CTSI, formerly known as Continental Traffic Service Inc., is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year with a shorter name, but a longer company history than any other logistics IT developer, the company says.

The Memphis-based firm is a leading provider of supply-chain execution technology and freight invoice services. CTSI’s main IT product, the web-hosted e-CTMS transportation management system (TMS), was built on the company’s experience processing more than 200 million transportation-related financial transactions annually. Founded in 1955 as a freight bill audit and payment service, the company adapted to market and regulatory changes that have since sidelined nearly all of its competitors by expanding into consulting and information technology.
“The traditional freight bill audit and payment industry has passed the same crossroads that the typewriter industry faced 25 years ago,” says CEO J. Kenneth Hazen, who has led CTSI since 1982.
CTSI recently introduced data-mining modules to the e-CTMS platform and opened its first European office (Birmingham, UK), literally enhancing both its depth and breadth.
The newer Information Management Module mines both detailed and summarized data for reporting, analysis and visual depiction of transportation data. The Modeling & Benchmarking Module calculates cost increases or savings by adjusting variables to re-rate previous shipments, generating “what if” scenarios. Like the other e-CTMS modules, they can be economically purchased separately.
e-CTMS has many of the same features as other transportation management systems (TMS), but the hosted, on-demand suite’s analytical tools are supported with a 15-terabyte warehouse of freight transactional data, equivalent in size to the printed collection of the Library of Congress.
CTSI processes more than 200 million financial freight transactions annually, representing more than $5 billion in payments for its 350 clients, including 25 FORTUNE 500 companies. In addition to its freight bill audit/payment and consulting services, the company’s e-CTMS transportation management system suite features 10 web-based modules that can be deployed separately: Information Management, Modeling and Benchmarking, Rate Management, Data Base Maintenance/Management, Order Management/Bill of Lading, Load Planning/Optimization, Carrier/Mode Selection , Posting and Tendering, Freight Bill Auditing and Payment, Loss & Damage Claims. CTSI is online at www.ctsi-global.com.