News / Forwarders are rethinking CargoWise: what are their options?

© Andrey Popov

The Loadstar is running a series of articles on TMS, CargoWise, and the options for forwarders, over the next week or so.

For more than a decade, CargoWise has been the default operating system for large and mid-sized freight forwarders. Its breadth, global customs footprint, and deep integrations helped it achieve near-ubiquity among multinational operators. 

But that dominance is being tested. 

CargoWise’s revised pricing model has triggered a reassessment across the forwarding sector, particularly among small and mid-sized operators who say costs are rising faster than value – and faster than margins can absorb. 

While WiseTech Global insists the changes reflect the true cost of delivering and maintaining enterprise-grade software, forwarders and rival providers say the fallout is already reshaping buying decisions. 

Several executives at other software companies say interest in alternatives surged as soon as CargoWise announced its new “value pack” pricing – but that interest has since turned into action. 

Mark Buman, chief revenue officer at Magaya, said the reaction changed once invoices arrived. 

“We’ve had a lot of interest when they announced the value pack pricing and people were doing the calculations in their mind. But as they start to get their first bills, we’re seeing people really say, ‘okay, I can’t sustain my business with the profit levels I need running this’,” he said. 

“So now people are actually starting to take that interest into action.” 

Off the record, rival providers report a similar pattern. One TMS supplier says a newly onboarded customer previously managed 130 customers on CargoWise; on its new platform, the same spend supports more than 800. 

Another defector summed up the mood bluntly: “We are looking forward to onboarding with you, and more importantly, leaving CargoWise behind!” 

Price remains the most visible pain point, but not the only one. 

Mr Buman said complaints from CargoWise customers tended to cluster around three areas: cost volatility; support; and what he describes as growing inflexibility. 

“One day they’re charging $5 and then they send you a note saying tomorrow we’re going to charge you $10,” he said. “Cost is a big one.” 

Support is another frequent criticism. 

“If you call CargoWise, they tell you to watch a video,” he said. “We’ve gone a different direction – live phone support, 365 days a year, 24 hours a day.” 

The third issue, he argues, is integration. 

“There are lots of other companies that have products that need to integrate with CargoWise, and they make it extremely difficult.” 

Mr Buman was careful to note that CargoWise’s business was not under existential threat. But he believes the company’s scale has changed its priorities. 

“CargoWise is getting large enough that they really don’t care if you’re a smaller or mid-sized forwarder,” he said. “They know a lot of those smaller ones are going to drop off.” 

Kareem Naouri, co-founder and CEO of Logistaas, said the idea that CargoWise had no credible competitors was outdated. 

“That might have been true 10 years ago, but it certainly isn’t the case today,” he said. “There are other serious providers in the market, operating globally, integrating across the industry, and using AI – all at a lower cost.” 

Mr Naouri accepted however that switching a TMS was not trivial. 

“Changing your TMS is a project, not a small change. It is not, however, the disruption people assume it is,” he said. “In some cases, it’s the necessary move, particularly when cost outgrows the value.” 

Logistaas has publicly committed to a maximum annual price increase of 3%, which Mr Naouri says reflects how sensitive forwarder economics have become. 

“Pricing visibility is critical, especially when your customers are operating on tight margins.” 

Despite the growing interest in alternatives, executives stress that not all systems compete on equal footing. Large, globally distributed forwarders face particular constraints around data centralisation and customs coverage. 

Mr Buman noted that Magaya, for example, remained strongest among smaller or more regionally focused operators. 

“If you have operations in four different countries, CargoWise flows everything into one data centre,” he said. “For Magaya, it doesn’t. That makes it very hard to centralise your information.” 

Other established providers cited by industry executives include Descartes, Germany’s Riege, and a wave of newer platforms such as Yojee’s Mosaic. 

But customs remains the hardest barrier. 

“CargoWise has the benefit of being integrated with around 20 countries,” said Robert Petti, CEO of Prompt Global. “Some systems have one, two, or none. If you’re filing customs in multiple countries, your options dwindle very quickly.”

Several executives caution against framing the situation as a mass exodus. CargoWise still offers unmatched global customs coverage and depth, and for the largest forwarders, alternatives remain limited. 

Mr Petti explained: “Stay on your system if you’re comfortable with it … just focus on optimising what you have.” 

But the pricing reset is changing behaviour at the margin. 

Smaller and mid-sized forwarders are reassessing long-held assumptions, and rival providers say they are seeing the results. 

As one solutions provider put it: “CargoWise may not be going anywhere – but some of its customers are.” 

Coming up next: Is self-build a realistic option?