In the TSL industry, the word “innovation” has recently been used in every possible context. Software companies are racing to declare their use of artificial intelligence, algorithms, and automation. Transport company owners and dispatchers are bombarded with ads for systems that allegedly “do everything themselves.”
But let’s get real. When we look “under the hood” of many of these solutions, it turns out that what is grandly called AI is actually technology that has been standard in IT for 10 or 15 years.
What does a carrier actually expect? Not colorful charts that add no value. They expect a real acceleration of work. They need help with difficult decisions, standardized processes, faster onboarding of new dispatchers, and reliable foundations.
Let’s look at what the market offers today, what is a myth, and where the technology that actually saves money begins.
Is the keyboard too hot to touch? Why are we still re-typing the same data?
Before we move on to artificial intelligence, let’s talk about “system intelligence,” which is missing in many companies.
What does a typical day in an office without an integrated system look like? Let’s check step by step:
- A dispatcher looks for an order on a load board or receives it from a regular client.
- They quickly enter the basic data into Excel so they don’t lose it.
- Then they log into telematics to check on a map where the company’s vehicles are physically located.
- They return to their Excel sheet to verify what those trucks are currently doing (what loads are assigned to them and when they finish).
- Based on this, they identify vehicles that could potentially take on a new load.
- They switch back to telematics. They check the available working hours of the drivers and, in their head—or on a piece of paper—calculate which one will actually make it to the site in time.
- They make the final decision and assign the truck to the order.
- They copy the addresses and guidelines and send them to the driver… on private WhatsApp.
- Only now, to keep things organized, do they enter the order data into the company’s TMS system.
- And after the transport is completed and documents are physically delivered to the office, the billing clerk opens the accounting program and… re-enters the same data to issue a sales document.
This is a giant waste of time and an invitation for mistakes (a typo in the VAT number, an incorrect rate).
After all, at the moment of adding an order in the TMS system, you are already selecting a contractor. You have their data, you have the rate, the payment deadline. That information is already there. So why do you need a separate program for invoicing?
Using Excel or a paper notebook might seem convenient “in the moment,” but it is a trap. At some point, someone has to do the “dirty work” and move it to the system. This imposes unnecessary work on yourself or your employees.
AI is not needed here. You don’t need artificial intelligence to magically read data from your Excel. You need a comprehensive solution. One system where data flows naturally: Order -> Execution -> Invoice. No re-typing. No errors.
Myth 1: OCR is not a revolution
Many companies boast that their system automatically imports data from invoices or transport orders (PDFs/photos). This is very useful, true. It saves time typing data from emails. But if a software provider builds their entire image as an innovator on this, a warning light should go off.
OCR technology is not a “game changer.” Real innovation begins where simple data re-typing ends and analysis, prediction, and simulation begin.
Myth 2: Automatic planning is magic
Many TMS providers promise “automatic order planning.” It sounds like every dispatcher’s dream. Click and done. In practice, however, it is often just a simple filter.
If you have an order that requires a curtain sider trailer, the system simply hides reefers and tippers. This is not artificial intelligence. It is simple logic: IF trailer = curtain sider THEN show. Calling this an “AI Matcher” is an overstatement. Such a mechanism does not help a human in strategic route planning; it doesn’t take into account the relationship with the client, the specifics of the loading, or the history of cooperation. It is just a digital sieve, not an intelligent assistant.
Myth 3: Google Maps is enough for route planning
This is one of the most dangerous myths that actually costs transport companies thousands of dollars a year.
Many smaller carriers or novice dispatchers use Google Maps. It’s a brilliant tool when driving a passenger car on vacation. But in heavy transport? It’s a risk.
Google Maps doesn’t know you are driving a 40-ton set. It doesn’t consider:
- Vehicle dimensions (bridges, tunnels).
- Tonnage.
- Speed limits for trucks (it overestimates average speed, making the ETA misleading).
The result? The driver gets stuck before a bridge, covers extra miles, and the calculated arrival time is unrealistic.
Of course, there are more advanced tools on the market—Hogs maps or map modules in systems like FireTMS. They are already much better because they “understand” dimensions. They will plot a route safe for a truck. But… what do they still fail to take into account?
The driver’s working time at the moment of planning.
What good is a map that plots an ideal 6-hour route if your driver has to take a daily break in 4 hours and there is no parking nearby? A traditional map sees the road but doesn’t see the human and the regulations.
Myth 4: Profitability calculated “by eye”
Another area where technology often fails is finance. “AI Market Price,” or suggested order valuations.
Why are most TMSs unable to calculate this correctly? Because they only see a fragment of reality. They usually take into account the fuel price, estimated road tolls in Europe, and the driver’s rate.
What about the rest? Where are the office costs, leasings, insurance (OCP), tire replacement fund, sudden repairs, taxes, company investments?
Budgeting “by eye” might work in good times. But with current margins, just a few unfortunate calculations are enough for a vehicle or the entire company to end up in the red.
Are you able to take such a risk? A system that suggests a rate without knowing your loan installments is like a financial advisor who doesn’t know how much you earn. To know how to pay less for motorways (by choosing alternative routes) and maintain a margin of, say, 10%, you must see the full picture of costs.
Myth 5: TMS is unnecessary for a small company
As long as the company is small and the fleet consists of only a few trucks, knowledge can be passed between one or two employees from desk to desk fairly efficiently. Theoretically, everything could be managed on paper or in a simple spreadsheet. It’s not the most efficient way, but it will work somehow. Usually, it’s only when the 10th, 15th, or 20th vehicle appears and things start to get crowded that companies feverishly begin searching for a TMS.
Here, the problem arises in distinguishing effort from real business result (in business jargon: output vs outcome). Transport companies very often decide to implement a TMS only when they are completely lost and errors in Excel start costing serious money (e.g., missed payment deadlines, empty runs).
This is a mistake. It’s worth looking at it from another angle: early implementation of solid software brings benefits that many times exceed the monthly subscription fee.
A good program gives the company a completely new pace. It streamlines processes, frees up the dispatcher’s time, and allows them to focus on analyzing the market and grabbing better loads, rather than mechanically re-typing license plates. It’s a bit like switching from a regular phone to a smartphone. You could call a client with an old keypad phone too (you performed the work / output). But the smartphone gave you maps, email access on the road, and instant messengers, which allowed you to work twice as fast and win clients on the fly (you achieved a new result / outcome).
It is worth using a TMS even starting from 1 vehicle. It is much easier to grow a company when you have built solid digital foundations from the start. Especially since system prices today are flexibly adjusted to the size of the fleet, so even the smallest players risk nothing.
Facts: Where does true innovation lie?
So what should a modern tool look like? Here we must refer to facts and solutions that actually change the rules of the game. At ONYX TMS, we approached the subject of AI not as an add-on, but as a foundation.
Here is what artificial intelligence can do when it has access to all the data in one place:
1. Future working time simulation
This is the “killer feature” of true telematics. Imagine the system considers driver working time regulations, the planned route, AND current orders.
The AI in ONYX simulates the driver’s work ahead of time. Because of this, you don’t have to manually calculate whether the driver will run out of driving time at the fourth unloading point. The system sees it before you even send the order. It knows how a potential break will affect the ETA and will warn you before you make a mistake. This is a real translation of technology into safety and punctuality.
2. True integration with the tachograph
Telematics and the tachograph cannot be separate entities. In our system, remote reading of DDD files from the tachograph happens in the background, and this data immediately updates planning possibilities. You don’t have to import anything, send anything, or ask the driver to download the card. The system “knows” how much time is left and will not allow a route to be planned that breaks the rules.
Summary: Choose once, and choose well
There are a multitude of tools in logistics. You can have separate telematics, a separate program for working time, a separate TMS, and Excel tables. But changing software is always stressful and costly. It is worth choosing a provider that offers an ecosystem.
Why? Because fleet telematics combined with invoicing and a map allows for the kind of automation I wrote about above. If the system “knows” the order, it will prepare the invoice data itself. If it “knows” the tachograph, it will calculate the route itself. Separated systems will never give you such an advantage because they don’t exchange data in real time.
In ONYX TMS, we have enclosed all of this in one consistent tool. Automatic planning considering working time, remote reading of DDD files, precise maps for trucks, and finances that add up.
Want to see how it works in practice?
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