Kuebix offers free TMS version

The free execution tool includes unlimited rating, booking and tracking across full truckload (TL), less-than-truckload (LTL), and parcel shipments, as the provider seeks to “democratize” transportation management systems (TMS).    The transportation management system (TMS) provider Kuebix will offer a free version of its software to shippers covering basic blocking and tackling execution tools across key domestic transportation modes, the company said in a statement Monday.
   The free version covers unlimited rating, booking, and tracking of full truckload (TL), less-than-truckload (LTL), and parcel shipments.
   “We believe all shippers should have the ability to rate, book and track freight directly with their carriers for free; similar to the way you can rate, book and track on Internet travel sites,” said Kuebix founder and President Dan Clark. “To jump start this evolution, Kuebix will empower the shipper by democratizing basic transportation management through its free Kuebix Shipper TMS.”
   Kuebix is a fast-growing, cloud-based TMS provider that leverages Salesforce.com’s Force.com platform, linking transportation execution with customer relationship management tools, and allowing users to plug into other cloud-based systems for data and execution functions. For instance, Kuebix recently integrated with the online international freight rate marketplace Simpliship to allow users to pull ocean and air rates into a common platform.
   The company said providing the free version to shippers will help it build a “massive global community where Kuebix can efficiently help the industry match capacity to demand across supply chains.”
   “Similar to how the widespread adoption of affordable smart phones changed the way we communicate and interact, a TMS that is available to all businesses and all budgets will have the same impact on the shipping community,” said Clark. “As your smartphone has been the tool moving us into this collaborative digital era, the TMS will be that tool for the shipping world.”
   Kuebix isn’t the first provider to offer a free or low-cost TMS to the market to spur adoption, but the company’s offer comes at a time when interest in TMS has never been higher. Easier-to-implement tools, subscription-based payment models, and cloud-hosted platforms have all made the idea of using a TMS more approachable than in the past, especially for small- and mid-sized shippers, to whom Kuebix’s offer is ostensibly aimed.
   The value of the offering to Kuebix is also clear. More shippers using its system provides more data to base future features and functions, and will also draw greater connection interest from carriers and 3PLs that serve those shippers. Additionally, getting small shippers in the door with a free version allows Kuebix to potentially sell more sophisticated functions to those users.