Introduction

1970s: The Barcode

 

1980s: Birth of EDIFACT and ERP Systems

EDIFACT messaging protocol

Sample IFTMIN (Transport Instruction) message - 1 EUR pallet to John Doe:

UNA:+.? '
UNB+UNOA:3+4012345000016:14+4023083000008:14+240823:1550+12345'
UNH+1+IFTMIN:D:96A:UN'
BGM+610::9+1234567+9'
TSR+++3'
FTX+DEL+++Delivery to John Doe'
FTX+AVI+++Mr Adam Doe / 0123-12345678 (Avis recipient)'
FTX+SUR+++FRAGILE'
FTX+SPH++T'
TOD+6++EXW'
RFF+DQ:123456'
RFF+ON:654321'
RFF+ITP:PROVIDER-NAME'
NAD+CN+++John Doe+Sample Street 10+Düsseldorf++12345+DE'
NAD+CZ+4012345000016'
NAD+FW+4022128000003'
GID+1+36:CT'
FTX+AAA+++Test Goods'
MEA+WT+AAE+KGM:93'
PCI+33E'
GIN+BJ+00340258761202887418'
SGP+1'
GID+2+2:201'
FTX+AAA+++Test Goods'
SGP+1'
EQD+201+1'
EQN+1'
UNT+19+1'
UNH+3+IFTMIN:D:96A:UN'
BGM+610::9+1234567+9'
DTM+137:2408200825:203'
TSR+++3'
FTX+SPH++T'
TOD+6++DDP'
NAD+CN+++Sam Doe+Sample Street 12+Demotown++99999+DE'
NAD+CZ+4012345000016'
NAD+FW+4022128000003'
GID+1+1:EP:::Euro pallet'
FTX+AAA+++Test Goods'
MEA+WT+AAE+KGM:150'
PCI+33E'
GIN+BJ+00340258761202887425'
UNT+13+3'
UNZ+1+12345'

ERP systems

Around the same time, ERP systems started gaining traction. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) refers to software that helps organizations manage their daily operations, including areas like accounting and finance, sales, marketing, procurement, project management, risk management and compliance, human resources, customer relationships, logistics and manufacturing, supply chain management, and more.

ERP systems started as Material requirements planning (MRP) systems in the 1960s, when the J.I. Case tractor company and IBM collaborated to create the first MRP system.

In the 1980s, MRP evolved to MRP II, which combined financials and accounting with the traditional features of MRP - inventory and materials management. It's likely that the first modern ERP system was one of the more advanced MRP II systems, but they were still private developments and based on the mainframe computer.

Personal computer sales exploded in the early 1980s. The term ERP as we know it today was officially introduced in 1990 by Gartner. It had a graphical user interface and included all areas of the manufacturing business that were not included in MRP II, like human resources, scheduling, and sales. By 1990, ERP systems had begun to experience massive growth. The first modern ERPs on Windows included names like Visual Manufacturing, Vista, Vantage (Epicor) and KAOS.

All the ERP systems in the 1990s used a legacy on-premise model until 1996, when Netsuite created an ERP system that worked across the business functions of a company but was delivered over the internet.

1990s: Transportation Management Systems and The Dotcom Wave

As ERP modules

• In 1987, SAP introduced its Transportation Management module for the SAP ERP, allowing businesses to optimize logistics and supply chain functions. Read more on the evolution of SAP Transportation Management.
• Global Logistics Technologies (G-Log), founded in 1999, developed their GC3 platform, a comprehensive transport management and freight optimization system. Oracle Corporation acquired G-Log in 2005, rebranding GC3 as Oracle Transportation Management (OTM).

These modules primarily focused on process management and visibility for the shippers, providing a 10,000-foot-view view of their logistics operations, but without system-to-system integrations.

As Standalone Services

• Descartes, established in 1981, was one of the earliest player in the TMS landscape, with its popularity gaining traction especially in the mid-2000s. They started offering a suite of transportation management software solutions which were built with modularity in their core, meaning customers could mix and match different modules depending on their needs. Descartes is also known for their large carrier network called the Global Logistics Network™.
• Transporeon, founded in 2000 in Germany, aimed to bridge the gap observed in the existing ERP-TM modules. They connected industrial and retail businesses with their logistics providers, creating a seamless flow of information and transactions. By 2023, Transporeon's significant influence in Europe led to its acquisition by Trimble.

Freight Marketplaces

2000s: The Rise of Web APIs and the Cloud

One-way to two-way data Exchange: EDIFACT to SOAP and REST APIs 

Cloud Computing

Fleet Management Software and GPS Tracking

Dock Scheduling Software

To further streamline logistics operations, the 2000s saw the introduction of specialized dock scheduling software. These platforms optimized loading dock operations, minimizing wait times and ensuring that warehouses operated at peak efficiency. Carriers could reserve loading times in the customer’s warehouse. By systematizing the arrival and departure of shipments, these tools helped reduce logistical bottlenecks like queues of trucks and idle periods. One of the first dock scheduling software solutions on the market was C3 Reservations, developed by C3 Solutions, established in 2000.

Nowadays, most shippers would ideally like to centralize all their transport management needs in one software. By now, most TMS providers have built their dock scheduling software offerings which could be seamlessly integrated with your TMS solution (example dock scheduling software - Loading Calendar).

2010s: Digital Transformation

eCommerce and Multi-Carrier Shipping Software

• ShipStation (2011)
• ShipEngine (2011)
• Shippo (2013)
• ShipBob (2014)

Cloud-Based Transportation Management Systems

Watch a demo of a modern multi-carrier transportation management system (Example with Cargoson):

Virtual Freight Forwarders

2020s: Green Logistics and Sustainability

The Paris Agreement

From Carbon Accounting to Real-Time Transport Emission Calculation

However, the focus has been shifting from retrospective carbon accounting to actual, proactive behavior change in the 2020s. This can be illustrated with platforms like Cargoson pioneering the inclusion of real-time, transport emission calculation directly in the dashboard of the logistics manager making transport decisions on a daily basis. This proactive approach allowed businesses to make environmentally friendly transport decisions, marking a departure from retrospective carbon accounting.

If you'd like to test and play around with different shipment data, you can use the publicly available transport CO2 emission calculator.

Future trends

Conclusion