Liner Shipping Software: To Buy or Build?

It is not hard to find shipping solutions software these days. Software houses everywhere are packed with different kinds of off-the-shelf solutions designed for various shipping functions such as logistics, data entry, accounting, documentation, and tracking. They are cheap, easy to install, and can be customized to fit specific requirements of ports, terminals, and vessels. In fact, it is not unusual to find small vessels using advanced marine software solutions to automate and streamline their operations.

Aside from packaged or off-the-shelf solutions, shipping software companies also provide custom-built or bespoke software systems for different vessel types such as bulk carriers, general cargo vessels, Roll-on-Roll-off (RoRo), and container vessels. While this type of shipping software is generally more expensive, some, especially larger vessels prefer building and developing bespoke shipping company software instead of buying cheaper and equally effective packaged solutions. Here are some reasons:

1.  Bespoke systems are created based on the company’s exact specifications.
2. The shipping company has full control of the software development process.
3. Users can modify or improve the software whenever necessary.

Despite these benefits, bespoke liner shipping software has many downsides:

1. It requires hiring skilled programmers for maintenance and implementation of necessary upgrades.
2. It is usually designed to perform a single segment of the entire logistics process only.
3. It is expensive.

Packaged shipping software on the other hand offers a handful more benefits at much lower initial price:

1. Does not require hiring in-house programmers to maintain and upgrade the system.
2. 10 to 50% cheaper than bespoke options.
3. Has “switching” feature which allows users to upgrade and customize applications making it adaptable to fast-evolving technology without doing any expensive reprogramming.
4. Off-the-shelf shipping line software allows test-runs prior to installation to make sure it lives up to expectations.

In choosing between packaged and bespoke shipping software solutions, you must also consider the credibility of the shipping software company providing it. Buying from a reliable software company ensures that your shipping business is in good hands.