ERP Integration (for Logistics)

ERP integration in logistics means connecting your transportation management system to your enterprise resource planning platform – systems like NetSuite, SAP, or Microsoft Dynamics 365 – so that order data, shipment status updates, and freight costs move between systems automatically. Without this connection, someone on the logistics team is manually exporting orders, re-keying shipment details, and reconciling freight invoices against purchase orders by hand.

A well-built integration typically works in two directions. Inbound, the TMS pulls new orders, item details (dimensions, weights, special handling requirements), and customer information directly from the ERP. Outbound, the TMS writes shipment confirmations, tracking numbers, delivery dates, and freight costs back – feeding finance teams real-time accrual data and giving customer service accurate delivery ETAs without a phone call to the warehouse.

The pain of poor ERP integration is cumulative. Every manual handoff introduces lag and error risk. Finance teams close the books with stale freight accruals because invoices haven't been matched. Customer service quotes delivery dates based on yesterday's data. Logistics coordinators spend their mornings importing orders instead of managing exceptions. For shippers running hundreds of loads per week, even small friction in this data flow compounds into hours of wasted labor and thousands in undetected billing discrepancies.

Modern logistics platforms have made ERP connectivity a baseline expectation rather than a premium add-on, with prebuilt connectors and API-based syncs replacing the months-long EDI mapping projects that used to define TMS implementations.