Why start with an assessment
Every technology decision in a transportation company is easier with the facts on the table. Should you upgrade the TMS or replace it? Why does billing take four days after delivery? Is the server in the back room one bad drive away from shutting down dispatch? Why do the settlement numbers never quite match the GL? These questions usually get answered with opinions, vendor pitches, or whatever the loudest person in the room believes.
A Technology Assessment replaces opinion with evidence. It is the Analyze phase of our engagement model, offered on its own, and it is where most Strong Tower Consulting clients begin. You get an honest, independent picture of how your company runs through its technology, and a clear path forward that you can act on with us, with someone else, or on your own.
What we review
We look at the whole operation, because problems in one area almost always start somewhere else. The scope is tailored to your company, but a full assessment covers six areas.
1. Systems
Your TMS and everything around it: version and support status, configuration, customizations, modules in use and not in use, accounting, maintenance, imaging, and any homegrown tools or spreadsheets that fill gaps. We note where the system is being fought rather than used.
2. Data
The quality of the records your company runs on: duplicate customers and locations, stale rate tables and fuel surcharge setups, inconsistent accessorial codes, orphaned records, and open AR and AP that don't reconcile. Where useful, we query the database directly to test what the reports claim (see SQL Data Mining & Analytics).
3. Workflows
How a load really moves: tender, order entry, dispatch, check calls, delivery, POD, billing, collections, and settlement. We follow the work, time the handoffs, and count every place data is typed twice or held waiting. This is where most hidden cost lives, in slow billing cycles, missed detention and accessorial charges, and manual settlement corrections.
4. Integrations
The connections between your TMS and the outside world: ELD and telematics, EDI 204/214/210/990 with customers and partners, fuel cards, mileage and routing, document imaging, and accounting. We check what's connected, what's failing quietly, and what is still being keyed by hand (see ELD, EDI & Back-Office Integration).
5. Infrastructure
Servers, networks, cloud services, workstations, and above all backups and recovery. Can the TMS database actually be restored, and how long would it take? Who has administrative access? Are former employees and old vendor accounts still active? How exposed are you to ransomware? (See Data Protection & Business Continuity.)
6. People
Technology only works as well as the people using it. We look at roles, training, documentation, and key-person risk: who holds critical knowledge, who would be impossible to replace next week, and where staff are using a fraction of what the system can do.
Independent by design
Strong Tower Consulting never requires you to buy our software. Our sister company, Exspeedite, builds a TMS, which is why we can read your system at the database level. But the assessment exists to serve your business, not a sale. If the right answer is to keep what you have, we will say so. If another product fits better, we will say that too.
How the assessment runs
- Scoping conversation. We learn about your company, your segment, your systems, and what prompted the call. Together we decide which areas are in scope and agree the schedule and fee in writing.
- Document and system review. We collect what already exists: system lists, configuration details, reports, interface documentation, and any recent audits. With your permission, we get read access to the systems we need to examine.
- Interviews and observation. We meet with leadership and with the people doing the work in each department, and we watch real loads move through the process. On-site time is scheduled around the freight day.
- Analysis. We test data quality, trace workflows, check integrations, and review infrastructure and backups. Where we find a problem, we look for the root cause rather than the symptom.
- Findings and roadmap. We present the results to your leadership in person or by video, walk through the recommendations, and answer questions. You keep the written report.
Carrier 6-pillar technology health & diagnostic assessment scoring matrix
During a Technology Assessment, Strong Tower evaluates carrier technology through quantitative benchmarks rather than subjective opinions. Every area is scored on a 1-to-5 operational scale, allowing executive leadership to immediately target high-friction cost centers:
| Audit Evaluation Pillar | Forensic Audit & System Review Scope | High-Risk Operational Red Flag (Score 1-2) | Best-in-Class Fleet Benchmark (Score 4-5) | Remediation Action & Financial Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. TMS Core & Modules | TMS version currency, active module utilization, database schema modifications, license compliance. | Running an unsupported legacy release (> 5 yrs unpatched); 40% of subscribed modules dormant; heavy reliance on shadow Excel sheets. | Current supported release; core modules (Dispatch, Invoicing, Settlements, Maintenance) fully adopted; automated nightly batches. | Decommission unused software licenses; recover $18k - $45k annually in wasted recurring SaaS or maintenance fees. |
| 2. Operational Data Integrity | Customer master duplicates, stale tariff tables, orphaned dispatch records, GL-to-subledger variance. | Hundreds of duplicate shipper accounts; manual rating overrides on 35%+ of bills; unbilled freight lingering past 14 days. | Single customer master record with standardized EDI IDs; 95%+ touchless rating accuracy; zero unbilled freight beyond 24h of POD. | Cleanses master tables; eliminates billing disputes and recovers $50k - $200k in unbilled accessorial revenue. |
| 3. Order-to-Cash Workflows | Order intake velocity, dispatcher typing overhead, POD attachment timing, batch billing execution. | Manual re-typing of emailed tenders; invoices delayed 5-7 days waiting for paper POD scans; manual rating calculations. | Instant order ingestion via EDI/API; real-time mobile glass signature capture; touchless same-day invoice transmission. | Compresses DSO by 12 to 18 days; slashes working capital interest costs and eliminates clerical overtime. |
| 4. External Integrations | Telematics/ELD feeds, EDI 204/214/210 networks, fuel card FTP imports, accounting sync. | Manual entry of check calls; broken EDI 214 status queues; fuel card transactions hand-entered into driver settlement sheets. | Bi-directional ELD integration; automated EDI compliance with 99.8% on-time 214s; automated fuel card settlement deduction sync. | Prevents shipper EDI chargeback penalties ($15k - $60k/yr); eliminates driver settlement reconciliation errors. |
| 5. Infrastructure & Disaster Recovery | Database backup validation, air-gapped immutable storage, MFA enforcement, patch management. | Backups run to local external drive without test restoration; no MFA on remote dispatch logins; shared admin passwords. | 3-2-1-1-0 immutable cloud backups with quarterly test restores; strict MFA enforced; role-based least-privilege security. | Prevents total carrier shutdown from ransomware attacks; satisfies strict cyber insurance renewal mandates. |
| 6. People & Institutional Risk | Staff competency, SOP documentation, key-person dependencies, cross-training coverage. | A single employee holds all knowledge of rating rules or custom reporting; zero written SOPs; high new-hire churn. | Standardized role-based SOPs; cross-trained dispatch and billing teams; documented SQL queries and reporting catalogs. | Eliminates existential key-person operational risk; cuts new-hire onboarding time from 90 days to 2 weeks. |
What you get
| Deliverable | What it gives you |
|---|---|
| Current-state summary | A plain-language picture of how your company runs through its technology today |
| Ranked findings | Risks and opportunities across systems, data, workflows, integrations, infrastructure, and people, ordered by business impact |
| Quick wins | Changes your team can make right away with little or no cost |
| Recommendations | What to fix, keep, retire, or replace, with the reasoning and the trade-offs |
| Practical roadmap | A sequenced plan with rough costs and effort, so leadership can budget and decide |
| Leadership briefing | A walkthrough of the findings with your owners and managers, and time for questions |
Who it's for
Carriers, brokers, 3PLs, and private fleets of any size, in segments from truckload and LTL to intermodal, drayage, city cartage, and specialized haul. An assessment is especially valuable when:
- A vendor is pitching a new TMS and you want an independent second opinion first
- Your system is several releases behind, heavily customized, or understood by only one person (see Legacy TMS Advisory & Migration)
- Billing, settlements, or month-end close take far longer than they should
- You are growing, opening a terminal, or acquiring another company and need to know what your systems can handle
- New leadership wants a baseline before setting technology priorities
- An insurer, lender, or customer is asking questions about your data protection
After the assessment
The roadmap is yours to keep. Some clients act on it with their own staff. Others bring in Strong Tower for specific projects, such as process optimization, an upgrade, a TMS selection, or a report rebuild, or for ongoing support and training. Each next step is scoped and agreed on its own, and there is no obligation to continue.
Frequently asked questions
How long does an assessment take and what does it cost?
It depends on the size and complexity of your operation: the number of locations, systems, interfaces, and departments in scope. We size the assessment to your company and agree the scope, schedule, and fee in writing before we start.
Do we have to hire you for the work the assessment recommends?
No. The findings and roadmap are yours. You can act on them with your own staff, another provider, or with us. There is no obligation to continue.
Will the assessment recommend replacing our TMS?
Only if the evidence supports it. Many companies get far more from the system they already own once it is configured, cleaned up, and properly used. If replacement is the right answer, we will show you why in plain numbers.
How much of our staff's time will it take?
We schedule interviews and observation around the freight day, month-end close, and pay periods. Most people spend a short interview and some time showing us how they work. We keep the disruption to dispatch, billing, and payroll as small as we can.
Is the assessment done on site?
Usually at least partly. Seeing the dispatch floor and the billing desk in person tells us things a remote call cannot. System review and analysis can often be done remotely. We agree the mix with you up front.