A Freight Forwarder TMS
without the Friction
Choosing a transportation management system (TMS) means finding a solution that will scale with your business without hidden costs or surprises. Descartes stands apart where it matters most in usability, onboarding, support, and long-term innovation.
Pricing That Fits How You Operate
Descartes takes a modular approach to pricing, so you’re not paying for functionality you don’t use. Instead of bundling everything together, Descartes Forwarder TMS is aligned to your specific operational needs and priorities, giving you more control over what you purchase and how the system supports your business.
No Hidden Costs
Pricing should be predictable, especially in a business where volumes can fluctuate. With Descartes, your costs stay consistent rather than increasing as your shipment volume grows. That makes it easier to forecast, protect your margins, and avoid unexpected fees that can impact both your bottom line and your customer pricing.
Extensible
Easily add capabilities such as Customs clearance, denied party screening, classification, and much more through a simple plug and play modular architecture.
Expert Support
Descartes pairs global scale with local expertise. That means you’re working with people who understand the realities of freight forwarding. Descartes’ team brings practical industry knowledge, helping resolve issues faster and offering guidance that actually applies to your day-to-day operations.
What Does the Latest G2 Market Analysis Reveal?
The latest G2 Market Report highlights some meaningful differences across solutions. From our perspective, it confirms that Descartes Customs & Compliance performs strongly in usability, customer support, and product direction.
Descartes stands out as a forwarder technology partner by combining strong operational capabilities with a customer experience that is hard to match. In the G2 comparison below, Descartes Customs & Compliance scored 9.0 for “Meets Requirements” and 9.0 for “Ease of Use,” outperforming CargoWise at 8.6 and 8.5, respectively and Magaya at 8.6 and 8.7, respectively. It also earned an 8.8 for “Ease of Setup,” ahead of CargoWise at 6.0, showing that Descartes delivers both enterprise-grade capability and faster time to value.
The chart also reinforces Descartes’ strength as a long-term business partner, not just a software vendor. Descartes Customs & Compliance received an 8.7 for “Quality of Support,” compared with 7.7 for CargoWise Software and 8.2 for Magaya, while its 9.3 score for “Good Business Partner” was the highest rating shown in that category. These results support a message centered on trust, service, and practical expertise, giving freight forwarders confidence that they have responsive support and a partner aligned with their growth.
The data also suggests that Descartes is built for companies thinking beyond today’s needs. With a 9.8 in “Product Direction,” Descartes Customs & Compliance led all vendors listed, ahead of CargoWise at 9.5, and when comparing Descartes vs. Magaya, 8.3, and Descartes Forwarder Enterprise Suite at 8.2. The scores position Descartes as a platform that balances usability, implementation speed, support quality, and innovation, making it a compelling foundation for forwarders that want to scale with less complexity.
Buyer's Guide:
What to Look for in a Best-In-Class Forwarder TMS
What Can Descartes Do for You?
“From global trade content, denied party screening, shipment management, accounting, customs filings and a whole lot more, it all comes together in the Descartes OneView platform. We’ve realized incredible efficiencies across the enterprise, enhanced our customer service, and enabled better visibility for our customers and partners. Descartes has really helped bring us to the forefront of the industry.”
-- Len James, CFO John S. James Co.
“Throughout our relationship with Descartes, we have doubled our customs-bonded warehouse operations from a 25,000 sq ft building into a 50,000 sq ft location. There is so much potential we can tap into with Descartes and this is a direct correlation to the level of customer service we are able to offer our client base.”
-- Gabriel Rodriguez, President A Customs Brokerage
Scale Faster with a Platform Designed for Forwarders
- Stronger margins
- Maintain profitability, even as volumes fluctuate - Predictable pricing
- Stable costs that don’t spike with transaction increases - Expert support
- Practical guidance to help you get more from your system
