Shipment Consolidation

This article explains how the Tai TMS combines several shipments into one consolidated move, how the carrier cost is shared out to the shipments inside it, and how to add or remove a shipment from the group.

Overview

Consolidation lets you move several shipments together as a single trip with one carrier while keeping each original shipment intact for billing and tracking. When you consolidate, the Tai TMS creates a new consolidated shipment (the parent) that represents the whole combined move. The shipments you selected become the children of that parent: they stay open as their own records, each with its own customer and its own sell price, but their linehaul segment is now linked to the parent.

This is useful when multiple loads share a lane or a truck. Instead of paying and tracking each one separately with the carrier, you manage the physical move and the carrier cost once, on the parent, and then split that cost back down to each child so every shipment carries its fair share of the freight bill.

The parent and its children are clearly marked. The consolidated shipment carries a "consolidation parent" alert, and each shipment inside it carries a "consolidation child" alert, so staff can always tell how a shipment fits into the group.

How it works

You build a consolidation from the company loadboard. Select the shipments you want to combine, then choose the consolidate action. A dialog opens with a Create / Update switch:

• Create a new consolidation: choose the customer for the consolidated shipment, pick a shipment type and the carrier that will run the combined move, and assign a transit leg type to each shipment being added. The Tai TMS then creates a new consolidated (parent) shipment and links each selected shipment to it. You need at least two shipments to create a consolidation.
• Add to an existing consolidation: search for and select an existing consolidated (parent) shipment, then add the newly selected shipments to it.

When shipments are consolidated, the Tai TMS copies each child's commodities and stops onto the parent so the parent reflects the entire combined load. On the parent, the first pickup becomes the First Pick and one stop becomes the Last Drop; the stops in between are ordered and can be re-sequenced. Each copied commodity is tagged with the child shipment it came from so the parent can always show which freight belongs to which shipment.

Because a consolidated move often has several pickups and drops close together, the parent's stops can be tidied up:

• Merge stops: combine two or more stops (for example, several stops at the same postal code) into a single stop. The Tai TMS folds together the address, contact, instructions, and reference numbers, and then re-numbers the remaining stops in order.
• Reorder stops: change the sequence of the parent's intermediate stops, including using route optimization to suggest and apply an efficient order.

The carrier cost lives on the parent. On the consolidated shipment's pricing screen you set the total buy (what you pay the carrier for the whole move) and then split it across the children using the Distribute Buy Rate option. The screen shows the parent's carrier pricing side by side with a Consolidated Shipment Pricing Breakdown that lists each child with its assigned buy, assigned sell, and margin. If the parent's totals do not match the sum of the children, a warning icon appears so you can reconcile them.

Business rules & limits

• A consolidation always has a parent (the consolidated shipment) and one or more children. The children remain open shipments with their own customers; they are not merged into a single record.
• You need at least two shipments to create a consolidation.
• A shipment that is already consolidated cannot be consolidated again, and the Tai TMS blocks the attempt with a message. A shipment whose linehaul segment already has an approved carrier bill also cannot be consolidated.
• Distribute Buy Rate offers five methods for splitting the parent's carrier cost across the children: Weight, Handling Units, Miles, Sell Rate, and Cubic Feet. The parent's total buy is divided in proportion to the chosen measure, and any rounding difference is placed on the last child so the shares always add up to the parent total.
• Distribution only works when every child has a usable value for the method you pick. If any child has zero for the chosen measure (for example, no miles, no handling units, no weight, no dimensions, or a sell rate of zero), the Tai TMS stops the distribution and tells you which value to fix or to pick a different method.
• Distribution flows one way only: from the parent's buy to each child's buy. It sets the cost share on the children; it does not change any sell price. Each child keeps the sell it charges its own customer.
• After a shipment is consolidated, its buy (cost) is managed centrally from the parent and is no longer edited directly on the child. Its sell to its own customer stays with the child and continues to be invoiced separately.
• The parent's sell is the combined total of the children's sell prices. The Tai TMS flags a warning when the parent's buy, sell, or margin does not equal the sum of the children's.
• You can remove a single child from a consolidation using the Unconsolidate Shipment action, without canceling anything (see the FAQ). This is available only before accounting has started on the affected charges.
• Canceling the consolidated (parent) shipment releases all of its children back to standalone shipments; it does not cancel the children themselves.

Frequently asked questions

How do I consolidate several shipments into one?

Go to the company loadboard, select the shipments you want to combine, and choose the consolidate action. In the dialog, keep the switch on Create, choose the customer, shipment type, and carrier for the combined move, assign a transit leg type to each shipment, and confirm. The Tai TMS creates a new consolidated (parent) shipment and links the selected shipments to it as children. You must select at least two shipments.

Can I add more shipments to a consolidation that already exists?

Yes. Open the same consolidate dialog and flip the switch to Update. Search for and select the existing consolidated (parent) shipment, then add the newly selected shipments. They are linked to that parent alongside the children already there, and their stops and commodities are added to the parent.

How is the carrier cost split among the shipments in a consolidation?

On the consolidated shipment's pricing screen you set the total buy for the whole move, then use Distribute Buy Rate and choose a method. The Tai TMS splits the parent's buy across the children in proportion to that method and shows each child's assigned share in the Consolidated Shipment Pricing Breakdown. There are five methods: Weight, Handling Units, Miles, Sell Rate, and Cubic Feet.

Why did my buy-rate distribution fail?

Distribution needs every child to have a usable value for the method you picked. If even one child has zero for that measure, the Tai TMS stops and shows a specific message, for example that a child has no mileage, no handling units, no weight, no dimensions, or a sell rate of zero. Fix the missing value on that child, or choose a different distribution method that all children can satisfy.

Does distributing the buy rate change what my customers are charged?

No. Distribution only moves the parent's carrier cost (buy) down to the children as their cost share. It never changes sell prices. Each child keeps the sell it charges its own customer, and those child sells are invoiced separately.

Can I remove one shipment from a consolidation without canceling it?

Yes. On the consolidated pricing breakdown, use the Unconsolidate Shipment action next to the child you want to remove. That child is unlinked from the parent and becomes a standalone shipment again; it is not canceled, and the other children stay consolidated. When a child is removed this way, the parent's sell total is reduced by that child's amount. The action is only available before accounting has begun on the related charges, so if invoicing or billing has already started you will not see the option.

What happens if I cancel the consolidated (parent) shipment?

Canceling the parent releases every child from the consolidation. The children are unlinked from the parent's stops and commodities and go back to being standalone shipments, and their billing is reset so they can be handled on their own again. Canceling the parent does not cancel the child shipments; each one continues on its own.

How can I tell whether a shipment is part of a consolidation?

Look for the consolidation alerts. The consolidated shipment shows a "consolidation parent" alert, and every shipment inside it shows a "consolidation child" alert. On the consolidated shipment's pricing screen, the Consolidated Shipment Pricing Breakdown also lists each child with a link to its own record, its assigned buy and sell, and its margin.