Shipment Lifecycle

The shipment lifecycle describes every stage a load passes through from the moment an order is released to when the carrier is paid. It's the operational backbone of freight management: order release, load planning, carrier selection, tendering, pickup, transit, delivery, proof of delivery collection, invoice receipt, audit, and payment. Each stage generates data, involves different stakeholders, and creates opportunities for things to go right or wrong.

In manual operations, the shipment lifecycle is fragmented across tools – orders in the ERP, load planning in spreadsheets, tendering via email, tracking through carrier portals, invoices in AP systems. This fragmentation means data is re-entered at each handoff, errors compound, and no one has a single view of where things stand. When a customer calls asking about their order, the logistics coordinator is alt-tabbing between six systems to piece together an answer.

Managing the full lifecycle in a single platform – where each stage flows into the next and data carries forward without re-entry – is the core promise of a modern TMS. Order data feeds load building. Load building feeds tendering. Tendering feeds tracking. Tracking feeds delivery confirmation. Delivery confirmation feeds invoicing. Invoicing feeds payment. Each step inherits context from the previous one, and exceptions at any stage are visible to the right people immediately.

For shippers evaluating technology, the shipment lifecycle is the right lens: does the platform cover the stages where you're losing time and money, or does it solve one piece while forcing you to manage the rest manually?