What does a TMS do, and what does a planning tool do?
A TMS carries the whole transport process: the order comes in, is planned and carried out, the documents are attached to the trip and the invoice follows at the end. A planning tool does one part of that, planning or calculating routes, and runs next to a TMS. Keeping that distinction avoids comparing the wrong things. TLNplanner, for example, is the route planner used as the standard for distances and rates, but according to its own site it cannot distribute orders across vehicles. Simacan calls itself a control tower that you connect to an existing TMS.
Complete TMS packages: MendriX, e-Lips and Transpas
MendriX is a fully cloud-based TMS for road transport with a focus on groupage and distribution: order planning, a graphical planning board, invoicing, a customer portal and a driver app. Orders from Outlook can be brought in through the AI integration of partner Freightdog. e-Lips by Erniesoft is an all-in-one TMS developed for almost twenty years, strong in container, bulk, tank and exceptional transport, offered as SaaS or on-premise, with its own AI for order entry and planning. Transpas by Art Systems has been a standard TMS since 1998, used by more than 250 companies according to the vendor, with features such as a rates module, an emissions module based on ISO 14083 and a customer portal. Transpas does not mention AI features.
A TMS on an ERP base: Boltrics 3PL Dynamics
Boltrics builds its TMS on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, as part of a suite with WMS and freight forwarding. It targets logistics service providers and supports road transport with own or outsourced trucks: orders, rates, trip planning, cross-docking, on-board computer integrations, customs and invoicing. It is delivered as a SaaS subscription per licence, with implementation in three months at a price agreed up front. On AI, Boltrics mentions a module that turns emails into orders and document recognition through Microsoft Azure. A logical choice if you also need a WMS or already run on Business Central.
Planning tools: ORTEC, Bumbal and TLNplanner
ORTEC provides planning and optimisation software for B2B delivery: route planning, load optimisation and dispatch, with AI recommendations where the planner decides. It sits next to the existing system landscape and does not replace a TMS. Bumbal is planning software for organisations with their own vehicles, such as wholesalers, retailers and service companies, with automatic planning, track & trace and a driver app. TLNplanner calculates routes, tolls and CO2 and is the industry standard for distances. All three solve planning, not order entry or invoicing.
Custom: having a TMS built
If no package fits, you can have a TMS built. RiWEB is a Dutch software agency that does this, with full code ownership for the client. Its own FAQ gives an indication of €60,000 to €120,000 for a TMS for ten to thirty trucks. Custom gives freedom, but you carry the lead time and maintenance yourself. When that pays off is covered in our post on a custom TMS.
Where does Samurai TMS fit?
Samurai TMS is Bonsai's TMS for road transport, with AI throughout: it reads orders from your mailbox, drafts the quote, checks your charters' invoices against the trip and the agreed rate, and invoices the trip. Planning and dispatch sit on one planning board, with charters alongside your own fleet, and CMRs, delivery notes and weighbridge tickets are attached to the trip automatically. Automatic planning is still in development. Samurai is delivered as SaaS, with a one-off onboarding followed by a price from €30 per active truck per month, and goes live within weeks. If you need fully automatic route optimisation today, a planning tool next to your TMS makes more sense. If you need WMS and TMS in one ERP, a suite such as Boltrics fits better.
How do you choose between these options?
Start with your biggest manual task. If you retype orders from email and PDF every day, look mainly at how well a TMS automates order entry. If most time goes into puzzling with trips, a planning tool pays off most. If you check many charter invoices, look at purchase control per trip. Then compare the pricing model: per user, per vehicle or per active truck, and whether there are one-off costs. Ask every vendor for a demo with your own orders and documents, not with their example.