Selecting the Right Solution to Improve Freight Visibility and Capture Freight Metrics
Transport is one of the largest and most complex cost lines in most supply chains. It is also one of the least visible.
For many organisations across Australia and New Zealand, transport spend is spread across dozens of carriers, contracts, rate cards, spreadsheets, email inboxes, and legacy systems. Freight activity is often fragmented, reactive and heavily dependent on individual experience rather than structured data.
In that environment, it is no surprise that many organisations seek a “system” to solve the problem.
Done well, the right solution can significantly improve:
- Freight cost control
- Service reliability
- Visibility and reporting
- Carrier performance management
- Scalability as volumes grow
Done poorly, it becomes another underutilised platform—expensive to implement, hard to maintain, and delivering only a fraction of its potential value.
This article explores:
- What freight visibility and metrics solutions actually do
- When a Transport Management System (TMS) is the right fit
- When a TMS is too complex—and what to do instead
- Common pitfalls in freight visibility programs
- What good implementation looks like
- How visibility and metrics fit within broader supply chain and operating model decisions
- How Trace Consultants can help organisations select and implement the right solution successfully
What Are Freight Visibility and Metrics Solutions?
At their core, freight visibility and metrics solutions help organisations capture, structure and use freight data to support better decision-making.
Depending on configuration and maturity, solutions in this space can support:
- Freight data capture across carriers, sites and channels
- Shipment tracking and milestone visibility
- Freight cost reporting and allocation
- Carrier performance measurement
- Exception management and proactive alerts
- Freight invoicing analytics and accrual accuracy
- Continuous improvement through lane, mode and service insights
Importantly, this capability is not merely “a dashboard”. It is an enabler of better freight management.
Without clear processes, governance and data discipline, even the best visibility tool will struggle to deliver value.
Why Freight Visibility and Metrics Are Getting More Attention in Australia and New Zealand
Several factors are driving increased focus on freight visibility and performance data across the region.
1. Transport Costs Continue to Rise
Fuel volatility, labour constraints, regulatory requirements and network congestion have all contributed to upward pressure on freight costs.
Organisations are under growing pressure to:
- Understand true landed cost
- Identify cost drivers
- Recover control over fragmented transport spend
Better visibility and metrics provide the data foundation required to do this effectively.
2. Complexity Is Increasing
Many organisations now operate:
- Multiple warehouses
- Multiple delivery channels
- A mix of linehaul, metro, regional and last-mile freight
- Outsourced and in-house transport
Manual tools struggle to handle this level of complexity—especially when data resides in many places.
3. Service Expectations Are Higher
Customers expect:
- Shorter lead times
- Reliable delivery windows
- Proactive communication
Transport performance is increasingly visible to customers—and failures are felt immediately. Internal visibility needs to align with external expectations.
4. Organisations Are Scaling
As volumes increase, informal freight management approaches break down.
The right solution enables organisations to scale insight and control without proportionally increasing headcount or risk.
When a TMS Is the Right Fit
A Transport Management System can be a powerful solution—but only in the right context.
A TMS is designed to plan, execute, monitor and optimise freight movements. That means it is most valuable when you need to actively manage freight operations—not just measure them.
Strong Indicators That a TMS Is Needed
Freight Execution Needs Structure and Control
If an organisation needs to consistently:
- Allocate carriers
- Apply freight business rules
- Manage bookings and dispatch
- Optimise loads and routes
…a TMS is often the right foundation.
Carrier Management Is Highly Manual
Common signs include:
- Bookings managed via email or phone
- Rate cards stored in spreadsheets
- Limited ability to compare carrier options
A TMS introduces structure and consistency.
Decision-Making Needs Governance
When different sites or teams make freight decisions independently, outcomes vary widely. A TMS enables governance while preserving operational flexibility.
You Need Both Visibility and Action
If visibility is useful only when paired with the ability to intervene—re-plan, re-book, reroute, escalate—then a TMS becomes a practical tool, not just a reporting layer.
When a TMS Is Too Complex (and What to Do Instead)
Just as important is knowing when not to start with a TMS.
In many organisations, the immediate need is visibility and metrics—not freight execution optimisation. In these cases, a full TMS can introduce unnecessary complexity and cost.
Scenarios Where a TMS May Be the Wrong First Step
The Goal Is Visibility, Not Execution
If the primary objective is to:
- Capture freight spend and volumes
- Track service performance
- Improve reporting consistency
- Create trusted metrics across carriers
…then a lighter solution may be more effective than implementing a full TMS.
Operations Are Low-Complexity
For low-volume, stable networks (or where carriers handle most execution steps), a TMS may incur overhead without a proportional return.
Underlying Processes Are Broken
If:
- Transport rules are unclear
- Rate structures are inconsistent
- Carrier performance expectations are undefined
…then automating those problems will not fix them.
Data Quality Is Not Ready
Visibility platforms and TMS solutions alike rely on:
- Accurate order data
- Clean master data
- Disciplined execution
Without this foundation, confidence in the system erodes quickly.
What to Use Instead of a TMS (When the Need Is Metrics and Visibility)
Depending on maturity, organisations often achieve faster outcomes through:
- Freight analytics and spend visibility platforms
- Track-and-trace visibility solutions
- Control tower reporting layers
- BI and data integration solutions built around clean freight data models
- Invoice audit and freight payment tools with reporting capability
What Freight Visibility Solutions Can (and Can’t) Do
Understanding boundaries is critical.
What Visibility and Metrics Solutions Can Do Well
- Consolidate freight data from multiple sources
- Create consistent reporting and KPI definitions
- Provide milestone tracking and exception visibility
- Measure carrier performance against service levels
- Highlight cost drivers and lane trends
What They Cannot Do Alone
- Fix poorly negotiated contracts
- Resolve carrier capacity issues
- Replace strong transport governance
- Compensate for unclear service strategy
Visibility amplifies the quality of the operating model it supports.
Common Pitfalls in Visibility and Metrics Programs
Across many organisations, similar issues appear time and again.
Treating It as a Reporting Exercise
One of the most common mistakes is treating visibility as “just dashboards”.
In reality, visibility programs are decision-support programs. They only succeed when:
- Metrics are trusted
- Decision rights are clear
- Actions follow insight
Over-Engineering the First Step
Trying to implement a full end-to-end solution from day one often leads to:
- Longer timelines
- Higher costs
- Lower adoption
Good programs stage capability: capture clean data first, then build sophistication.
Inconsistent KPI Definitions
If different teams measure different versions of:
- On-time delivery
- DIFOT
- Cost per unit
- Claims and exceptions
…then reporting becomes contested instead of useful.
Poor Carrier Engagement
Carriers are critical to visibility, especially for milestone events and exception data.
If they are not:
- Engaged early
- Supported through onboarding
- Clear on data expectations
…execution and data quality suffer.
What Good Implementation Looks Like
Successful visibility and metrics programs share several characteristics.
Clear Objectives from the Start
Organisations that succeed are clear on:
- Why they are improving visibility
- What problems they are solving
- What success looks like
This clarity shapes design decisions throughout the program.
A Strong Data Foundation
Good programs define:
- What data is required
- Where it will come from
- Who owns it
- How quality will be governed
Phased and Practical Delivery
Rather than trying to deliver everything at once, high-performing programs:
- Prioritise high-value metrics and use cases
- Roll out in stages
- Build trust early
Operational Ownership
The best implementations are owned by the business—not IT. Transport, supply chain and operations leaders actively shape the outcomes and embed the practices.
Visibility and the Broader Supply Chain
Freight visibility does not operate in isolation.
Integration with Warehousing
Warehouse cut-off times, dock schedules and load build processes all influence transport outcomes. Visibility must reflect operational reality—not just system timestamps.
Inventory and Network Strategy
Freight insights affect:
- Inventory placement
- Safety stock requirements
- Network design trade-offs
The value is not the data itself, but how it informs decisions.
Workforce and Capability
Introducing visibility changes:
- Roles and responsibilities
- Skills required
- Decision rights
This needs to be planned, not left to chance.
Measuring Success After Implementation
Organisations should track benefits beyond go-live.
Common measures include:
- Freight cost per unit
- Carrier performance against service levels
- On-time, in-full delivery
- Transport productivity
- Exception rates
- Data completeness and accuracy
Importantly, these metrics must be trusted by the business.
How Trace Consultants Can Help
Trace Consultants supports organisations across Australia and New Zealand to improve freight visibility, capture meaningful metrics, and implement solutions that deliver real, lasting value.
Our role is not to sell software. It is to help organisations make better transport decisions, supported by the right technology.
Independent and Vendor-Agnostic
We are not aligned to any specific platform. This allows us to:
- Objectively assess options
- Avoid over-engineering
- Select solutions that fit the operating model
Focus on the Operating Model First
We start with:
- Transport strategy and service design
- Governance and decision rights
- Carrier and contract structures
- KPI definitions and reporting needs
Only then do we select the technology approach—whether that is a TMS or something lighter.
Practical Implementation Experience
Our approach is grounded in real operational experience across:
- Retail
- Manufacturing
- FMCG
- Healthcare
- Government and complex service environments
We understand how transport actually runs—not just how systems are configured.
End-to-End Support
Trace Consultants can support organisations through:
- Freight visibility feasibility and business case development
- KPI and reporting framework definition
- Requirements definition and data model design
- Vendor evaluation and selection
- Implementation governance
- Change management and adoption
- Post-implementation performance optimisation
Avoiding Common Traps
Perhaps most importantly, we help organisations:
- Avoid over-engineering
- Set realistic expectations
- Sequence change effectively
This significantly increases the likelihood of success.
Final Thoughts
Selecting the right solution to support freight visibility and capture metrics can be transformative—but only when done for the right reasons and in the right way.
A TMS is not the answer to every visibility problem. It is a powerful enabler when:
- Freight execution needs structured control
- Decision-making must be governed at scale
- Visibility must be paired with the ability to act
In other cases, a lighter visibility and analytics solution can deliver faster value with less complexity—particularly when the core need is trusted metrics, consistent reporting and performance insight.
For organisations across Australia and New Zealand grappling with rising freight costs, service pressure and increasing complexity, the goal is the same: visibility, control and scalability.
The key is not rushing to a specific technology category, but taking the time to design how freight information should flow, how decisions should be made, and what success should look like—then selecting the solution that makes that future state real.
If your freight operation feels increasingly opaque or reactive, the question may not be whether to implement a TMS—but what level of solution you truly need to create visibility that genuinely makes a difference.
