Custom shipment file app for freight forwarders
Appfront builds apps for freight forwarders in which each shipment is a single file: the booking, the transport documents, the customs papers, the insurance, the messages with the customer and carrier, the costs and sales price, and the status from booking through to delivery. So a colleague can take over a file without digging through the previous handler's inbox, and the margin per shipment is known at the moment the invoice goes out.
What is an app for the shipment file per consignment?
A shipment file holds everything that relates to a single consignment, from the customer's instruction to the proof of delivery: the carrier booking, the consignment note or bill of lading, the customs declaration with its supporting documents, the insurance, the carrier and terminal invoices, the messages back and forth, and the invoice to the customer. An app for the shipment file keeps all of this in one place per consignment, with a status for each milestone and an overview of which document is still missing.
Without such an app, the instruction sits in an email, the CMR in a scan on the network drive, the customs declaration in the customs system, the costs in the accounts and the status in the head of the file handler. If that person is off sick, the customer phones and nobody knows whether the container has been released. The margin per shipment is only calculated after closing, and sometimes never, because a terminal invoice arrives three weeks later.
We build custom solutions because the file must match your processes and your systems: sea, air or road freight, whether or not you handle customs yourselves, which TMS and customs software you use, and what the customer may see in their portal. A generic document management system knows nothing about consignments, milestones or margins.
One record per shipment
Instruction, booking, documents, messages and costs brought together, with a file number that appears on every invoice and in every message.
Documents and milestones
For each consignment, which documents are required, which are present and which are missing, and the status at each milestone: booked, loaded, declared, released, delivered.
Costs and margin
Carrier, terminal and customs costs alongside the sales price, per file, with expected costs shown until the invoice has arrived.
How we build your app for the shipment file per consignment
We start with a consignment that went wrong: which document was missing, who should have spotted it, and where the customer could have found out. The file design follows from that.
Which consignments you handle, which documents each flow requires, who handles the file, where documents are currently kept and how the customer currently asks for status.
For each type of shipment, the documents that go with it, the milestones and who may see what. The file linked to the booking in your TMS.
Messages from customers and carriers linked to the file, purchase invoices filed to the right job, and a customer portal showing the status and the documents the customer is allowed to see.
The integration with customs software and invoicing, closing the file with the margin per job, and then management and new flows.
What a shipment-by-shipment forwarding file app actually does
The components below appear at almost every forwarder. Which ones you need depends on your flows and on how you handle customs.
File and milestones
A file per shipment with its status at each milestone, from booking through to proof of delivery, and the handler responsible.
Document checklist
The mandatory documents for each type of shipment, with a warning when one is missing before the milestone where it is needed.
Messages linked to the file
Emails from the customer, carrier and terminal automatically filed under the correct file number, with attachments stored as documents.
Costs and margin
Purchase invoices linked to the file, expected costs until the invoice arrives, and margin per shipment at close.
Customer portal
Your customer can see the status of their shipments and download the documents relevant to them, without having to phone.
Customs integration
The declaration from your customs software stored as a document in the file, together with the declaration status and release.
Who we build a shipment-by-shipment forwarding file app for
The app is designed for businesses where documents, costs and messages for each shipment come together and currently sit in different places.
Sea freight forwarders
Containers with bills of lading, terminal charges and customs. The document checklist per shipment and the cost breakdown are the core.
Air freight forwarders
Short lead times with air waybills, handling and customs. Milestones and messages linked to the file matter most.
Customs brokers
Declarations for third parties, with the documents belonging to each declaration. The integration with customs software and retention of supporting evidence are what is needed.
Road transport with groupage
Consolidated shipments, with a CMR per run and costs per shipment. Allocating costs across files is the core.
Test your idea first: a working prototype in 1 day
With OneDayBuild, we turn your idea into something tangible in one day for €1,150, so you can see whether further development is worth the investment. Decide to go ahead with the full build? Then we credit the full cost.
Explore OneDayBuild →Technology and integrations
This page is about the file per shipment. For buying the haulage with a carrier, see our page on charter buying and freight rates; for reading transport documents, our page on AI document processing for transport papers; and for the customs step, our page on automating customs clearance. Read how we work at custom software development.
For settling accounts in the office, with purchase invoices and margin per file, see our software for settling forwarding files.
Why Appfront for your shipment-by-shipment forwarding file app?
A forwarding file is essentially the answer to where the container is now and what is still missing. That's what we build on: one file, one status, one margin.
The file can be handed over
A colleague takes over a shipment and sees everything: documents, messages, costs and what still needs doing. Not someone else's inbox, but the file itself.
Missing documents are flagged in advance
The document checklist shows what is needed at each milestone. A missing declaration is flagged before arrival, not at the terminal.
The margin per shipment is known
Costs land in the file they belong to, even when the invoice arrives late. The margin per shipment is a fact, not an after-the-fact estimate.
Security and privacy for a shipment-by-shipment forwarding file app
The file holds data about your customer, their customer and the goods, as well as customs documents you must retain for a number of years. Access is set up by role and by customer: the handler sees their files, the customer in the portal sees only their own shipments and documents, and administration sees the costs. Every change and every download is logged, and documents are kept for the period that applies to each document type.
The app runs in a European data centre, with encrypted storage and daily backups. Integrations with the TMS, customs software and accounting work with their own keys, which can be revoked per integration.
Frequently asked questions about a per-shipment file app for freight forwarders
Questions freight forwarders ask before getting started with this.
It keeps everything that belongs to each shipment in one place: the order, the booking, the transport and customs documents, the messages with the customer and carrier, the purchase costs and the selling price. Each milestone shows its status, each document type shows whether it is present, and on closing the margin is shown. Customers see their shipments in a portal.
By the file number: it appears in every message the app sends, and incoming email carrying that number is linked to the file, with attachments stored as documents. Email without a number lands in a queue where the case handler assigns it with a single action.
Yes. For each type of shipment you define which documents and milestones apply: a bill of lading and terminal charges for sea freight, an air waybill for air freight, a CMR for road transport. The file is the same; the checklist differs.
Purchase invoices are read and linked to the file number; until an invoice arrives, the expected cost from the booking is shown on the file. On closing, you see the margin based on actual costs, and an invoice that arrives later is still added to the file.
The status of their shipments by milestone and the documents you release to them, such as the consignment note, proof of delivery and your invoice. Internal messages, purchase prices and the margin are not visible to them. You decide which documents are visible for each document type.
Yes. The booking comes from the TMS, the declaration and clearance from the customs software, and invoicing goes to the accounting system. We connect to the packages you use; the file does not become a second booking system or a second declaration system.
Ask that first. A TMS plans and tracks the shipment, and some also store documents. Custom software makes sense when documents for each shipment are currently spread across several places, when the customer needs to see status and paperwork themselves, when the margin per file must be known, or when messages and invoices are currently matched to shipments by hand.
Every shipment in one file, with the margin included?
Tell us which flows you handle, which TMS and customs software you use, and how often a customer calls to ask where their shipment is. We will show you what the file, the document checklist and the portal look like.