TCG's advanced activity-based costing and other software has gained wide acceptance among the leading Less the Truckload (LTL) and Truckload (TL) carriers in the industry. TCG products operate on stand-along personal computers and local area networks running Microsoft Windows. In addition to the products shown below, TCG offers custom programming and other analysis programs.
LTL/CIS The LTL Cost Information System (CIS) is a comprehensive computer model developed by TCG which is customized for individual motor carriers who provide LTL/TL service via a terminal network. CIS combines carrier traffic and financial information with carrier and/or industry performance standards to develop the cost of individual shipments. The system processes freight bills or user-built shipment description files to provide accurate, specific cost information for pricing, traffic analysis, profitability analysis and operations/productivity analysis.
TL/CIS TCG's irregular-route Truckload Cost Information System develops cost analysis for truckload and LTL loaded-to-ride freight including backhaul, stop-offs, loading/unloading, equipment type and specific geographic or time period cost levels. The system operates in an interactive mode which can be used by dispatchers and fleet managers to negotiate prices or accept/reject loads. TL/CIS can be interfaced with numerous dispatch/freight bill systems, mileage calculators and with Qualcomm, QTRACS and ONTRACS files. (Qualcomm, QTRACS and ONTRACS are registered trademarks of Qualcomm Incorporated.)
Traffic/CIS An extension of either LTL/CIS or TL/CIS, this system routinely costs all traffic in each accounting period via interface with both cost and customer profiles to produce a costed data warehouse as well as standard monthly reports for account and freight terminal profitability. Users can also custom design reports to be run on any period or combination of periods in the costed database. The costed database can be used for analysis of virtually any traffic breakdown to enable users to "zero-in" on both profitable and unprofitable traffic segments. Traffic segments can also be re-costed under other "what-if" scenarios to enhance decision making and shipper negotiations. The system can interfaced with onboard computers and/or bar code readers to allocate costs on the basis of the actual circumstances of each shipment's movement.
CUBE-IT, Powered by TCG is an add-on module to the Cost Information System that gives users multi-faceted views of shipments in the Traffic/CIS database. Going beyond reports and spreadsheets, CUBE-IT lets the user select various traffic data sets and then drag and drop a wide-range of metrics to show and compare summaries of shipment history by a variety of breakdowns, to provide insight into freight profitability. Thus, insight on customers, lanes, and seasonal trends can be obtained within a few clicks.
Pricing/CIS An extension of LTL/CIS, this system integrates software from SMC³ - Southern Motor Carriers, Middlewest Motor Freight Bureau, North American Transportation Council and/or Freight Carriers Association of Canada, to users of their extensive digital libraries of US and Canadian tariffs. Users can rate and re-rate LTL/CIS freight-bill files on which they are conducting profitability analysis, at the same time the freight is costed. With proper authorization, third party tariffs may also be incorporated into this program.
ProfitCenter/CIS is a module of the TCG Cost Information System that produces freight terminal Profit and Loss (P&L) statements with accurate allocation of revenues based on the standard costs of activities absorbed at each location for each shipment handled. Traditional Terminal P&L Statements have always suffered due to revenue allocation inequities. This is because the Terminal P&L Statement relies on a fixed division of revenue (usually 50-50) between origin and destination freight terminal, as well as allocations of rehandling (breakbulk), linehaul and other non-terminal expenses, which can be arbitrary.
Productivity/CIS An extension of the Traffic/CIS, this system routinely produces extensive dock and P&D productivity reports at the shipment, run, terminal and company level. Variable budgets and standard cost reports can then be predicated on actual traffic mix/freight flow. The system is an excellent tool to monitor terminal operations and assess problem accounts, based on comparison to standards for the actual freight handled, rather than on arbitrary weight/time averages not sensitive to freight mix.