The Role of Transport Management Systems in Logistical Efficiency
Name: William
Date: 19/11/2013

The Role of Transport Management Systems in Logistical Efficiency
Over the years the importance of logistical operations has grown to cover virtually all operations associated with supply chain management for any typical organization. In addition, the use of information and communication (ICT) systems is quickly gaining popularity with any organization which aims at improving its productivity and service delivery. Consequently, logistical functions and specifically transportation management systems (TMSs) are consistently under strain to demonstrate significant contribution towards accomplishment of organizational objectives (Vanselous, 2013). Furthermore, with the current digitization of organizational operations, TMSs as well as corresponding logistical systems are quickly becoming the norm for organizational logistical efficiency. In this regard, in order to thoroughly understand the role of TMSs it is imperative to conduct further investigations on their impact on overall logistical efficiency.
In order to understand the role of transportation management systems, first, it is important to understand the difference between logistical efficiency and logistical effectiveness. According to Fugate, Mentzer and Stank (2010), logistical efficiency refers to organizational processes that involve the actual movement of products and services from one location to another within the allocated resources in order to attain distinct logistical performance. On the other hand logistical effectiveness refers to the specific impact resulting from logistical operations. However, countless logistics studies have shown that these two elements are mutually exclusive and therefore hard to mention one without discussing the other (Griffins et. al. 2004).
Apart from efficiency and