving Distances
The end product can be a combination of any or all 3.
Step 2:Already on Salesforce?
YES
Install FTM on a Production or a Sandbox Org (for all users) from our AppExchange page.
NO
Get a brand new Salesforce Enterprise Edition Org with FTM installation and sample data.
Step 3: Import sample data to your Org
Go through this step only if you have answered Yes in the previous step.
Step 4: Live Demo
Start with dashboards and list views on the Home page since these are very important, particularly for the management to make quick and informed business decisions.
Shippers
1-Follow with Lane Quotes since Shippers need to accept/deny incoming bids from Carriers/Brokers.
2-On the Load tab, show different list views such as All, In Transit, Invoice Status (Kanban), etc. Inside a Load record illustrates how to create a PDF document (Rate Con, BoL, etc.) with a single click.
3-Show a Facility and its inbound/outbound movements. These are necessary for warehouse managers to keep track of their inventory.
Brokers
1-Follow with Lane Quotes since Brokers need the ability to quote a shipper quickly. Inside a Lane Quote record, illustrate how to create a PDF customer quote with a single click.
2-Create a load from an existing Lane Quote to avoid double entry and keep the quote history separate from the Shipment.
3-Inside a load record, show the margin percentage and amount since these are important metrics for when brokers book a load and assign it to a carrier. Also, show single-click PDF documents such as Rate con, Invoice, etc
Carriers
Follow up with the Fleet and Service pipeline (Kanban) to show truck/trailer specs and maintenance history.
Continue with Workers and their payment calculation options. Carriers usually have a combination of payment structures such as per mile, percentage, hourly, etc.
The Load tab shows different list views such as All, In Transit, Invoice Status (Kanban), etc. Inside a Load record illustrates how to create a PDF document (Invoice, BoL, etc.) with a single click.
Also, show email templates such as Load to Driver, Load to Carrier, Customer Quote, etc. Optionally go through Load child objects such as Line Items, Pay Items, Legs, and Cargo Items if there is a use case for the customer. The tariff tab comes in handy for scenarios where the customer pre-negotiates the shipping rates with a third party. The Expense tab and its child objects (Items and Transactions) can be explored if the customer needs to keep track of its purchases and costs. Please keep in mind, depending on the customer’s requirements, the ultimate product might have features from 2 or all three above categories. Good Luck!
