Software Development for Logistics and Supply Chain TMS, WMS & Visibility
TMS, WMS, freight, 3PL platforms, last-mile delivery, real-time visibility, and shipper-carrier portals. EDI, API, and real-time event ingestion. Shipped in 10 to 24 weeks. USD pricing.
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Who we've built for.
How we work in logistics
- What we build
- TMS · WMS · Freight forwarding · 3PL platforms · Last-mile · Real-time visibility · Yard management · Customs
- Stack
- Next.js · Node.js · Python · PostgreSQL · AWS · PostGIS · Kafka · project44 · FourKites · Shippo
- Compliance
- GDPR · SOC 2 · C-TPAT · AEO · HOS · FMCSA · IATA · CIES · GS1 standards
- Integrations
- FedEx · UPS · DHL · USPS · Maersk · project44 · FourKites · SAP · Manhattan · Blue Yonder · NetSuite
- Pricing in USD
- Starter build from $19,000 · TMS or WMS module from $42,000 · Custom logistics platform from $48,000
- Output
- Production platform · carrier integrations · runbook · on-call coverage · SLA reporting
Logistics software is where edge cases dominate. The happy path is the easy path. The 5 percent of shipments that go sideways (customs holds, missed pickups, damaged freight, weather delays) drive 40 percent of the engineering cost. This page covers what makes logistics builds different, the segments we serve, what real-time visibility actually means at the data layer, the named clients we have shipped for, and what every category typically costs.
Named logistics builds
Recent logistics and supply chain builds.
Yard management with trailer tracking, dock appointments, and gate workflow.
Read case study →Pallet-level logistics SaaS with carrier integration and shipper-side workflow.
Read case study →Dispatch and route optimisation platform with driver mobile and customer-facing tracking.
Read case study →Logistics segments we serve
Transportation Management Systems (TMS)
Shipment planning, carrier selection, rate shopping, load tendering, dispatch, freight audit and payment. Multi-modal (truckload, LTL, parcel, intermodal, ocean, air).
Warehouse Management Systems (WMS)
Inventory tracking, putaway, picking, packing, shipping, cycle counting, slotting optimisation. Integration with WCS, scanners, mobile devices.
3PL and 4PL platforms
Multi-client warehouse and transportation orchestration. Per-client SLAs, billing, reporting, white-label client portals.
Freight forwarding
Bookings across ocean, air, road, rail. Customs filing. Documentation workflow (BL, HAWB, packing lists, commercial invoices). Visibility across legs.
Last-mile delivery
Route optimisation, driver mobile apps, proof of delivery, customer-facing tracking, predictive ETAs, returns logistics.
Real-time visibility platforms
Multi-carrier tracking aggregation, milestone normalisation, exception detection, predictive ETAs, customer notification.
Yard management and dock scheduling
Trailer tracking, dock appointment scheduling, gate check-in, yard moves.
Customs and trade compliance
HS classification, denied-party screening, customs filing (ACE, AES, ATLAS, ICEGATE), duty drawback, FTA preference qualification.
Related services: Custom Software Development, WMS Development, API Integration, Mobile App Development, Automation Platforms, AI & Machine Learning, Cloud & DevOps, Data Pipeline Engineering.
Use cases — concrete examples with cost ranges
Real-time visibility platform
Multi-carrier tracking aggregation via project44, FourKites, or direct API. Milestone normalisation across modes. Exception detection (dwell time, late milestone, customs hold). Customer notification via email, SMS, or webhook. Predictive ETA via ML model trained on historical milestone data. Typical build 14 to 20 weeks. From $32,000 depending on carrier count and ML scope.
TMS for shipper or 3PL
Shipment planning, carrier selection with rate shopping, load tendering via EDI 204, dispatch, freight audit and payment, reporting. Multi-modal (truckload, LTL, parcel). Typical build 16 to 24 weeks. From $32,000 depending on mode count and audit complexity.
Last-mile delivery platform
Route optimisation via OR-Tools, driver mobile app with offline mode, proof of delivery (photo, signature, OTP), customer tracking page, predictive ETA, returns logistics. Stack: Next.js plus React Native plus Node.js plus PostGIS. Typical build 12 to 18 weeks. From $18,000 depending on driver count and customer-facing surface complexity.
Yard management system
Trailer tracking, dock appointment scheduling, gate check-in workflow, yard moves with mobile-friendly UI. Integration with WMS for inbound and outbound. Typical build 10 to 14 weeks. From $17,000 depending on multi-site complexity.
Why logistics software is different
Logistics builds carry three costs that a standard SaaS does not. First, integration breadth: every carrier has a different API, every customs system has a different EDI, every 3PL has a different WMS. A single logistics platform routinely integrates with 30 to 50 external systems. Second, real-time event volume: a mid-size 3PL processes hundreds of thousands of tracking events per day from carrier APIs, IoT devices, and EDI feeds. The data architecture is event-stream-shaped, not request-response-shaped. Third, exception handling dominates: building for happy-path shipments takes weeks. Building for the customs hold, the missed pickup, the lost package, and the damaged freight takes months and is what customers actually pay for. We design logistics builds around three principles. Build the event-streaming layer first (Kafka, Kinesis, or managed event hub) because everything downstream depends on it. Treat exception workflows as first-class, not as bolt-ons on a happy-path UI. Architect carrier integration as a normalised adapter layer so adding the 31st carrier is a config change, not a project.
Implementation roadmap
Five-phase rhythm for logistics builds. Integration discovery runs in parallel with architecture.
Discovery and integration mapping (2 weeks)
Inventory of carrier, customs, WMS, ERP, and customer-facing integrations. EDI document audit. API documentation review. Output: integration map plus EDI document inventory.
Architecture and event-streaming design (2 weeks)
Event model. Schema registry. Carrier adapter pattern. Exception workflow design. Output: event catalog plus ADRs.
Build (10 to 18 weeks)
Two-week sprints. Carrier integrations built in parallel by integration squad. Exception workflows built in parallel with happy-path UI. Test coverage gate on event-handling services.
Carrier and customs UAT (2 weeks)
Sandbox testing with every integrated carrier and customs system. EDI document exchange validated. Edge cases tested (customs hold, missed pickup, damaged freight).
Launch and dual on-call (1 week plus 2 weeks)
Production deploy. Monitoring. PagerDuty rotation. Customer onboarding tooling delivered. Runbook and integration map handed over.
Tech stack and architecture
Default logistics stack. Each layer chosen for event-streaming throughput, carrier integration breadth, and exception-workflow flexibility.
- Front end: Next.js with TypeScript for shipper and 3PL admin. React Native for driver apps. Map rendering via Mapbox or Google Maps Platform with offline tile caching for drivers.
- Event streaming: Kafka or AWS Kinesis as the source of truth for shipment events. Schema registry to enforce event shape. Stream processing via Flink, Kafka Streams, or Lambda.
- Carrier integration: Direct API integration with FedEx, UPS, DHL, USPS, Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd. Aggregator integration via project44, FourKites, Shippabo, Shippo, or EasyPost. EDI 204, 214, 990, 856, 810.
- Data layer: PostgreSQL with PostGIS for spatial queries. TimescaleDB for time-series shipment events. Redis for hot tracking caches. S3 for documentation storage with retention rules.
- Optimisation engines: OR-Tools or Optaplanner for route optimisation. Custom heuristics for load tendering and carrier selection. ML for predictive ETAs trained on historical milestone data.
- Driver and warehouse mobile: React Native or native iOS or Android. Offline-first with sync queue. Barcode scanning, signature capture, photo proof of delivery.
- Cloud: AWS by default. Multi-region for global freight. Event ingestion through API Gateway plus Lambda or ECS. Documentation in S3 with KMS encryption.
Compliance and audit readiness
Every logistics build ships with the controls regulators, customs authorities, and customer auditors expect. GDPR for EU shipper and carrier data. SOC 2 Type II for SaaS controls. C-TPAT for US trusted-trader programmes. AEO for EU equivalents. FMCSA hours-of-service tracking for US trucking. IATA standards for air freight. CIES requirements for global shippers. GS1 EPCIS for serialised tracking. Documentation flows comply with WCO Data Model for customs interoperability.
Cost drivers we see in logistics builds
Logistics build cost ranges widely for the same surface area. These are the seven drivers we see push or pull on the number.
- Carrier and integration count. One carrier is straightforward. 30 carriers across modes is its own engineering project. Each adds API quirks, sandbox onboarding, and ongoing change tracking.
- Number of modes (truck, parcel, ocean, air, rail). Single-mode is fast. Multi-modal with rate-shop across modes, documentation per mode, and customs per mode adds 40 to 60 percent.
- EDI surface. API-only integrations are cheap. EDI 204, 214, 990, 856, 810 each adds parser, mapper, and trading partner onboarding.
- Real-time event volume. Sub-million events per day fit in a managed queue. Tens of millions per day need Kafka, partitioning strategy, and stream processing engineering.
- Geographic scope. Single-country is straightforward. Multi-country with customs, currency, and language localisation adds 30 to 50 percent.
- Exception workflow depth. Simple alerting is cheap. Configurable exception rules with auto-remediation, case management, and customer notification adds significant complexity.
- Driver and warehouse mobile complexity. Read-only driver tracking is fast. Offline-first driver app with barcode, signature, photo, and route reordering adds 25 to 40 percent.
Pricing
Logistics MVP
From $19,000
- Single workflow, 2 to 4 carrier integrations, basic exception handling.
- 10 to 14 weeks.
TMS or WMS module
From $42,000
- Single-mode TMS or single-site WMS with reporting and basic optimisation.
- 14 to 20 weeks.
Real-time visibility platform
From $32,000
- Multi-carrier aggregation, milestone normalisation, exception detection, customer notification.
- 14 to 22 weeks.
Custom logistics platform
From $48,000
- Multi-modal, multi-region, exception workflows, optimisation engines, mobile apps.
- 18 to 28 weeks.
Carrier and EDI integration retainer
From $4,500 / month
- Carrier integration build-out, EDI document onboarding, ongoing change tracking.
Maintenance retainer
From $4,250 / month
- On-call cover, dependency upgrades, integration monitoring, SLA reporting. SLA-backed.
Logistics trends shaping 2026 builds
Six logistics-software shifts shaping 2026 builds.
- Predictive ETA moving from premium to default. ML-driven ETA expected by enterprise shippers. Built on milestone history plus weather, traffic, and port-congestion features.
- Customer-facing visibility as competitive baseline. Branded tracking pages, ETA updates, and exception notifications are no longer a differentiator. They are required.
- Carrier API standardisation slowly advancing. FMCSA mandates and IATA OneRecord pushing carriers toward consistent APIs. EDI still dominates legacy lanes for a long tail of carriers.
- Autonomous and AI dispatch piloting. Auto-dispatch on parcel and last-mile. ML-driven load tendering on truckload. We build with human-in-the-loop overrides as a default.
- Yard and warehouse automation tightening integration. WCS, robotics, AMRs from Locus, 6 River Systems, AutoStore tightly integrated into WMS via event streams.
- Sustainability and carbon reporting. CO2 reporting per shipment expected by enterprise shippers under CSRD in EU and SEC climate rule in US. Built on top of GLEC framework.
FAQ
Yes. Both carrier-aggregator integrations and direct carrier API integrations supported. We typically recommend an aggregator for 20+ carriers across modes, and direct integration for high-volume lanes where margin justifies.
Yes. Full EDI lifecycle: parser, mapper, validation, trading partner onboarding. Integration with Cleo, OpenText, IBM Sterling, or custom AS2 gateway.
Yes. React Native driver app with offline mode, route optimisation via OR-Tools, photo and signature proof of delivery, OTP-based handover, return logistics workflow. Customer-facing tracking page with predictive ETA.
Yes. ACE eManifest for US imports. AES for US exports. ATLAS for German customs. ICEGATE for India. Documentation flows comply with WCO Data Model. Denied-party screening via Descartes, Amber Road, or custom.
Kafka or Kinesis as event backbone. Schema registry enforces event shape. Stream processing for milestone normalisation, exception detection, predictive ETA. PostGIS plus TimescaleDB for spatial and time-series queries.
Yes. Google OR-Tools or Optaplanner for vehicle routing. Custom heuristics for load tendering and carrier selection. ML overlays for traffic-aware ETA prediction.
Yes. Rate-shop across modes, documentation per mode, customs per mode, multi-leg visibility with milestone normalisation across carriers.
Yes. SAP ERP integration via IDoc, BAPI, or SAP API Business Hub. Oracle E-Business Suite or Fusion via REST API. NetSuite via SuiteScript or RESTlets.
ELD integration for HOS tracking via Samsara, Geotab, Motive, or Omnitracs. Driver assignment respects HOS limits. Dispatch workflow surfaces HOS constraints in real time.
Yes. Per-client SLAs, per-client billing, per-client reporting, white-label client portals. Tenant isolation enforced at the database row level with strict access boundaries.