How to Connect Your ERP and TMS for a More Efficient Supply Chain

For companies managing large volumes of orders, shipments, and freight data, disconnects between systems are one of the biggest causes of delays, errors, and operational inefficiencies. One of the most common and impactful gaps? A lack of connection between your ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) and TMS (Transportation Management System).

In this guide, we’ll walk through why connecting your ERP and TMS matters, how it helps reduce manual work, and what to consider when choosing the right integration approach.

What Are ERP and TMS Systems?

• ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning): A centralized system used to manage orders, inventory, finance, procurement, and more.

  
  

• TMS (Transportation Management System): A platform designed to help plan, execute, and optimize freight and transportation operations, including carrier management, shipment tracking, and freight audit.

  
  

When these systems operate in silos, order and freight data must be transferred manually, leading to errors, delays, and lack of visibility.

Why Connect ERP and TMS?

1. Eliminate manual data entry Without integration, teams often retype order and shipment details from ERP into the TMS. This not only wastes time but increases the risk of costly mistakes.

   
   

2. Improve shipment accuracy and visibility An integrated ERP and TMS ensures that shipping data (e.g. tracking numbers, carrier status, PODs) syncs automatically with order data. This gives your operations and customer service teams a real-time view of shipment progress.

   
   

3. Accelerate fulfillment When orders flow automatically from ERP to TMS, dispatch planning and freight booking can happen faster, enabling quicker deliveries and better service levels.

   
   

4. Enable cost tracking and reporting Freight costs captured in the TMS can be automatically linked back to order data in the ERP, improving reporting accuracy and giving finance better visibility.

   
   

5. Support scalability Manually transferring data doesn’t scale. Integration allows your team to handle more volume with the same or fewer resources.

How to Connect ERP and TMS

1. Use an Integration Platform (like Switchboard) Middleware solutions like Switchboard act as a layer between your ERP and TMS. They translate and route data between systems automatically—with no manual intervention.

   
   

2. Support multiple formats and methods Whether your ERP uses API, EDI, FTP, or even CSV files, the right integration tool should handle all formats and connect to any TMS platform your business or partners use.

   
   

3. Map and validate data Your integration solution should automatically map fields between systems (e.g. order number, delivery window, carrier ID) and validate them to reduce errors.

   
   

4. Enable two-way communication An effective ERP-TMS integration should allow updates to flow both ways: orders from ERP to TMS, and shipping updates or cost data back from TMS to ERP.

   
   

5. Set up alerts and monitoring Make sure your integration includes error alerts and activity logs. This gives your team visibility into what’s moving, what failed, and why.

How Switchboard Connects ERP and TMS Systems Switchboard is a flexible integration platform that allows you to connect any ERP (SAP, NetSuite, Pronto, MYOB, etc.) with any TMS (project44, FreightView, Transporeon, etc.)

We support API, EDI, file uploads, and even email-based workflows, meaning you can connect with any partner, regardless of their tech stack. Our platform handles mapping, routing, validation, and transformation of all order and freight data between systems.

Use cases include:

• Automatically sending delivery instructions from ERP to TMS

• Receiving real-time carrier updates and syncing them with order statuses

• Logging freight costs back into ERP for finance

  
  

All of this happens without custom builds, manual file handling, or IT delays.

Real Benefits of Connecting ERP and TMS Businesses that use Switchboard to connect ERP and TMS systems have seen:

• 60%+ reduction in manual handling of shipment and order data

• Fewer errors and billing discrepancies

• Faster dispatch times and more accurate delivery ETAs

• Improved coordination between ops, finance, and customer service

Things to Consider When Integrating ERP and TMS

• What formats and protocols does each system support?

• Do you need a real-time or batch-based sync?

• Are your partners also feeding data into either system?

• How often do shipment statuses change, and who needs to see them?

• Do you need to transform or validate data as it flows?

These questions will shape the type of integration approach you need.

If your ERP and TMS aren’t connected, you’re losing time, accuracy, and visibility every day. Automating the connection between these systems transforms how your team works, cuts down manual processing, and makes your supply chain more responsive.

Switchboard makes it easy to connect your ERP and TMS, regardless of format, vendor, or complexity. Want to see it in action? Book a demo today.