Managing air, road, sea and rail transport in one logistics software

Managing air, road, sea and rail transport in one logistics software means keeping every shipment on the same file structure, the same customer account and the same finance module, instead of using a separate program for each transport mode. Boran Software's BoranWise logistics software is built on this approach: its air and sea freight forwarding, international road haulage and fleet management, domestic haulage, rail freight, shipping agency and container tracking modules work on shared data together with the warehouse and bonded warehouse modules.

The cost of separate programs

A logistics company's customer rarely sticks to one mode. The same importer brings in samples by air one month, then has a container load shipped by sea and distributes part of the goods by road. When each mode lives in a separate program, that customer's record is split too: the account balance sits in one place, documents in another folder, and the month-end turnover report is assembled by hand from several spreadsheets. A charge can be invoiced in one program and forgotten in another, and a price change has to be updated in every system separately.

A single system removes this fragmentation by design. Customer, supplier, exchange rate and invoice data are defined once and every mode uses the same record.

Transport modes in BoranWise

BoranWise's logistics modules are:

• Air Freight Forwarding: file tracking for air shipments on the forwarder side.
• Sea Freight Forwarding: file tracking for loads carried by sea.
• International Road Haulage and Fleet Management: cross-border road transport and the vehicle fleet.
• Domestic Haulage: transport within the country.
• Rail Freight: shipments carried by rail.
• Shipping Agency and Container Tracking: agency work and container follow-up.
• Logistics Marketing/Sales (CRM) and Accounting & Financial Management: sales, pre-accounting and general ledger.

The airport cargo terminal's own operation (acceptance, X-ray, build-up, SITA messages) is outside this list; Boran Software's carGObis covers that area. For yards that store containers arriving by sea, there is also BoranWise Port.

The same file logic in every mode

What really brings the modes together in one system is the shared file structure. In BoranWise, every job is opened with a file and position number whose format is defined by the company and which increments automatically. An existing file can be copied to open a similar job quickly, and files are searched with extended query criteria.

All modes also use the same document tools. Document designs can be changed by the user; documents can be printed as PDF, JPG, Excel or Word, or added to the automatic e-mail program and sent. Incoming documents are scanned and added to the relevant file's archive. Reminders can be set inside the program, and the LOG screen shows which information was changed, by whom, when and from which computer. As a result, an air freight file and a rail file read the same way for the operations team.

From freight to invoice

Whatever the transport mode, the job ends with an invoice. In BoranWise, invoices can be issued in any currency, reported after conversion into four currencies and transferred to accounting. The Financial Management System covers pre-accounting and general ledger, and the Central Bank's daily exchange rates are imported over the internet. The Bank Integration module added in 2021 brings in transactions from the banks the company works with, and e-Ledger (e-Defter) integration is run from the Boran Finance application.

With this structure, the same customer's air, sea, road and rail jobs come together in one account, and users can build their own reports with the reporting tool to review the modes together or separately.

Tracking open to the customer

A customer who has goods moving should not have to phone to ask where they are. With Web Cargo Tracking, shipment status can be checked online. The Online Load Tracking service, introduced in 2024, shows load status, appointments and reports 24/7; it works with the existing BoranWise installation and each customer signs in with its own username and password. The sales team keeps the customer relationship going in the field with the Mobile CRM module.

Warehouse and bonded warehouse in the same system

Part of the cargo carried ends up in a warehouse or a bonded warehouse. Because BoranWise's Warehouse & Bonded modules work on the same data as the logistics modules, no separate transfer is needed between shipments and stock. The bonded side handles goods under customs control and cleared goods, storage fee calculation and liquidation alerts; the general warehouse side handles handheld-terminal receiving, locations and order reservations.

For teams looking for a forwarder platform used by subscription in the browser, with no installation, Boran Software's ECELA also supports air, sea, road and rail shipments.

Summary

Managing air, road, sea and rail transport in one logistics software prevents customers, documents and invoices from being kept separately for each mode. BoranWise achieves this by running its air and sea freight forwarding, road haulage and fleet management, domestic haulage, rail freight, shipping agency and container tracking modules on a shared file structure and a shared finance module. Customers follow their loads and stock through online services, and warehouse and bonded warehouse movements stay in the same system.