Your TMS stays the system of record.
TIO works through an adapter built for your TMS, and receives the mail your Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace system copies to it. Adapters are in production for two TMS platforms. For any other system, TIO first checks what it lets an agent read and write. The agents read your inbox and do the prep and the entry. A customs filing is always filed by a person.
- 01Your inboxrequests and documents
- 02TIO agents
- 03Adapterbuilt for your TMS
- 04Your TMSthe system of record
Your TMS
TIO works through an adapter built for each TMS. Adapters are in production for two TMS platforms. For any other system, TIO first checks what it lets an agent read and write. There is no universal connector.
Your inbox
Work reaches the agents by email, through Outlook or Gmail. Your mail system sends a copy to the agent. TIO does not sign in to your mailbox.
Your system of record
The records the agents create are written to your TMS through its adapter. Your TMS stays the source of truth for billing, filing, and every other downstream process.
What happens between the email and the TMS record?
Nothing is ripped out and nothing is replaced. Each action follows the same loop: read, stage, review or run, write.
1 · Read
A booking, worksheet, bill of lading, or delivery order lands in the inbox. The agent reads the message and its attachments and identifies the job it belongs to.
2 · Stage
It resolves the parties, references, and charges against what is already in your TMS and stages a finished record: the complete lot, the priced quote. Anything outside your rules goes to a person with the facts already attached.
3 · Review or run
Each action has its own setting. The agent writes on its own, sends the record to a person on your team to check against its source documents, or waits for a person’s reply. When your team corrects a record, TIO turns the correction into a rule for your operation. TIO’s team writes each rule with you.
4 · Write
TIO writes through the adapter built for your TMS, one action at a time. At the US import forwarder running this in production, that loop took lot creation from about 30 minutes to seconds across 25+ jobs a week.
Why a layer, not a switch?
Replacing a TMS is a year-long project with real failure risk, and most forwarders have years of jobs, rates, and habits in the one they run. TIO’s bet is the opposite: keep the system of record, remove the keying between the inbox and it. If you are weighing that trade, read whether to switch systems or add a layer, or see how it works on ocean import.
Book a demoStraight answers on connecting.
Which TMS platforms does TIO work with?
TIO works through an adapter built for each TMS. Adapters are in production for two TMS platforms, plus email inboxes and carrier rate and tracking sources. For any other system, TIO first checks what it lets an agent read and write, then scopes the job. Your TMS stays the system of record for billing, filing, and every downstream process. TIO does not replace it.
How does the TMS integration actually work?
Read, stage, review or run, write. The agents read what lands in the inbox, resolve it against the jobs and parties already in your TMS, and stage a finished record: the lot with charge lines, the quote. Each action has its own setting. The agent writes on its own, sends the record for review, or waits for a person’s reply before it writes. Anything outside your rules goes to a person. A customs filing is prepared as a draft, and a person files it.
What does connecting take?
A first agent starts as a scoped pilot on your own documents. We need access to the mailbox, sample documents, and a login to your TMS. What takes time is the adapter for your TMS and your rules for the job. An agent goes live when it matches your team’s work on real shipments, one action at a time. Timing depends on the TMS and the job.
What if our TMS is not one of the two in production?
We first check what your system lets an agent read and write. Then we scope the job. Each TMS needs its own adapter before an agent can write to it, so there is no universal connector. Tell us what you run on the demo call and we will scope it there.
