Transportation & Logistics

We are independent consultants providing expertise in system selection, best practice and business process improvement for transportation and warehousing industries.

Distribution ERP Software Selection - Interviews

Requirements

Some of the requirements that differentiate systems are:

Warehouse Management:

Rate management
Quotations
Products are customer specific
Customer portal
Storage and handling charges
Accessorial activity charges
Rates can vary by customer/consignee/product/carrier
Restrictions by pallet type, height, trailer temperature…

Transportation Management:

Rate management
Quotations
Agent and customer portals
Multiple routes with multiple stops
Driver management
Dispatching
Truck load optimization

Systems

Tier 1
Tier 2
Tier 3

	Acumatica	Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations	NetSuite	Oracle Cloud ERP	Pronto Xi	SAP S/4 HANA	TECSYS
Product Information
System	Acumatica	Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations	NetSuite	Oracle Cloud ERP	Pronto Xi	SAP S/4 HANA	TECSYS
Vendor	Acumatica	Microsoft Dynamics 365	NetSuite	Oracle Cloud ERP	Pronto Xi	SAP S/4HANA	TECSYS
Description	Acumatica was born in the cloud, built to meet the ever-evolving needs of midmarket companies and their customers. Easily integrate the tools and systems you already use Improve efficiency with our intuitive, award-winning UI Empower collaboration with modern, cross-module workflows Access your data from any device Personalize your instance in a low-code / no-code environment Scale users and resources up or down as needed	Dynamics 365 launched in 2016 when Microsoft brought together Dynamics AX, its ERP application and the Dynamics CRM application. Microsoft was one of the first to make a move an offer an integrated solution. Given the dynamic nature of business and the likelihood of unique situations, it is becoming more and more important for software/solution providers to introduce applications that cater to the changing trends. Dynamics 365 is a comprehensive suite of services enabling all in one solutions so that you don’t have to pick and choose from the plethora of options available. Microsoft Dynamics 365 can be used for: Bringing your business together as a cohesive unit by connecting people, processes, and data across many applications, including Microsoft Dynamics 365, Office 365, LinkedIn, and Azure. Making smarter decisions with built-in AI, analytics, and guided action suggestions. Adapting the application to your needs rather than changing your business methodology. You can integrate most applications with existing systems or even customize with Microsoft Power Platform. Modernize your approach by incorporating AI, mixed reality, social, and mobile capabilities for progressive business innovation.	NetSuite ERP is an all-in-one, AI-powered, cloud business management solution that helps organizations operate more effectively by automating core processes and providing real-time visibility into operational and financial performance. With a single, integrated suite of applications for managing accounting, order processing, inventory management, production, supply chain and warehouse operations, NetSuite ERP gives companies clear visibility into their data and tighter control over their businesses. Full-featured financials, CRM, inventory, project management and ecommerce software--all in a single system Real-time visibility across your entire business operation On-demand software infrastructure dramatically lowers maintenance and license fees Real-time dashboards for all your key employees NetSuite can be accessed anywhere, anytime to the information you need. Netsuite ERP review on benefits: Automate Financial Processes. Improve financial operations, efficiency and productivity. Gain Inventory Visibility. Monitor inventory levels, minimize carrying costs and deliver orders on time. Supply Chain Optimization. Control the flow of goods across the value chain, from suppliers to customer. Flawless Order Management. Error-proof your order management and procurement. Increase Warehouse Efficiency. Optimize the putaway process and reduce picking errors.	Oracle Cloud ERP is a powerful, cloud-based enterprise resource planning ERP system designed to help businesses streamline and automate their core financial and operational processes. It provides a comprehensive suite of applications that covers areas such as risk management, expense management, financial management, procurement, project management, supply chain operations. By integrating these essential business functions into a single, unified platform, Oracle Cloud ERP enables organizations to improve efficiency, reduce operational costs, and gain real-time visibility into their operations. One of the key strengths of Oracle ERP is its user friendly, flexibility and scalability, making it suitable for businesses of all sizes, from growing enterprises to large, complex global corporations. The Oracle Cloud infrastructure leverages cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and data analytics to provide predictive insights, automate routine tasks, and drive continuous process improvement. For example, its AI-driven financial management capabilities can help businesses predict cash flow, detect anomalies in transactions, and automate expense reporting. The ERP software suite also offers advanced reporting and analytics tools, enabling users to make data-driven decisions with real-time insights into their business performance. Its cloud-based architecture ensures that organizations can benefit from regular updates and innovations without the need for costly and time-consuming on-premises maintenance. Furthermore, the platform is designed with built-in security and compliance features, ensuring that sensitive business data is protected while meeting industry-specific regulatory requirements. Learn more about cloud services and its enterprise functions of Oracle at https://www.oracle.com/ca-en/erp/.	With headquarters and our Development Centre located in Melbourne, we have support offices and consultants based across Australia, as well as a global network of Resellers and Solution Partners. Pronto Xi, our flagship Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution helps you to monitor and control every aspect of your business, from top floor to shop floor. Gain insights about what’s making you money and where your best opportunities lie – from improving productivity and customer service to inventory accuracy and more. Specialised business units within Pronto Software have the expertise to assist you with pivotal technology – Digital Transformation with Pronto Woven, Cloud and Hosting services with Pronto Cloud and Business Intelligence solutions with Pronto iQ. When you choose Pronto Software, you gain a team with decades of industry experience and a single-minded dedication to helping our customers achieve their growth and revenue goals. That’s why for more than 40 years, over 1,700 Australian and global organisations, across a wide range of industries, have trusted us to simplify their most complex challenges.	SAP S/4 HANA. As the market leader in enterprise application software, SAP helps companies of all sizes and in all industries run better by redefining ERP and creating networks of intelligent enterprises that provide transparency, resiliency, and sustainability across supply chains. SAP's end-to-end suite of applications and services enables customers to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and make a difference worldwide.	Serving healthcare, distribution and converging commerce industries, and spanning multiple complex, regulated and high-volume markets, Tecsys delivers warehouse management, distribution and transportation management, supply management at point of use, and retail order management, as well as complete financial management and analytics solutions.
Website	https://www.acumatica.com/	https://dynamics.microsoft.com	https://www.netsuite.com/	https://www.oracle.com/erp/	https://www.pronto.net/	https://www.sap.com/
Primary Tier	2	1	2	1	2	1	2
Industries
Apparel	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	No
Construction	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Field Services	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No
Financial Services	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No
Food & Beverage	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No
Hospitality	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No
Manufacturing	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Nonprofit	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Professional Services	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Retail & ECommerce	Yes	Yes	Certified	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Transportation & Logistics	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Wholesale Distribution	Yes	Yes	Certified	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Applications
Accounting (General Ledger, Financial Reporting, Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Budgeting and Cash Management)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Asset Management	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	No
CPQ (Configure Price Quote)	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	No
CRM	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Distribution (Order Processing, Purchasing and Inventory)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
E-commerce	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Field Services - Dispatching & Scheduling	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Field Services - Mobile Field Management	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Human Resource Management	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Manufacturing - Quality Control	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Manufacturing - Scheduling	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No
Manufacturing - Shop Floor Control	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No
MRP	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Payroll	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Point of Sale	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Product Lifecycle Management	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Professional Services - Scheduling	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Professional Services - Timesheets	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Professional Services – WIP Management	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Project Management	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Transportation Management	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Warehouse Management	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Developer Information
Number of customers - all products
Number of customers - this product
Technology
% of application that is web based (just need a browser on workstation)
On premise, cloud or hybrid	On Premise	On Premise	On Premise	On Premise	On Premise	On Premise	On Premise
Private or Public Cloud	Private	Private	Private	Private	Private	Private	Private
Tenant Architecture	Multi-Tenant	Multi-Tenant	Multi-Tenant	Multi-Tenant	Multi-Tenant	Multi-Tenant	Multi-Tenant
Generic Requirements
Customization/Configuration
Without changing source code	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release
User-defined fields Can define values/dropdowns for fields Used in report selection and ordering Used in workflow	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release
User defined screens Change fields to required, optional or invisible for standard and user-defined field	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release
Multiple Companies
Share inventory across companies	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release
Share customers and suppliers across companies	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release
Automate balancing of transactions across legal entities	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release
PO of 1 company automatically generates the sales order in another company	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release
Multiple Currencies
Maintain source and home currency amount for each transaction	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release
Date effective currency exchange rates	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release
Work Flow
Can apply an approval process to any transaction such as a journal entry or any master file such as a supplier or inventory item	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release
Can generate alerts/escalation if something expected is late or reminders	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release
Configurable approvals or alerts without needing programming	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release
Mobility
Optimized for Android and iPhone	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release
Offline mode and synch when internet connected	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release
Sales tax compliance
Canadian sales tax compliance	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release
US sales tax compliance	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release
Reporting/Business Intelligence
Reporting
Industry standard reporting tool and can change existing reports or add new ones	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release
Ad-hoc reporting (don’t need a programmer) with filtering, sorting and summarizing options	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release
Dashboards
Based on real time updates from all transactions	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release
Role specific	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release
Configurable dashboards - don't need to be a programmer to create or change dashboard	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release
Analytics
Drag and drop dimensions	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release
Visualization/graphic representation of data	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release	In Current Release

Implementers

Testimonials

We found Michael very detailed and in a nice way a "pain in the ass", he kept on building on the requirements more and more, willing to extract more at times for clarification. Challenges he had, the transportation industry has very limited opportunities for product selection. He could filter the vendors well through his methodology. His approach to get to a smaller pool was a definite benefit, not only me but our IT Department accepted his approach. That's an accomplishment in our world, since our mother company has a lot of project experience, but his methodology was embraced and will be used in the future.

Anonymous

180 Systems is very thorough and gets down to the nuts and bolts of the business to get a thorough understanding of what our user requirements are and understanding of process flows. They ask a lot of good questions about why things are done a certain way and are very good at probing users to discover their issues and formulate requirements that a new system needs to address. 180 Systems gets people relaxed and engaged quickly, focuses on the issues and keeps things moving along. For companies that don't have someone on board that has ERP selection experience, 180 Systems is a great help. They get beyond the "dog and pony show" of vendors, cutting through to the core functionality that does or does not meet your requirements. I'd recommend 180 Systems to any medium sized company where IT resources are scarce, even to larger companies where IT departments don't have the experience with what S/W is out there, whereas 180 Systems has it all and been there done that.

George Czubak, CFORemco