Many shippers use their transportation management system to planthe outbound freight that is being delivered to their customers.Shippers can also use Sterling TMS to efficientlymanage the inbound freight that they receive from their suppliersand vendors.

The Inbound Planning solution in Sterling TMS allows shippersand suppliers to collaborate on managing inbound orders and shipments.The Inbound Planning solution provides the following capabilities:

• Use a single system to manage both inbound and outbound freight.By managing all your shipping volume in Sterling TMS you can negotiatewith carriers to procure better rates and service.
• Use the Freight Payment module in Sterling TMS to automateand audit the settlement process for all your shipments.
• Provide additional visibility to your supply chain personnel ofthe freight being delivered to your facilities. Track all the milestonesin the shipping life cycle from purchase order through delivery.
• Use the Sterling TMS optimizerto consolidate inbound deliveries which determines the best transportationmode and the lowest cost.
• Find additional cost-saving opportunities by switching from prepaid to collect freightterms to gain control of inbound freight costs.

Larger vendors that are EDI-enabled can exchange orders shipmentsand other business documents with Sterling TMS in EDI format.Smaller vendors that are not EDI-enabled can use the IBM? SterlingSupplier Portal to exchangedata with Sterling TMS.

Forexample your suppliers can use the following process to transferdata between their systems and Sterling TMS:

1. The supplier uses Sterling Supplier Portal to createa routing request.
2. When the routing request is submitted to Sterling TMS an orderis created.
3. The Sterling TMS shippercan consolidate the order into a shipment and plan the most cost-effectiveshipping option.
4. The shipment can be submitted from Sterling TMS back to Sterling Supplier Portal for thesupplier to track in its system.