Shipment Consolidation: How Consolidated Moves Work

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 a shipment to 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

Starting a consolidation. Select the shipments you want to combine in the bulk actions of the company loadboard or of the shipment search results, and choose Consolidate Shipments. A dialog opens with a Create / Update switch:

Create a new consolidation: choose the customer for the consolidated shipment, pick a shipment type (Truckload is preselected) and the carrier that will run the combined move, and confirm which transit leg of each shipment is being consolidated (the leg is chosen for you when a shipment has only one). The Tai TMS then creates a new consolidated (parent) shipment and links each selected shipment's leg to it, and the chosen carrier is applied to each of those legs. You cannot create a consolidation from a single shipment, and any selected shipment that is already consolidated, or that lacks the chosen leg, is flagged and blocks the Create button. The new consolidated shipment is created in Ready status, and the staff member who created it is assigned to it.
Add to an existing consolidation: flip the switch to Update, search for an existing consolidated (parent) shipment by its shipment ID, and add the newly selected shipments to it.
Convert a shipment into a consolidation: a Truckload shipment that has a single transit leg and is not already part of a consolidation shows a Convert to Consolidation button on its pricing section. It changes the shipment's linehaul leg into a consolidation leg and marks the shipment as a Consolidation (Parent), after which you can add shipments to it with the Update option. The screen warns that this conversion cannot be undone.

What is copied to the parent. 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. Each copied commodity is tagged with the child shipment it came from, so the parent can always show which freight belongs to which shipment. Stop addresses, contacts, times, instructions, and stop reference numbers are copied too. On a newly created parent, the first two stops copied become the First Pick and the Last Drop, and every other stop is added as an intermediate stop. Any accessorials selected on the children are added to the parent as charge lines. The parent's mileage is calculated from its stops.

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

Merge stops: combine two or more stops (for example, several stops at the same postal code) into a single stop. The Tai TMS keeps the target stop's details, fills in anything it is missing from the merged stops, adds the merged stops' instructions, joins reference numbers of the same type with commas, 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.

Keeping the parent and children in step.

Changing the status of the consolidated shipment applies the same status to each child (canceling it is handled differently, see below).
Changing the carrier on the consolidated shipment also updates each child's carrier, tariff, status, and service level.
A location update logged on the parent is also written to each child that has not yet been delivered.
In the parent's activity log, a Push Activity to Children action copies an activity entry onto every child shipment.

Where the carrier cost lives. The carrier cost lives on the parent. When a consolidation is created, the parent's carrier cost and sell start out as the totals of the selected shipments' buy and sell charges on the consolidated leg. Each child's own carrier charges are then set so they are no longer billed on the child, so the carrier is billed once, 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. When Canadian tax is in use, it is left out of the assigned buy, the margin, and the sell comparison, and an information icon on a child's assigned sell shows how much Canadian tax that sell includes.

Removing a shipment from a consolidation. Use the Unconsolidate Shipment action. It appears next to each child in the Consolidated Shipment Pricing Breakdown on the parent, and next to the Consolidated Shipment link in the carrier section of a child shipment. Removing a child unlinks it from the parent so it becomes a standalone shipment again; it is not canceled and the other children stay consolidated.

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 that already has an approved carrier bill on its linehaul segment also cannot be consolidated.
When you add shipments to an existing consolidation, the parent's carrier cost and sell are not recalculated automatically. Adjust the parent's pricing yourself and use the warning icons on the breakdown to see whether it matches the children.
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 must be greater than zero. It 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 is available until a carrier bill has been created for the consolidated shipment.
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, with each child's other carrier-cost lines set to zero, and it adds a note to each child's activity log. It does not change any sell price. Each child keeps the sell it charges its own customer.
After a shipment is consolidated, its own carrier charges are not billed separately; the carrier bill is created for the consolidated shipment. Its sell to its own customer stays with the child and continues to be invoiced separately.
The parent's sell starts as 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. It is available only until a carrier bill has been created for the consolidated shipment's charges.
Removing a child takes that shipment's freight lines off the parent and clears the links between the two shipments' stops. It reduces the parent's sell by the child's sell, but it leaves the parent's carrier cost unchanged, so adjust the parent's buy yourself if needed. The child's "Consolidation (Child)" alert is removed once it is no longer part of any consolidation, and its carrier charges are reset: ready to bill if the child was Delivered, no accounting if it was Canceled, otherwise not ready.
Canceling the consolidated (parent) shipment from its Update Status screen 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?

In the Tai TMS, select the shipments you want to combine in the bulk actions of the company loadboard or the shipment search results and choose Consolidate Shipments. In the dialog, keep the switch on Create, choose the customer, shipment type, and carrier for the combined move, confirm the transit leg of each shipment, and click Create. The Tai TMS creates a new consolidated (parent) shipment in Ready status 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. In the Tai TMS, open the same Consolidate Shipments dialog and flip the switch to Update. Search for the existing consolidated (parent) shipment by its shipment ID, 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. The parent's carrier cost and sell are not recalculated when you add shipments, so check the pricing breakdown warning icons and adjust the parent's pricing if needed.

Can I turn an existing shipment into a consolidated shipment?

Yes, in some cases. In the Tai TMS, a Truckload shipment with a single transit leg that is not already part of a consolidation shows a Convert to Consolidation button in its pricing section. It changes the linehaul leg into a consolidation leg and marks the shipment as a Consolidation (Parent); the screen warns that this cannot be undone. You can then add shipments to it using the Update option in the Consolidate Shipments dialog.

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

On the consolidated shipment's pricing screen in the Tai TMS 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?

In the Tai TMS, distribution needs every child to have a usable value for the method you picked, and the parent's total buy must be greater than zero. 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. In the Tai TMS, 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.

Why can't I bill the carrier from a child shipment?

In the Tai TMS, once a shipment is consolidated its own carrier charges are set so they are not billed separately, because the carrier is billed once for the whole move on the consolidated (parent) shipment. The child's sell to its own customer is unaffected and is still invoiced on the child.

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

Yes. In the Tai TMS, use the Unconsolidate Shipment action next to the child in the consolidated shipment's pricing breakdown, or next to the Consolidated Shipment link in the child shipment's carrier section. That child is unlinked from the parent and becomes a standalone shipment again; it is not canceled, and the other children stay consolidated. The parent's sell is reduced by that child's sell, but the parent's carrier cost is not changed. The action is only available until a carrier bill has been created for the consolidated shipment's charges, so if billing has already started you will not see the option.

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

In the Tai TMS, canceling the parent from its Update Status screen releases every child from the consolidation. The children are unlinked from the parent's stops, lose their "Consolidation (Child)" alert, and go back to being standalone shipments, and their carrier charges are 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.

What happens to the child shipments when I change the status of the consolidated shipment?

In the Tai TMS, a status change made on the consolidated (parent) shipment is applied to each child shipment, and changing the carrier on the consolidated shipment also updates each child's carrier, tariff, status, and service level. Canceling the parent is the exception: it releases the children instead of canceling them.

Why does the breakdown show a warning icon next to the totals?

In the Tai TMS, the warning icon on the Consolidated Shipment Pricing Breakdown totals means the parent's total buy, sell, or margin does not equal the sum of the children's. Reconcile the parent's pricing with the children, for example after adding shipments to an existing consolidation. An information icon (rather than a warning) next to a sell amount means the amount includes Canadian tax, so a difference there is expected.

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

Look for the consolidation alerts. In the Tai TMS, 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, and a child shipment's carrier section links back to its consolidated shipment.