Splenta

Transport - transportation management (TMS)

Concept

One controlled record
for how goods move.

TMS defines one transportation record for what was planned, who accepted it, where it is, why it is late, whether it was delivered and what the freight cost.

TMS / TransportOrderDesigned
TO-4821source: wms.package.ready
WH-01 / Dock-3HUB-NDEL / 560102

designed lifecycle

plannedtenderingbookedin_transitdelivered

CX-Freight

carrier

LTL / 2-day

service

3

packages

evidence the record would hold

booking response . label . manifest . tracking id . tracking events . POD . freight cost evidence

A container cargo ship at sea
A container ship in transit. Photo is illustrative, not a TMS deployment.

Transport capabilities

What one movement record needs to hold.

Connect transport planning, carrier handoff, tracking, proof of delivery and freight evidence in one governed record.

Order

Transport orders

Turn each request to move goods into one controlled order with its source, promise, mode and lifecycle.

Movement

Shipments & loads

Hold packages, stops, service level, carrier and tracking identity on one shipment record.

Carrier

Carriers & tendering

Tender to carriers, capture acceptance and confirm bookings against contract and serviceability rules.

Tracking

Tracking events

Normalize carrier, telematics, manual and system milestones into one append-only timeline.

Delivery

Proof of delivery

Capture signature, photo, OTP or document as delivery evidence that is never silently edited.

Finance

Freight-cost evidence

Reconcile quoted, booked and invoiced freight, then send the variance to finance with evidence.

Exceptions

Exceptions & claims

Classify delays, missed pickups, damage and overcharges, then recommend the safest approved next action.

The movement sequence

Track the journey from plan to delivery.

Every movement follows one ordered sequence, with a control on each transition - no booking without carrier acceptance and no delivery without proof.

01

Planned

Order becomes a shipment plan

02

Tendering

Offered to carriers

03

Booked

Carrier accepts

04

In transit

Tracking events land

05

Delivered

Proof of delivery captured

The problem

Logistics truth scatters the moment goods leave the dock.

Transport is the seam where commerce, warehousing, procurement and production hand goods to a carrier - and where the truth usually scatters. Those upstream systems should not all become transport systems. Logistics needs one controlled record of movement.
  • Every upstream system grows its own shadow copy of shipment status
  • Bookings, tracking and proof of delivery stay locked in carrier portals
  • Exceptions and freight overcharges reach the team as surprises
Packed boxes stacked in a warehousing before dispatchDock
Goods staged for dispatch. Illustrative photo.

The approach

Keep the movement record with the shipment.

TMS brings outbound, inbound, reverse, carrier, 3PL and owned-fleet movement into one coherent record: what was planned, who accepted it, where it is, why it is late, whether it was delivered and what the freight cost.
  • Plan, tender and book carriers from one order
  • Normalize every tracking event into one timeline
  • Reconcile quoted, booked and invoiced freight for finance
Stacked shipping containers at a freight portIn transit
Shipping containers at a port. Illustrative photo.

TMS in the logistics stack

One movement record from plan to proof.

TMS connects planning, carrier handoff, tracking, proof of delivery and freight reconciliation while preserving clear ownership between systems.

Splenta TMSStandalone TMS suitesSpreadsheets + carrier portals
What it isA transportation system of record inside the Splenta familyEstablished, standalone transport suites and 3PL platformsThe status quo - movement status kept by hand across tools and portals
One movement recordThe movement record from plan through proof of deliveryOwn a strong transport record, integrated case by caseNo single record - truth scatters across systems
Family-native integrationShared ICE identity and MCP surface across RMS, WMS, SCM, FMS and EAMIntegrate through custom connectors, system by systemManual re-keying between systems and carrier portals
Agent-ready by designArin reads transport facts and prepares approval-gated actions over MCPAutomation and APIs vary by vendorNo agent surface

Architecture

How the movement record holds together.

The architecture combines a controlled transport lifecycle, a governed agent surface and clear ownership boundaries across the Splenta family.

The transport lifecycle

One coherent record would carry a movement from plan to proof of delivery. Each transition has a control - no booking without carrier acceptance, no delivery without proof - and corrections remain append-only.

draftplannedtenderingbookedready_for_pickuppicked_upin_transitout_for_deliverydeliveredclosed

Reference flow - outbound parcel

  1. 1RMS captures the customer shipping option and delivery promise at checkout.
  2. 2WMS picks and packs the order, then emits package-ready evidence.
  3. 3TMS creates the shipment plan from WMS package evidence and the RMS promise.
  4. 4TMS selects or confirms carrier and service using contract and serviceability rules.
  5. 5TMS books the carrier and stores the booking response, label, manifest and tracking id.
  6. 6TMS consumes pickup, in-transit, out-for-delivery, delay and POD events.
  7. 7TMS classifies exceptions and recommends the safest approved next action.
  8. 8RMS receives a customer-visible status projection; FMS receives freight cost evidence.

The Arin-over-MCP surface

Arin would read transport facts, classify exceptions and prepare approval-bound actions. TMS would validate policy and human approval before booking a carrier or resolving an exception.

arin -> tms :: governed actionscope: tms:exception:write
POST /mcp/tools/call
{
"tool": "delivery.exception.resolve",
"args": { "shipment": "SHP-4821", "action": "reschedule" },
"reason": "carrier missed pickup window",
"idempotency_key": "a1f9..."
}
// TMS would check scope, policy and approval state, then:
proposal: awaiting_approval → approved → executed with audit

MCP read resources

tms.transport-orderstms.shipment-detailtms.tracking-timelinetms.delivery-exceptionstms.carrier-performancetms.freight-cost-evidencetms.return-pickupstms.route-plan

action tools (approval-gated)

shipment.planshipment.tendershipment.bookshipment.cancelshipment.retenderpickup.scheduleroute.assigndelivery.exception.resolveclaim.preparefreight.dispute.prepare

Every mutating tool would declare a required tms:* scope and an idempotency key. Booking, cancellation, retender, claim and freight-dispute actions would need an approval state and a reason. Proposals would stay proposals until TMS validates policy and a human approves.

The family boundary

TMS would own transport truth without taking ownership of orders, stock, procurement, accounting or fleet maintenance. Systems exchange information through REST, MCP and events.

ModuleWhat it ownsExchange with TMS
ICEIdentity and OAuth 2.1 token issuance for the whole family.TMS would validate ICE tokens and own tms:* resource authorization.
RMSCustomer order, checkout, shipping option, delivery promise, payment.TMS would receive order-ready and return requests, and project customer-safe status back.
WMSPhysical stock, package readiness, warehousing dispatch and receiving.Package-ready evidence would drive TMS booking; TMS returns labels and manifests.
SCMSupplier commitments, purchase orders, ASNs and vendor terms.TMS would own inbound movement evidence for supplier and vendor-return shipments.
FMSFreight accruals, invoice approval, payment, accounting and close.TMS would hand over quoted vs booked vs invoiced freight evidence for audit.
EAMFleet assets, maintenance, meter readings and downtime.TMS would read vehicle availability and pass usage evidence for owned-fleet routes.
ArinThe agent layer - explains, classifies, recommends, prepares actions.Arin would consume TMS facts over MCP and prepare approval-bound actions only.
TMSTransport truth: plans, bookings, tracking, POD, exceptions, claims, freight evidence.The transportation system of record the neighbours hand movement to. This page's subject.

Shape the concept

Help shape the transport system of record.

If your team works in the gap between the warehouse and the carrier, tell us how goods move and where visibility or accountability breaks down. Your operating priorities will help shape the first TMS implementation.