10 Best Transload Management Software for Enterprises in 2024: Ultimate Guide
Looking for a great transload management software?
The wrong solution can aggravate record-keeping inefficiencies and cost you money.
For instance, if a platform has limited document management capabilities, you’ll spend a lot of time on paperwork, thereby decreasing your throughput.
A study by FourKitties revealed that, for 42% of reloading yards, paperwork is the biggest challenge. This decreased their ability to process orders quickly.
You can digitize paperwork by leveraging the best transload management software. It may provide customizable and electronic bills of lading, meaning that truckers don’t have to wait in line and yard staff spend less time filing and processing paperwork.
So the right solution can help increase throughput, enabling you to take on higher shipment volumes without necessarily acquiring more yard space.
In this article, we’ll discuss the best transload management software in 2024 to help you make your transloading operations more efficient and profitable.
Quick summary:
1. transloads.co – Best for full shipment life-cycle management.
2. Cedar transload – Best for end-to-end invoice automation.
3. Transloading Software – Best for its customer portal.
4. Dearman – Best for unifying multi-terminal data.
5. Depot Software – Best for managing container transloading.
Let’s get started.
1. transloads.co
transloads.co is an all-inclusive solution.
One of the key features of transloads.co is full shipment lifecycle management with key timestamps that lets you assign docks and dock workers optimally to reduce idle times & maximize resource utilization.
Moreover, you get cloud-based document management, which enables you to access manuals and checklists on your mobile to streamline collaboration.
Our software also offers customizable .docx document templates for quick drafting and styling of bill of lading files and invoices. So it’s one of the best transload management software for simplifying document work and improving productivity.
Best features:
- You get a user interface that supports multi-commodity handling. So you can finetune the application to meet your unique cargo needs, including dry bulk, liquid bulk, ISO containers, and pallets among many other types of freights.
- transloads.co has a task management dashboard that lets you create and assign inventory audits and loading work, among other tasks, to transload operators and yard staff. You can even track time to completion to help increase productivity.
- It also gives you important inventory automation features that let you manage inventory in warehouses, shipping containers, railcars, and yards more efficiently. This can help you reduce delays between loading and unloading operations.
Pricing:
- 30-day free trial.
- Starting plan: $29.95 per payload.
Verdict
With transloads.co, you get real-time visibility into outbound and inbound cargo, making it an excellent choice to help you improve full shipment lifecycle management. Moreover, our software supports multi-commodity handling, thereby accommodating the full extent of your transloading needs in just one solution to ensure excellent ROI.
2. Cedar transload
Need to track palletized and bulk rail freight?
Cedar transload is a great choice, providing yard location management features that let you monitor palletized cargo and plan your transloading operations more efficiently.
What’s more, you can also use it with Tableau to visualize and simplify complex data about your operations for improved business intelligence.
It also enables mobile yard management with its mobile scanning features. This lets you capture information from inventory when you’re unloading cargo or loading it to be sent off to avoid typing this data into a form and reduce the risk of data entry mistakes.
Best features:
- It offers fully automated end-to-end invoice generation, which enables you to directly email these invoices to your clients. With this feature, you can digitize your invoicing process to improve both efficiency and invoicing accuracy.
- Cedar transload has an EDI integration, which gives you important shipment information about rail cars if your transload facility receives shipments by rail. This information can enable you to prepare docks and unloading operations.
- It has no commodity limitations and lets you organize your inventory however you see fit. By accommodating different configurations and lengths of lumber and even half-pallet tracking, you can handle different types of freights with ease.
Pricing:
- No free trial.
- Contact Cedar for pricing.
Verdict
Cedar transload has excellent invoice automation features that can help reduce iterative invoicing work for your transloading facility and improve your billing processes. However, its user interface is a little difficult to get the hang of, and this can steepen the learning curve which, by extension, may increase the platform’s time-to-value.
3. Transloading Software
Transloading Software has an excellent client portal.
This gives your customers access to inventory levels, costs, order statuses, and results. So it offers excellent transloading features that can help you minimize back and forth between clients and your team.
On top of that, Transloading Software offers a comprehensive inventory that lets you handle wet and dry commodities to improve your versatility.
Want to improve order handling?
Just like transloads.co, you also get premium support services like a work order management system that lets you assign inventory and tasks to transload operators for better coordination.
Best features:
- You can allocate and schedule resources to pending work orders via its loader dispatch board, which enables you to perform this based on load type, terminal & date range. This can help boost efficiency and increase transloading throughput.
- Transloading software gives you customizable forms for common documents such as Arrival Inspections, Bills of Lading, and Work Orders. This enables you to create reusable templates to speed up document work for your facility.
- It has a warehouse scanning module that lets you track paper documents electronically. This enables you to catalog documents more efficiently to improve the retrieval of files and make cross-referencing for orders more effortless.
Pricing:
- No free trial.
- Contact for pricing.
Verdict
Transloading Software has a client portal that offers timely updates about shipments and billing so I rate it as one of the best transloading software to increase client satisfaction. Nevertheless, I’ve realized it’s not a cloud-based solution and you’ll need to make your own arrangements for web-hosting to use features like the client portal.
4. Dearman
Do you run multiple transloading terminals?
If you run a yard with several transloading terminals, this tool can help you to centralize operation intelligence and avoid the problems of using Excel such as disparate data systems. So it can help increase efficiency and decision-making for your facility.
With real-time status listings, you can track order statuses and watch cargo movements for trucks, railcars, and vessels to streamline your operations.
You also get other important transloading software features like ExSTARS and tax reporting so I recommend it if you’re keen to improve tax compliance processes for your transloading business.
Best features:
- Dearman has self-service order submissions, which enables terminal customers to schedule their own loads in the system. This means a reduction in manual communication processes and less iterative follow-up work for your team.
- It has a wide range of integration options for various accounting, ERP, warehousing, and other tools to help you centralize data about your operations. This helps eliminate data silos to improve your business intelligence.
- You also get terminal automation features like the automatic generation of custody transfer documents to improve document accuracy. It even has terminal visualization that enables you to remotely monitor operations in staging areas.
Pricing:
- No free trial.
- Contact Dearman for pricing.
Verdict
Dearman’s multi-terminal data unification features help unite data across several transloading terminals so you can manage multiple staging areas with greater efficiency. However, being a transloading solution that targets very large facilities, it’s quite pricey and it may therefore not be for you if you’re a smaller reload yard with a tight budget.
5. Depot Software
Do you mostly transload tank containers?
If so, Depot Software is one of the best transload management software solutions in 2024 for your business. It can improve transloading ROI with its container storage tracking that calculates lift & storage charges automatically to improve efficiency.
With Depot Software’s barcode scanning technology, you can record items as you pack them into containers to increase efficiency and reduce errors.
It also has a bulk product catalog upload feature, which lets you describe the type and even units of commodities within a shipment. This can help you ensure transload operators handle goods appropriately to avoid damage.
Best features:
- Depot Software generates comprehensive operational reports about container storage, stock, and even repair estimates. This gives your team ready access to information they need to optimize transloading operations for your business.
- It comes with an online client portal, through which customers can access information about their containers at any time. They won’t need to liaise with staff for this, therefore improving productivity while elevating customer experiences.
- Depot Software also enables you to extensively customize the software to meet the unique needs of your transloading facility. As a result, you can address your biggest challenges to help streamline operations with greater efficacy.
Pricing:
- No free trial.
- Contact Depot Software for pricing.
Verdict
If you’re heavily involved in the transloading of tank containers, Depot Software has excellent features that can help you make your processes more efficient. However, it may not be the most ideal solution if these containers are a minor part of your transloading business, and you need to also manage other types of commodities.
6. Silverbullet
Silverbullet is great if you transload hazardous goods.
It can automatically track bonded and dangerous cargo, allowing you to prepare well in advance and transition from rail to truck or vice versa smoothly and safely.
By letting you configure alerts and rules for goods release as per forwarding instructions and pre-pay statuses, it also streamlines release management.
Just like transloads.co, you can also automate proof of delivery emails and even attach time-stamped photos of transloaded cargo. This can come in handy in case of disputes regarding freight damage.
Best features:
- Silverbullet lets you track and control demurrage and per diem costs for your transloading facility. This enables you to easily calculate these expenses and also helps you incentivize cargo pickups to reduce yard congestion.
- You can create and rate invoices according to a particular rail car, container, or trailer, and import this data to your accounting solution. So it can streamline your invoicing processes to reduce cases of late payments and inaccuracies.
- Silverbullet can track all outbound and inbound containers, rail cars, and trailers, enabling you to improve deck scheduling. This feature helps you to optimize time and resources and reduce waiting delays that increase transit time.
Pricing:
- No free trial.
- Contact Silverbullet for pricing.
Verdict
If your transloading facility requires a more efficient way of tracking bonded and hazardous cargo, Silverbullet is one of the best transload management software for your business. That being said, I find it concerning that they don’t offer a free trial, and this can be a huge deal breaker given the massive upfront fees they require.
7. Datex
Datex has a very helpful business rules engine.
This lets you set and save advanced rules for yard location management to help improve the coordination of vehicles, equipment, and personnel. With this module, you easily optimize the flow of goods for your reload yard to increase throughput.
Crucially, Datex also supports inter-facility transfers, and this frees up space in your transloading terminals to accommodate incoming cargo.
You also get mobile transloading management with different interfaces for managers and crew to help streamline collaboration among your teams. It even connects to a portable printer to let you generate documents on the fly.
Best features:
- Datex has a versatile inventory management system that can handle a huge range of commodities, including hazardous materials, oils, liquids, steel pipes, and bulk. You can therefore centralize all your invoicing data for easier tracking.
- It also enables electronic signature capture to speed up the signing of important documents like bills of lading and invoices. Additionally, this feature makes document processing more cost-effective and reduces the risk of fraud.
- You also get configurable reporting features that enable you to track the most important information about your transloading operations. This gives you real-time visibility into yard operations to improve decision-making.
Pricing:
- No free trial.
- Contact Datex for pricing.
Verdict
Datex has important yard location management features that allow you to analyze transloading operations & gain better process visibility to enable continual improvement. Nonetheless, I’ve realized its yard location management module assumes fixed-sized locations, which may make it unsuitable if you handle cargo of varying dimensions.
8. TTS
Do you handle a lot of bulk cargo?
If you transload agriculture products and other bulk goods at your facility, TTS is easily one of the best transload management software. It tracks important container details like remaining weight to help plan your loading activities.
Furthermore, TTS offers automatic gate in/out monitoring to minimize data entry requirements and improve your transloading business’s productivity.
You also get a feature for bulk product cataloging to improve inventory management and load scheduling, which helps enhance efficiency and productivity.
Best features:
- TTS offers railcar tracking that allows you to assign and track unique numbers to rail cars. So you can quickly retrieve information like customer details, load number, and current status by simply looking up the number in your repository.
- It also generates multiple built-in reports like depot inventory and container release summaries to help you improve record keeping. You can even schedule these reports to go out to customers at set dates to enhance productivity.
- TTS has a load booking system for creating new load bookings quickly & easily. In the same vein, you also get a load scheduler that shows you important data like cut-off dates to help you meet deadlines and improve efficiency.
Pricing:
- No free trial.
- Contact TTS for pricing.
Verdict
TTS is a great solution if you largely transload bulk materials like agricultural products because it can help you track important data to improve their handling & management. However, I have reservations about the billing module, which can get really complex really fast as you work with big data, so its invoicing features may be difficult to use.
9. Transload.Pro
Transload.Pro helps you turn data into power.
You get reporting analytics with key metric settings that enable you to track revenue by client service, in order to improve transloading ROI by identifying profitable opportunities and hidden efficiencies.
Additionally, it offers an advanced transportation planning tool to help increase efficiency and reduce truck stacking in your transloading yard.
Transload.Pro also lets you set formalized standard operating procedures as per best practices in the global transloading industry to preserve continuity in case of key personnel loss.
Best features:
- Transload.Pro has labor hour reporting capabilities, which help you ensure more direct labor time to minimize time thefts and enhance staff performance. In addition, you can use this data to improve the accuracy of payroll processes.
- It also gives you a rail manager that tracks inbound cars so you can prepare for unloading to reduce waiting times. This feature also tracks how much time rail cars have spent in your yard for more effective rail demurrage management.
- Transload.Pro has automated invoice and billing features, with expectation reporting. This can help you generate and validate invoices faster and more accurately to improve cash flow while freeing you from manual processing.
Pricing:
- No free trial.
- Contact for pricing.
Verdict
With rich front-line worker data, you should consider Transload.Pro if you’d to track field workers better to help your transloading yard improve employee productivity & direct labor time. However, the vendor’s customer support isn’t very reliable so if you have pressing concerns or need guidance on using the software, you may not get it in time.
10. RailCommodore
Struggling with high dwell times?
RailCommodore delivers real time rail to track transload monitoring that lets you monitor trailer dwell time as it unfolds onsite. This provides the information you need to prioritize transloading tasks and improve efficiency.
In addition, it captures data about pending outgoing shipments, so you can prioritize these tasks by urgency to help reduce delivery times.
Just like transloads.co, it also has important user management features that enable you to give field crew access to information but still restrict permissions to ensure excellent data security.
Best features:
- RailCommodore delivers comprehensive invoice monitoring that can track gas, liquid, and dry commodities as they arrive in your yard. You can then place these items on work orders for quick order handling to increase efficiency.
- It delivers a cloud-hosted transload management solution so that there’s nothing for you to deploy or maintain. With this architecture, you can reduce your IT burden and gain remote access to important data about your operations.
- You get real-time inbound railcar reporting, with the platform also giving you important metrics such as how many tracks or freights you’ve transloaded per day. This data can go a long way to help improve business performance.
Pricing:
- No free trial.
- Contact RailCommodore for pricing.
Verdict
RailCommodore lets you define advanced user access roles and permissions, and this makes it one of the best transload management software in terms of data security. However, compared to other tools on this list, it has a limited number of transloading features so it may not be a holistic solution for your transloading business.
Conclusion
Real-time process visibility is essential.
Otherwise, it’ll be difficult to ensure that dock workers follow proper loading and unloading procedures.
When the goods you’ve transloaded have freight damage resulting from poor handling, this can increase the risk of the freight getting rejected.
In fact, a study by FlockFreight revealed that 86%of shippers had damage claims in 2022. A good number of these cases resulted from the poor handling of goods along the supply chain.
So it’s important to leverage the best transload management software, which can give you real-time data about your operations. In particular, I recommend transloads.co, which streamlines full-shipment life cycle management.
Click to start your free transloads trial to unlock key insights about your transloading business and improve productivity.
With our software, you also get important customer management features such as a client portal that can help you improve client satisfaction & reduce follow-up tasks.
Why transloads.co is the best transload management software for your business
a) Excellent pricing model
If you’re a small yard, you’ll want an affordable solution that helps keep your operations profitable. transloads.co does just that, offering a pay-per-load pricing structure of only $29.95, which is perfect if you’re keen on a high-quality, cost-effective solution.
What’s more, our unbeatable pricing plans also accommodate much larger operations. With a subscription pricing of $799.95 per month, we enable you to manage higher shipment volumes more efficiently as you grow without breaking the bank.
b) Vital support services
You get much more than just excellent transload management software with us. For instance, we also provide yard setup assistance, which entails equipment needs planning, personnel planning, and more to help you step up your yard for success.
In addition, our premium support services also include operations optimization to help improve safety operations, recruitment, and gate operations, among others. We can also assist with marketing, helping you attract customers & handle new commodities.
c) Purpose-built for transloading
Many transloading solutions on the market primarily work as warehouse and yard management solutions, with transloading more of an afterthought. As a result, you’re unlikely to get all the features you need to manage your operations in one solution.
Conversely, transloads.co is purpose-built specifically for the transloading industry. Our software was built by transloaders for transloaders, and it has features that address the most common challenges of transloading operations to help you maximize efficiency.
Click here to book your free transloads demo to learn how we can help your transloading business improve productivity and turbocharge growth.
