What to look for when selecting a TMS for Furniture & Home Products

The right Transportation Management System (TMS) is critical for any furniture or home products shipper. It becomes not just an execution tool, but it can help you optimize your shipping cost, ensure customer satisfaction, and give you optionality when you are shipping across modes.

Top features to look for in a TMS if you are a furniture, rug, or home products shipper. 

1. Claims Management: Unless a massive piece of furniture, your furniture shipment will likely use less-than-truckload or parcel, meaning it will be on a truck with other shipments. Furniture and home goods shipments are delicate and often require special handling. Your TMS should have built-in claims management features to track loss or damage efficiently. This helps you hold carriers accountable and speeds up resolution—saving money and safeguarding your reputation.
2. Support for Parcel Carriers: We see some furniture shippers say they only need to be able to support less-than-truckload or truckload shipments for their business. But in furniture and home products, returns and replacement parts aren’t just common—they’re expected. A TMS that handles parcel shipments well, including reverse logistics, adds efficiency and keeps your customer experience. So while shipping parcel may not be your usual, having a TMS that also supports parcel shipments can help with the complete shipment lifecycle including returns. Also this gives you options for smaller pieces of furniture or accessories to be able to rate shop less-than-truckload and parcel side by side.
3. Robust Shipment Tracking: Visibility is power. A TMS with real-time, end-to-end shipment tracking lets you monitor every move of your freight—whether it’s a bulky sofa or a small area rug. Proactively managing exceptions reduces surprises and boosts trust with your buyers.
4. Shipment and Modal Optimization: We mentioned it above, but want to make sure that looking at modal optimization is tablestakes. Not all freight is created equal, and neither are shipment methods. Your TMS must help you identify when to use parcel, less-than-truckload (LTL), or full truckload shipping to find the sweet spot between cost and speed. This level of optimization drives consistent profitability.

At FreightWise, we know that the best TMS is one that fits your unique challenges and scales with your growth. With tools like Kuebix and OnKue integrated into our platform, you get the clarity and control you need—without the headache.