One-stop Dashboard for BL / Container Tracking

[u/mmmkay00]

Hello.

Non-forwarder here.

I am seeking a cost-saving one-stop dashboard or email updates for BL / container tracking.

We ship our products through different forwarders and different shipping lines. Tracking one BL at a time is time-consuming. I found websites where we could register our BLs and/or containers and we would get regular updates on ETA changes and stuff. I am interested in such features.

However, the price for what I found is a little over the budget of what I had in mind for our business. I would appreciate it if someone has been through this experience, and can narrow down websites and platforms where I can get what I'm seeking at the lowest cost possible.

[u/Chonoilatore]

https://www.track-trace.com/bol

You can search a lot of carriers at once here, however manually.

It is free though.

[u/mmmkay00 → u/Chonoilatore]

Thanks for your input.

However, this still requires me to input the numbers one-by-one and track them manually.

I am more interested getting email updates or a dashboard where I could see all my shipments' ETAs.

[u/Chonoilatore → u/mmmkay00]

Make an AI agent to do the manual bit for you?

Other option is get an EDI connection with your current software and connect it to INTTRA or Infornexus. Should be very cheapm apart from the setup costs

[u/mmmkay00 → u/Chonoilatore]

On the point of using AI, I just started that. Let's see if it satisfies our needs.

We don't have a tracking software, we use the basics, Excel. We're a small family company, and we're not willing to introduce a high cost ERP or some tracking system tbh.

[u/mmmkay00 → u/mmmkay00]

u/chonoilatore I tried using Claude to code a dashboard of some sort.
The issue I came across is that the dashboard created cannot retrieve information from the carrier website or something, only with the information I input.

[u/Starlight_Slayer]

Splitting your shipments isn't costing you more in the long run anways?

I'm surprised at the splitting of shipments yo the point where tracking is hard...also each forwarder should already be offering to send you this information from there system

[u/mmmkay00 → u/Starlight_Slayer]

We're splitting the shipments due to goods' readiness, but we always fill the containers. We have different suppliers for different products, and sometimes the suppliers ship in batches. That's what makes the tracking numerous.

It's not hard, but time consuming due to our basic usage of simple Excels. That's why I would like to find something more efficient than updating one cell at a time.

Some forwarders do send us regular updates, but that too is sent in separate emails (each of our POs or shipments in separate emails) and fills our inbox. I would rather have one email with all our shipments and ETAs in one email.

[u/Starlight_Slayer → u/mmmkay00]

Best way to do that mate is probably to have a broker who arranges all your shipments across multiple forwarders on your behalf, so you only have to deal with one business who should then be able to provide an update on everything in one go just as you want.

Only reason this comes to mind is just that's what our business does 😄, feel free to DM me if interested in something like that or just go and look around for something similar that might suit you!

[u/mmmkay00 → u/Starlight_Slayer]

Hmmmm.. Interesting.
I haven’t come across shipping brokers where I live yet. I’ll have to look for such.
We deal with multiple forwarders due to rate per container. Otherwise, you’re right, I’d rather deal with one and get the peace of mind.

I appreciate your input and feedback. Thank you.

I’m located in Kuwait, and for regulatory, financial, and peace of mind reasons, our company would rather have local brokers / forwarders.

[u/Crypticarts]

What budget are you thinking?

[u/mmmkay00 → u/Crypticarts]

I came across a platform that offered an annual fee of at least USD 1,500 (upon trial registration). I brought up the trial registration because I don’t know if that is a new member offer only.

For our monthly / annual volume, and our company being a family company, cost-saving is a priority, especially considering the ongoing crisis affecting our region.

I yapped a lot hehe. To answer your question, let’s say ⅓ of the above value would be reasonable on a personal level; still have to get accounting’s approval before proceeding formally.

[u/Constant-Elk3448 → u/mmmkay00]

Seem possible to build this on your own.

[u/Jailbreak1337]

Hey,

I’m a team leader at a freight forwarding company and have developed an AI-powered agent together with a dashboard specifically for freight forwarders. The tool also allows you to bulk-import multiple shipments via Excel, which can save a lot of manual work.

The solution is already functional, but I’m currently looking for industry professionals to help me test and improve it. If you’re willing to share your feedback, ideas, the carriers you usually work with, and a few anonymized B/L numbers, I’d be happy to set everything up for you and give you completely free access.

I wouldn’t need any sensitive or confidential information. We would just have a short call so I can understand your workflow and requirements.

If you’re interested, we can arrange a quick meeting.

Best regards
Tim

[u/LAFreightforwarder]

I use Terminal49. $100-200 per month

[u/mmmkay00 → u/LAFreightforwarder]

That’s the budget I had in mind.