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Softcoderz

Transportation & logistics

Logistics software development

Transport and warehouse software for 3PLs, freight forwarders and logistics service providers: bookings, load planning, tracking, e-way bills, PODs and freight billing.

Logistics software screens: control room route map in a browser, shipper portal on a phone and driver app on a phone
Illustrative preview

At a glance

The short version

Trucks and cars climbing a winding expressway through the green ghats near Lonavala, Maharashtra, in evening light
How it works
  1. Client portal or API
  2. Compliance service
  3. Operations team
  4. Control room
  5. 3 more
Runs on
  • Web app
  • Android
  • Admin
  • PWA
Who it's for

We build logistics software for companies that move and store goods for others: client booking portals, transport management, market-vehicle sourcing, shipment tracking, warehouse operations, e-way bill automation, digital PODs, and billing with freight audit. Systems are designed around the data your shippers expect and the realities of Indian highways and hubs.

Cost depends on
  • Operations covered
  • Tracking sources
  • Government and partner integrations
and 1 more factor

How to start

Tell us what you need in your own words. You talk to the developers who would build it and get a written, line-item estimate.

Get a project estimate

Visibility from booking to proof of delivery

A logistics company sells reliability, yet its operations are often held together by phone calls. Shippers ask where their consignment is; operations teams call drivers; e-way bills expire on delayed trucks; PODs arrive by courier weeks later and hold up billing. Much of the capacity comes from market vehicles and brokers, so the data you need sits with people you do not employ.

We build logistics platforms that turn this into a traceable flow. A booking creates a shipment with its documents, a vehicle is assigned from your fleet or the market, tracking comes from GPS devices, consent-based SIM tracking or a driver app, and the POD is captured at delivery with a photo and signature, ready for billing the same day.

We also connect the Indian systems logistics depends on: the e-way bill system through a GSP, FASTag data, courier APIs, and ULIP where your company is registered to use it.

Challenges

Logistics problems we are asked to solve

  1. No single view of shipments

    Tracking data arrives from GPS vendors, drivers' phones and transporters' updates in different formats.

  2. E-way bill expiry

    Delayed or transhipped consignments need Part B updates and extensions before validity lapses.

  3. Slow POD-to-invoice cycle

    Paper PODs delay billing and create disputes about delivery dates and shortages.

  4. Market vehicle sourcing

    Finding and negotiating trucks through brokers happens on calls, with little record of rates.

  5. Freight billing errors

    Detention, multi-point delivery and fuel escalation charges are missed or disputed.

Logistics platform capabilities

  • Client booking portal and APIs

    Shippers create orders, upload invoices and track shipments; large clients integrate by API.

  • Transport management

    Load planning, vehicle assignment, multi-drop trips and transhipment handling.

  • Market vehicle module

    Requests to empanelled vendors, rate quotes, document checks and trip advances.

  • Multi-source tracking

    GPS devices, consent-based SIM tracking and driver app pings merged into one timeline with ETA alerts.

  • E-way bill automation

    Generation, Part B updates, consolidation and expiry alerts through GSP APIs.

  • Digital POD

    Photo, signature or OTP at delivery, with shortage and damage notes visible to billing at once.

  • Warehouse operations

    Inbound, putaway, picking and dispatch with barcode scanning for 3PL warehouses.

  • Billing and freight audit

    Contract rate cards, accessorial charges, GST invoices and checks on vendor bills.

How it works

How a consignment moves from booking to invoice

Each step adds to one shipment record, so the shipper, your control room and your billing team always look at the same facts.

  1. Client portal or API

    Step 1: Shipper books a consignment

    The shipper creates an order and uploads the invoice; larger clients send orders straight from their ERP through an API.

  2. Compliance service

    Step 2: E-way bill generated

    The e-way bill is created from consignment data through a GSP, with no typing on the government portal.

  3. Operations team

    Step 3: Vehicle assigned from fleet or market

    Own trucks are planned first; for the rest, empanelled vendors quote rates, and papers are checked before the trip advance is paid.

  4. Control room

    Step 4: Tracked on one timeline

    GPS devices, consent-based SIM tracking and driver app pings merge into one view, and delays raise alerts before the client calls.

  5. Driver app

    Step 5: Delivered with a digital POD

    The consignee signs or shares an OTP, and photos record any shortage or damage at the moment of delivery.

  6. Billing team

    Step 6: Invoice raised the same day

    Freight, detention and multi-point charges come from the contract rate card, and the GST invoice goes out with the POD attached.

  7. Finance

    Step 7: Vendor bills audited before payment

    Market vendors' bills are checked against agreed rates and actual trip data, so overcharges are caught before money leaves.

Platforms

Apps for shippers, drivers and control rooms

  • Web

    Web application

    Browser-based applications with logins, roles and workflows, such as customer portals, SaaS products and internal tools.

  • Mobile

    Android app

    Apps for Android phones and tablets, tested on budget and mid-range devices and published on Google Play or privately.

  • Back office

    Admin dashboard

    Back-office panels for operations, support and finance teams: orders, users, content, reports and permissions.

  • Web

    Progressive web app

    Installable web apps with offline support and notifications, useful when an app-store listing isn't essential or phones have little storage.

Technology

Technology behind our logistics platforms

Next.js and React build client portals and control-room screens, Python calculates routes and arrival estimates, Google Maps shows every truck live, and trip history is stored on infrastructure built on AWS.

  • A modern web technology for fast, search-friendly websites, online stores and web applications that load quickly on mobile.

    Used for

    • Business websites
    • Online stores
    • Web apps
    • Customer portals
  • Builds interactive screens in the browser, such as dashboards, admin panels and portals, that respond instantly as your team works.

    Used for

    • Web apps
    • Admin panels
    • Dashboards
    • Customer portals
  • Backend

    NestJS

    A structured way to build back ends on Node.js, so large business systems stay organised, testable and easy to hand over.

    Used for

    • Business app back ends
    • SaaS platforms
    • Marketplaces
    • Admin panel back ends
  • Backend

    Python

    A programming language for AI features, data processing and automation: the engine behind document reading, reports and smart search.

    Used for

    • AI features
    • Document reading
    • Reports and analytics
    • Task automation
  • A reliable database for the records your business runs on: orders, payments, bookings and stock, kept accurate and easy to report on.

    Used for

    • Orders and customers
    • Payments and ledgers
    • Stock and inventory
    • Bookings
  • Data

    Redis

    Keeps frequently used data in fast memory, so apps stay quick on busy days and live features like order tracking feel instant.

    Used for

    • Faster apps
    • Live order status
    • Shopping carts
    • Job queues and alerts
  • Payments & maps

    Google Maps Platform

    Adds maps, address search, live tracking and travel-time estimates to delivery, ride and field apps, so orders reach the right door.

    Used for

    • Live delivery tracking
    • Address search
    • Store locator
    • Distance-based fees
  • Cloud & DevOps

    AWS

    Cloud hosting for your app, website and data, with data centres in India and room to grow when traffic rises.

    Used for

    • App hosting
    • File and photo storage
    • Backups
    • Busy sale days

Plain-English glossary

Logistics technology terms, in plain English

TMS
Transport management system: software that plans loads, assigns vehicles and tracks trips. It replaces the phone calls and spreadsheets that usually hold a transport operation together.
E-way bill Part B
The section of an e-way bill that records which vehicle is carrying the goods. It must be updated whenever the vehicle changes, so automating it avoids penalties on transhipped loads.
Proof of delivery (POD)
Evidence that goods reached the consignee, such as a signature, OTP or photo. A digital POD reaches billing immediately, so invoices go out days or weeks sooner.
Consent-based SIM tracking
Locating a truck through the driver's mobile network after the driver approves a consent SMS. It covers market vehicles that have neither a GPS device nor your app.
ULIP
The Unified Logistics Interface Platform, a government gateway that gives registered companies API access to vehicle, licence and FASTag data. It speeds up checks on market vehicles and drivers.

Product preview

What shippers, drivers and your control room see

Illustrative screens: consignments, vehicles and figures are examples.

  • Logistics software shipper portal order tracking on a phone, with live status steps
    Shipper portal. Shippers check where each consignment is and when it will arrive, instead of calling your operations team for updates.
  • Logistics software driver app proof of delivery on a phone, with input fields and an action button
    Driver app. Drivers capture the POD with an OTP, signature or photo, and shortages are recorded on the spot rather than argued about later.
  • Logistics software control room route map in a web browser, with stops and live positions
    Control room. The control room sees every trip on one map whatever the tracking source, and delay or gap alerts reach someone before the client notices.
  • Logistics software management dashboard in a web browser, with key figures and a chart
    Management dashboard. Management sees on-time performance, PODs holding up invoices and e-way bills close to expiry, with each number linked to the trips behind it.
Illustrative preview

Sample screens: names, prices and figures are examples, not client data.

Cost drivers

What shapes a logistics software budget

  1. Operations covered

    Transport-only systems are lighter than platforms that combine transport, warehousing and client portals.

  2. Tracking sources

    Each GPS vendor, SIM-tracking provider and telematics API has its own format and reliability quirks.

  3. Government and partner integrations

    E-way bill, e-invoice, FASTag, ULIP and client ERP integrations each add setup and testing.

  4. Billing complexity

    Contract rates with slabs, detention, multi-point and fuel-linked adjustments need careful modelling.

Estimates are written from your scope, with the effort and assumptions behind each line item.

How pricing works

Services

Services for this industry

The design and engineering services our in-house team combines on projects in this sector.

  • Custom software development

    Software shaped around how your business runs, from approvals and inventory to billing and reports, replacing spreadsheets and disconnected tools.

  • Web application development

    Browser-based products, customer portals, dashboards and internal tools, built on clean data models with secure roles and integrations.

  • Mobile app development

    Native and cross-platform Android and iOS apps, from first release through regular store updates, built by our in-house designers and engineers.

  • API development

    Secure, documented REST and GraphQL APIs, plus integrations that connect your apps to payment, logistics, GST, messaging and business systems.

  • SaaS development

    Multi-tenant SaaS products with subscription billing, team roles, onboarding and usage analytics, from first MVP to paying customers.

  • Admin panel development

    Back-office dashboards built around your team's daily tasks: order queues, approvals, catalogue management, payouts, reports and audit logs.

Locations

Logistics by city

Cities where this sector is a significant part of the local economy. We work remotely with teams across India and meet in person where practical.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Can you track market vehicles that don't have GPS devices?

Yes, with a few options. Consent-based SIM tracking uses the driver's mobile network location after the driver approves a consent SMS; it is coarser than GPS but needs no app. A lightweight driver app gives better accuracy if drivers will install it. For vehicles with existing GPS, we integrate the vendor's API. All sources feed one shipment timeline, and gaps in updates raise an alert so your team calls before the client does.

How do you handle e-way bills in the software?

We integrate with the e-way bill system through a GST Suvidha Provider. The software generates e-way bills from consignment data, updates Part B when a vehicle is assigned or changed at transhipment, consolidates bills for multi-consignment trips, and extends validity when a delay is recorded. An expiry dashboard shows bills close to lapsing. API access is set up under your GSTIN or your client's, depending on who generates the bill.

What is ULIP and should we integrate with it?

The Unified Logistics Interface Platform, set up under the National Logistics Policy, gives registered companies API access to government data such as vehicle registration, driving licence and FASTag information. It can help verify market vehicles and drivers, or infer progress from toll crossings. Access needs registration and approval for specific use cases, so we first check whether ULIP adds enough over your current data sources, then integrate if your registration is in place.

Should we build a custom TMS or buy an off-the-shelf product?

If your work is standard full-truckload or part-load with simple rates, an off-the-shelf TMS may be enough. Custom software earns its cost when your service mix is unusual, clients demand integrations and reports a product cannot provide, or you want the platform itself to set you apart in client pitches. A middle path keeps an existing TMS and adds a client portal, tracking layer or billing module around it.

Can one system run a warehouse-plus-transport 3PL?

Yes. Warehousing and transport are modelled as connected operations: an outbound order in the warehouse creates a dispatch that becomes a trip, and clients see inventory, dispatches and deliveries in one portal. Warehouse screens support barcode scanning on Android handhelds, with batch and expiry handling where clients need it. Billing then combines storage, handling and freight charges per client contract, on one invoice or separate ones.

Next step

Mapping out a logistics platform?

Share your service lines, fleet mix and the systems your clients use. We will outline an integration plan and a line-item estimate.