Comparison
Rowan Cargo against email, spreadsheets and generic software
Most forwarders run on email plus spreadsheets, or on software that wasn't built for freight forwarding. Here's how Rowan Cargo compares — honestly, by category, without naming names.
Rowan Cargo | Email + spreadsheets | Generic software / ERP | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multimodal visibility (ocean/air/rail/road) on one map | |||
| Carrier integrations via official API + DCSA | |||
| ETA recalculated from the vessel's real position (AIS) | |||
| Live digital file (docs, milestones, costs) | |||
| Margin of each file before you invoice | |||
| Invoicing with the VeriFactu (AEAT) hash chain | |||
| Client portal with magic-link | |||
| Real-time delay / demurrage alerts | |||
| Data in the EU (Madrid), and you leave with it | |||
| Onboarding in weeks, not months | |||
| Human support in your language | |||
| Built for forwarders, not generic |
Yes Partial / with effort No
Why not just a generic tool
Email + spreadsheets don't scale
It works until it doesn't: statuses go stale, the last version of the sheet is never the right one, and every 'where's my cargo?' is a manual hunt. The cost is your team's time and the errors that end in a claim.
Generic software ignores the ocean
A generic ERP or CRM can hold contacts and invoices, but it doesn't speak DCSA, doesn't read vessel AIS and doesn't recalculate a multimodal ETA. You end up bolting spreadsheets back on for the part that matters most.
Rowan Cargo is built for this
Visibility, files, quoting, invoicing and the client portal on the same data, with carrier integrations native from day one. One control tower instead of five disconnected tools.
Already looking at a specific vendor?
If VisualTrans is on your shortlist, see the side-by-side: same files and invoicing, plus the live visibility layer they don't publish.
Compare it for yourself
A 30-minute demo on the real product. You'll see it, not just read it.