Gartner defines the real-time transportation visibility platform (RTTVP) market as platforms that provide real-time location and status insights into orders once they have left the warehouse. This includes other facilities, such as those of a brand owner, supplier, contract manufacturer or service provider. Such platforms, owned and managed by third-party software vendors, represent part of the supply chain visibility market that predominantly — but not solely — addresses domestic road transportation modes. RTTVPs obtain data through integration (via API or electronic data interchange [EDI], for example) with carrier systems, direct feeds from telematics (in-cab or in-trailer devices) or other technologies or apps.
Gartner defines a third-party logistics (3PL) provider as a logistics service provider that moves, stores and manages the flow and distribution of products and materials on behalf of its customers for a fee without taking ownership. The 3PL will typically provide and manage operations that must include warehousing, transportation or value-added services that can be scaled and customized to the shipper’s needs. 3PL providers solve the challenge of efficiently managing the movement, storage and distribution of goods by enabling companies to outsource complex logistics operations, thereby reducing operational costs, improving supply chain visibility and supporting business scalability.
Gartner defines transportation management systems (TMSs) as software that supports multimodal planning and execution of the physical transport of goods across the supply chain. It allows a shipper to manage varying levels of transportation complexity across multiple transport modes and geographic regions. TMS solutions are utilized by shippers of differing sizes, operational complexity, industries and geographic locations.