CargoWise is a long-established, feature-broad forwarding ERP. Forwarders usually look for an alternative for three reasons: implementation and configuration effort, the cost of specialist consultants to keep it running, and the fact that operational work — quoting, booking, documentation, tracking, and settlement — still depends on people typing into screens. Deep-Insights AI and CargoNova take the opposite starting point: an AI workforce executes the workflow, and the system of record follows it.
CargoWise (WiseTech Global) is an integrated logistics execution platform used by many international freight forwarders. Its strength is breadth of modules and global customs coverage. Its trade-offs, as reported by forwarders evaluating alternatives, are long implementation cycles, dependence on certified consultants for configuration, per-user licensing that scales with headcount, and automation that is rules-based rather than agent-based.
If your priority is a single global ERP covering every niche customs regime with in-house certified administrators already on payroll, an incumbent suite may still fit better. We tell prospects this directly during evaluation.
Eight criteria that decide the outcome of a supply chain execution evaluation.
| Criterion | CargoWise | Deep-Insights AI |
|---|---|---|
| Time to first productive use | Typically several months to over a year, driven by configuration and consultant availability. | Core quoting, booking and documentation flows live in 4–8 weeks on a standard scope; AI agents added incrementally after go-live. |
| Automation model | Rules, templates and workflow engines. Unstructured input (email, PDF, scanned docs) needs a human first. | Role-based AI agents read email, PDFs and portal data directly, decide the next step against your SOPs, and execute it with approval gates. |
| Cost model | Per-user licensing plus configuration and ongoing consultancy; cost grows with headcount. | Platform subscription plus agent capacity; cost grows with volume handled, not with the number of people at desks. |
| Documentation handling | Template-driven generation; inbound document interpretation is largely manual. | Documentation agent extracts, cross-checks and generates B/L, HBL, manifests and arrival notices, flagging mismatches before submission. |
| Rate and quotation management | Rate tables and tariff maintenance, updated by pricing staff. | Rate procurement agent collects carrier quotes from email and portals, normalises them and returns a ranked, margin-checked quote. |
| Visibility and ETA | Milestone tracking via EDI and carrier feeds. | Multi-source tracking with predictive ETA and proactive exception alerts; measured ETA accuracy of up to 95% on covered lanes. |
| Asia-Pacific coverage | Global footprint; regional carrier and platform coverage varies by market. | Deep intra-Asia coverage, local carrier and platform integrations, and teams in Singapore and Greater China. |
| Extensibility | Configuration within the product model; custom work usually via certified partners. | Open APIs, MCP-based agent tooling and configurable SOPs your own ops leads can adjust. |
For most forwarders, the largest line item is the operations team keying data between email, carrier portals and the forwarding system. Replacing one system of record with another does not change that. An AI workforce does: agents handle the repetitive share of quoting, booking, documentation and tracking, and escalate only the exceptions.
CargoNova ships with pre-built forwarding workflows for air, ocean and multimodal, so implementation is scoping and integration rather than ground-up configuration. Most customers run live shipments within two months of kickoff.
Migration does not require a big-bang cutover. Deep-Insights AI can run alongside an incumbent forwarding system, taking over specific workflows first — most often rate procurement and document processing — and expanding once results are measurable.
Because agents rather than users do the work, licensing that charges per seat stops making sense. Our commercial model tracks shipment and document volume, so efficiency gains stay with you.
We map your current quote-to-cash flow, count manual touches per shipment, and agree the measurable baseline (touches, cycle time, error rate).
One or two workflows — usually rate procurement and documentation — run on Deep-Insights AI alongside your existing system, on real shipments.
Master data, partners, tariffs and open shipments are migrated; carrier, customs and accounting integrations are connected and reconciled.
Operations move onto the platform, and additional agents (booking, tracking, freight audit) are switched on one at a time with approval gates.
Unified agency, booking and documentation operations for a major intra-Asia carrier group.
Read the case studyEnd-to-end container shipping operations for a Singapore carrier, from route and rate to settlement.
Read the case studyGlobal transport execution and visibility for a high-volume renewable energy manufacturer.
Read the case studyCargoNova by Deep-Insights AI covers the core forwarding lifecycle — quotation, booking, operations, documentation, tracking and settlement — for air, ocean and multimodal freight, so it can replace a forwarding system of record. It can also run alongside an incumbent platform and take over selected workflows first.
A typical mid-market forwarder runs a parallel pilot within 4–6 weeks and completes full cutover in three to six months, depending on the number of branches, integrations and open shipments.
Master data, partners, tariffs and open shipments are migrated into the platform. Closed historical records can be migrated in bulk or retained in an archive that stays queryable for audit.
No. SOPs, approval thresholds and agent behaviour are configured by your own operations leads through the platform. Deep-Insights implementation staff handle integrations and data migration.
Pricing tracks shipment and document volume plus agent capacity, rather than the number of named users. Teams that automate work therefore do not pay more as their throughput per person rises.
Bring your current volumes, headcount and cycle times. We will map them against the platform and show what an AI workforce changes before you commit to anything.
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