TMS Software Development Services
Most freight teams run their TMS plus a layer of spreadsheets, email tenders and portal logins because the system doesn't fit how they price, tender or track loads. We build transportation management software around your actual freight workflow, with the carrier, EDI and telematics integrations that make the data trustworthy.
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What TMS Software Development Covers
Order management & load planning
Orders from ERP, EDI or a customer portal consolidated into loads by lane, mode, equipment and delivery window, with multi-stop and LTL/FTL decisions your planners can override.
Carrier tendering & procurement
Routing guides, automated tender waterfalls over EDI 204/990 or API, spot quotes and load-board posting, and carrier onboarding with insurance and authority checks.
Rating & freight cost
Contract and spot rates, accessorials and fuel surcharge tables maintained as data, LTL rating with current NMFC classes, and landed cost per order, lane and customer.
Tracking & exception management
Status from EDI 214, carrier APIs, visibility providers and ELDs merged into one timeline per load, with alerts for late pickups, missed appointments and detention.
Freight audit & settlement
Carrier invoices matched to the rated load and proof of delivery, disputes tracked, and approved charges posted to your accounting system; carrier pay and customer billing for brokers.
Portals & driver apps
Customer portals for quotes, booking and tracking, carrier portals for tenders and documents, and offline-first driver apps for status updates and proof of delivery.
Built for Specific Buyers, Not Everyone
Freight brokers and 3PLs
Who sell visibility and service to their own customers and need a TMS they control, with customer and carrier portals and margin by load.
Shippers with complex freight
Manufacturers, distributors and retailers whose routing guides, consolidation rules or multi-modal lanes don't fit a standard TMS configuration.
Asset-based carriers
Running dispatch, driver hours, equipment and customer EDI across tools that don't share data.
If you ship a modest number of standard FTL or parcel loads, a licensed TMS or a carrier's own tools will cost less than a custom build; we'll say so on the first call.
From Kickoff to Launch
Freight & integration discovery
Lanes, modes, volumes, carriers, trading partners, ERP flows and the exceptions that cost money are mapped from real shipment data.
→ Scope + EDI/API integration mapWorkflow design & architecture
Planner, dispatcher and audit screens prototyped with the people who use them; shipment data model, event pipeline and integration layer agreed.
→ Clickable prototype + architectureBuild against partner sandboxes
The first workflow, for example tendering or freight audit, built and tested with carrier test files, EDI partners and API sandboxes.
→ Release candidate on real test loadsParallel run & cutover
The new workflow runs beside the current TMS, results are reconciled, users are trained, then the next workflow follows.
→ Live module + rollout planTechnologies We Use
Compliance and Standards We Build To
ANSI X12 transportation EDI
204 load tender, 990 tender response, 214 shipment status and 210 freight invoice, mapped per trading partner with acknowledgements (997) and replay for failed messages.
FMCSA ELD & hours-of-service rules
Dispatch and planning respect driver hours using data from registered ELDs (49 CFR Part 395); the carrier's ELD remains the system of record for compliance.
NMFC density-based classes & eBOL
LTL rating and bills of lading built for the NMFC classification changes effective 19 July 2025, and for the Digital LTL Council eBOL API where your carriers support it.
EU eFTI readiness
For European freight, shipment documents structured so they can be shared through certified eFTI platforms, which EU authorities must accept from 9 July 2027 (Regulation (EU) 2020/1056).
Common Questions About TMS Software Development
What does Northell Design build as part of TMS software development?
Order intake and load building, carrier selection and tendering, rating against contract and spot rates, dispatch and appointment scheduling, shipment tracking and exception alerts, proof of delivery, freight audit and settlement, and the reporting on top. We build a full TMS or the modules your current system is missing, with customer, carrier and driver portals where you need them.
Should we build a custom TMS or license one?
License one if your freight looks like everyone else's: an off-the-shelf TMS is faster to roll out and someone else maintains the carrier connections. Custom pays off when the way you price, tender, consolidate or serve customers is your advantage, when you are a broker or 3PL selling the TMS experience to your own customers, or when you are already paying for workarounds in spreadsheets around a licensed system. Many clients do both: keep the licensed core and build the missing modules around it.
Which integrations does Northell Design typically build for a TMS?
EDI X12 load tenders (204), tender responses (990), shipment status (214) and freight invoices (210) with carriers and trading partners, usually through a VAN or EDI provider; carrier and LTL APIs, including the Digital LTL Council eBOL standard where carriers support it; load boards such as DAT and Truckstop; visibility providers such as project44 and FourKites; ELD and telematics platforms such as Samsara, Motive and Geotab; mileage engines such as PC*MILER; and your ERP or accounting system. We confirm each partner's API access and costs during discovery, because some require their own commercial agreement.
Can you replace our TMS without disrupting daily operations?
Yes, by not doing a big-bang cutover. We start with one workflow, run it alongside your existing TMS on real loads, reconcile the results, and only then switch that workflow over. Historical shipments, carrier profiles and rate tables are migrated and checked before go-live.
How does a custom TMS handle freight rating and audit?
Contract rates, accessorials and fuel surcharge tables are modelled as data your pricing team can maintain, not hard-coded. LTL rating can use carrier APIs or rating engines with the density-based NMFC classes introduced in July 2025. Carrier invoices (EDI 210 or PDF) are matched against the rated load and the proof of delivery, and only exceptions go to a person.
How does Northell Design approach a TMS project?
With a discovery phase on your real freight: lanes, modes, volumes, carriers, trading partners and the exceptions that cost you money. That ends in a written scope, an integration map and a plan for the first release. We then design the planner and dispatcher screens with the people who use them, build against partner sandboxes and test files, and run in parallel before cutover.
Who owns the TMS code, data and integrations?
You do. Repositories, cloud accounts, EDI mappings and carrier credentials belong to you, and Northell Design documents the integrations so your own team or another vendor can maintain them.