TMS.ai + Alpine Logistics: Cutting Invoicing from Weeks to 48 Hours

Alpine Logistics is a family-owned business specializing in automotive expedite shipments. Founded by Rod Rice, who spent 20 years managing logistics for Honda, the company is built on long-standing customer relationships and deep industry experience. His son, Aaron Rice, grew up in the business, helping with paperwork from a young age and now leading backend operations as Office Manager.

With five employees and five trucks (a mix of cargo vans and 26ft box trucks), Alpine is known for reliability and speed. Eventually, the company reached a point where relying on paper and spreadsheets could no longer keep up.

The Challenge: Surviving on Spreadsheets and Paperwork

For years, Alpine ran operations on Excel and Google Sheets. Orders were entered by hand, drivers turned in paperwork at the end of the day, and invoices were created in QuickBooks after multiple rounds of re-typing the same information.

To keep track of order numbers across documents, the team also relied on a whiteboard system in the office. Numbers were written on the board for visibility, then copied into Excel, printed on paperwork, and later re-entered into QuickBooks.

This patchwork process worked, until it didn’t. 

During busy periods, it led to missed trips, duplicate orders, and stacks of unassigned paperwork that delayed invoicing for weeks.

“We reached the point where the existing process was holding us back. I’d be running operations in the morning and driving a truck in the afternoon, all while chasing down paperwork. It wasn’t sustainable.”

- Aaron Rice, Office Manager, Alpine Logistics

Why Alpine Chose TMS.ai

When evaluating TMS solutions, Alpine needed something powerful but easy to run alongside a small team.

Other vendors required hours of training and shutting down operations for two weeks. For a five-truck company, that simply was not possible.

TMS.ai stood out because it offered:

• Affordable growth: A solution that fit the budget of a small carrier but could scale with the business.

• Easy to use: An intuitive system that drivers and staff could pick up right away.

• Fast to implement: TMS.ai was running alongside operations without downtime.

• Trusted partnership: Years of conversations with TMS.ai’s team gave Aaron confidence in the decision.

“I wish I jumped on it sooner than I did,” Aaron admitted. “It felt like an expense at the time, but it’s more than paid for itself.”

The Results with TMS.ai

By moving onto TMS.ai, Alpine replaced re-typing and paperwork with one connected system:

• Invoicing speed: Cut from 1–2 weeks to just 48 hours

• Error prevention: Orders cannot close without required paperwork, eliminating missed documents

• No more duplicates: Automated checks keep the operation clean

• Faster order entry: Order numbers auto-assigned, data added quickly with AI-driven workflows

• One platform: Replaced spreadsheets, and QuickBooks hand-offs

Alpine is also piloting TED, TMS.ai’s AI-powered inbox assistant.

“The email-to-order automation is the most valuable feature we’re testing right now. It means orders just flow into the system without me touching them.”

Everyday Impact

Today, Aaron manages operations primarily through TMS.ai, while drivers use the mobile app for dispatch and paperwork. Rod occasionally logs in to monitor activity, but the entire team benefits from having one connected platform.

Customer support has also been a highlight.

“Anytime I have a question, I get an immediate response. That makes a big difference when you’re running lean like we are.”

Looking Forward

Alpine is navigating a tough freight market with confidence, thanks to TMS.ai. What started as a family business running on whiteboards and spreadsheets is now a technology-enabled operation built for resilience and growth.

“For a small company, TMS.ai has been the perfect fit. It gave us the tools we needed to survive, and now it’s helping us plan for the future.”

- Aaron Rice, Office Manager, Alpine Logistics