TMS Migration for Freight Brokers, Done in 90 Days
Transfix’s 90-day TMS migration moves freight brokers off legacy platforms without disrupting live freight. It’s the process brokers use when they’re switching TMS providers and can’t afford downtime — data migration, training, and testing, done in stages you control.
See the migration plan ↓A TMS migration is supposed to be the hard part for most brokers. But staying with a bad TMS is more expensive: quotes that lag the market, a system your team works around instead of with, and a switching-cost fear that's kept teams on outdated software years longer than it should. All this when brokers know the right TMS helps improve customer service and boosts profitability.
Transfix is a freight broker TMS built by people who ran a brokerage for over a decade — including the systems switch that comes with growing one. Our 90-day TMS migration replaces the ‘switch or stay dilemma’ with a plan: data migration, team training, and live-freight testing, backed by a support team that walks your people through every step from day one.
Get the migration built by brokers who’ve run the tech stack themselves.
What a TMS Migration to Transfix Actually Looks Like
Ideally, switching TMS providers should feel like a managed project with a fixed end date, not an open-ended migration that stalls your team mid-quarter. If you're choosing freight broker software, you also need a migration plan that protects live operations and covers the key brokerage functions your new platform will automate. When the plan is specific, the fear of switching stops being the reason to stay.
Our TMS migration covers:
Data migration
Historical loads, carrier records, and pricing history are audited first so teams know what to move, archive, or delete before transition.
Team training
Hands-on training for pricing, coverage, and ops teams before go-live, not after.
Live-freight testing
Real loads run in parallel before your team fully cuts over, with careful sequencing so freight keeps moving throughout migration.
Phased integrations
Works with proprietary TMS environments, no-TMS setups, and phased rollouts on your timeline.
Dedicated support
A team that walks your people through every step from day one, not a help-desk queue.
Change management planning
A written plan for how your team adopts the new system, set before migration starts.
How Transfix De-Risks a TMS Migration
Ten years as a freight brokerage taught Transfix exactly what breaks during a systems switch, because we ran that switch on our own book before we sold the platform. The 90-day implementation policy exists because open-ended migrations are sensitive and need extensive care during transition.
Every phase of the migration is scoped upfront: what moves in week one, what runs in parallel, what a go-live date actually means for your team, and how post-launch performance monitoring will catch issues quickly once the system is live.
Key Features Brokers Get on the Other Side of the Switch
Brokers see stronger operational efficiency after the switch:
Everything That Moves With You When You Switch
Load creation and quoting migrate together, not in separate phases
Carrier records and compliance history come across intact
Historical pricing data feeds Custom Cost Models from day one
Existing integrations, accounting, ELD, and load boards, get mapped during migration
Team workflows get rebuilt around how your desk actually works, not a template
Reporting continuity from day one, with no data gap between systems
Why Freight Brokers Switch to Transfix
Switching a TMS can have friction, but Transfix addresses that with:
- 90-day implementation covering data migration, training built around role-specific workflows for pricing, coverage, and ops teams, and live-freight testing
- A support team that walks your people through every step from day one, including communicating what changes for customers and carriers during migration
- Architecture that fits proprietary TMS environments, no-TMS setups, and phased integrations, helping reduce manual handoffs
From one pilot unit to an entire brokerage division
One of the largest logistics companies in North America started with Transfix in a single brokerage unit. After seeing the pricing accuracy, margin lift, and reduced data entry time on live freight, they expanded the platform across their entire brokerage division. That pilot-to-expansion path lets brokers prove the switch on real loads before a full rollout.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a TMS migration for freight brokers involve?
A TMS migration for freight brokers covers moving load data, carrier records, pricing history, and integrations from an old platform to a new one without stopping live freight. Transfix scopes that migration into a 90-day implementation: data migration, team training, and live-freight testing, so brokers know exactly what happens each week instead of managing an open-ended project.
How long does it take to switch TMS providers?
Transfix targets a 90-day implementation covering data migration, integration setup, team training, and live-freight testing. The timeline is fixed upfront so your team knows what happens each week instead of managing an open-ended project. While other TMS options in the market like Alvys and Transport Pro offer transition and going live in a few hours to days, migration done in haste can lead to unexpected consequences.
How do brokers switch TMS providers without disrupting live freight?
Live-freight testing runs real loads through the new system in parallel with your current one before your team fully cuts over, with real time tracking in place to protect active loads. Nothing goes live until it's been tested on your own freight, helping you track shipments during the transition and protect customer satisfaction so the switch doesn't cost you a bid season or a customer relationship.
What does it cost to switch freight broker software like TMS?
The subscription delta between vendors is rarely the real number. The cost that matters is what staying costs: lanes repriced after the market moved, bid season overtime, and margin left on the table while a team works around a system instead of with it. A one-time, scoped implementation is a cost with a plan; staying on an outgrown system is a permanent tax.
Is Transfix a good alternative to McLeod?
McLeod is deep and proven TMS software, with strong accounting and a large install base. Brokers who switch from McLeod are usually not dissatisfied with what it does, they've outgrown how slowly it does it. Transfix pairs a 90-day implementation with embedded pricing intelligence McLeod doesn't have, so the switch trades depth you've stopped using for accuracy you're currently missing.
Is Transfix a good alternative to Trimble?
Trimble covers a broad ecosystem across fleet and freight broker software, but implementation is complicated and the architecture is legacy. Brokers switching from Trimble to Transfix get a faster deployment, a modern, cloud based TMS system with a user friendly interface, and pricing intelligence embedded directly in the workflow instead of bolted on, helping improve efficiency as the business grows.
Is Transfix a good alternative to Descartes or Aljex?
Descartes and Aljex are established TMS platforms offering mature operational coverage, accounting, tracking, and brokerage workflows, built on an older architecture and interface. Transfix covers the same operational ground with a modern replacement and adds pricing intelligence the legacy platform can't match.
What happens to our historical freight and pricing data during a TMS migration?
Historical loads, carrier records, pricing history, document storage, and customer information migrate as part of the standard 90-day implementation, and teams should audit records first to decide what to move, archive, or delete. That history also feeds your Custom Cost Models from day one, so your pricing engine isn't starting cold on your own freight.
Do we need to switch everything at once, or can we run a phased rollout?
Neither is required. Transfix's architecture fits proprietary TMS environments, no-TMS setups, and phased integrations, so brokers can pilot in a single unit, reconnect external tools, preserve document exchange, run parallel systems during testing, or cut over in stages without disrupting broader supply chain operations. NFI started in one brokerage unit before expanding to their full division. Clear communication with customers and carriers during each phase helps minimize confusion.
What's the biggest reason TMS switches fail, and how does Transfix avoid it?
Most failed switches aren't a technology problem, they're an unplanned change-management problem, where repetitive tasks and routine tasks keep piling up after the switch because the rollout never truly sticks. Modernizing a brokerage is half technology and half getting a team to work differently, and most vendors don't say that part out loud, even though successful change management is what helps teams deliver superior service and build stronger carrier relationships after go-live. Transfix scopes change management into the 90-day implementation from the start instead of discovering it with you at month six.
Ready to see what your TMS migration would look like?
A 90-day TMS migration, scoped upfront — built by brokers, for brokers.
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