GlossaryEN1 min readUpdated: Jun 16, 2026

Central Freight Management

Central freight management consolidates all transport bookings of an organisation under a single governance unit rather than distributing responsibility across departments, plants, or branches.

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Last updated: 16 June 2026Published: 19 June 2025

Source: https://www.sap.com/products/freight-management.html

Category

Logistics Concept

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1 min

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118

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Definition & Explanation

Central freight management consolidates all transport bookings of an organisation under a single governance unit rather than distributing responsibility across departments, plants, or branches. The operational backbone is typically a Transport Management System (TMS), through which freight requests, carrier selection, routing, and shipment tracking are handled in a standardised way. The primary lever is volume consolidation: pooling all freight spend centrally yields stronger carrier rates and eliminates fragmented, parallel negotiations. The model also creates company-wide visibility into shipment status, costs, and carbon emissions – a prerequisite for meaningful reporting and continuous network optimisation. Unlike a decentralised setup, successful implementation requires a clearly defined internal governance process to ensure local operational requirements are not overridden by central efficiency targets.