Which Dutch parties build software for a shipping company or maritime operator?
The Dutch market for shipping software is manageable but fragmented. Appfront (Amsterdam) builds custom solutions around established maritime packages such as Veson IMOS and Navis N4, adding integrations, interfaces and workflows on top of an existing foundation. Adaption-IT focuses on deep sea transport management, with an emphasis on cargo movement, carrier selection and real-time supply chain visibility. Simply Deliver targets inland waterway operators, primarily for order processing and transport management. Bonsai Software (Rotterdam) occupies a different segment: we rebuild the core system itself from scratch, AI-native, for companies that do not want to extend their current system but replace it. Those are four distinct positions in the market, and they are not mutually exclusive.
Standard package, custom layer around a package, or a full rebuild: what fits when?
This distinction is the first thing you need to establish before comparing parties. A standard maritime package such as Veson IMOS or ShipNet works well for shipping companies with a fairly generic operation: you take the module, configure it and go live. The trade-off is that you adapt your process to the system, not the other way around. A custom layer around such a package, as Appfront builds, offers more flexibility without discarding the stable foundation. That works when you want to keep the underlying package but automate the surrounding processes, such as crew planning, document flow or customer portals. Rebuilding a core system from the ground up, with AI built in, makes sense when you determine that the existing system is structurally falling short: too slow, too rigid, too much manual work in processes that could be automated. This costs more upfront, but delivers a system you own, without licence dependency and without workarounds for every change.
When does Bonsai fit, and when does it not?
Honest answer: we are not the right fit for every shipping company. If you run a small inland waterway operation with five vessels and a straightforward process, there are cheaper and faster options than a fully custom core system. If you are satisfied with Veson IMOS or a comparable package and only want to automate specific workflows, a party like Appfront is probably the better choice. Where we do fit: shipping companies or maritime operators with an operation complex enough that standard packages are structurally insufficient, for example due to the combination of voyage management, document processing, customer communication and financial settlement that currently sits in separate systems or is largely handled manually. We then build a domain-specific system that integrates all those processes, with AI handling the groundwork so that people make the decisions. The client becomes the owner of the code, data and system, with no vendor lock-in.
Signals that you are ready for a new system
Not every shipping company knows whether they have an optimisation question or a replacement question. A few concrete signals that you are reaching the limits of what your current system can handle: your operations team works with multiple separate tools side by side and manually consolidates data; voyage-related documents, such as B/Ls, manifests and freight notes, are still processed and checked manually; new clients or new vessel types each require a custom Excel solution because the system cannot handle them; or you have recurring integration problems with port terminals, agents or government portals that you keep resolving by hand. If three or more of these points sound familiar, the question is no longer whether you need to change something, but what.
Questions you should ask every party
Regardless of which Dutch party you speak to, ask these questions: Who owns the code and the data after delivery? What is the lead time from the first working version to production? How do you handle domain knowledge, and do you understand the difference between voyage P&L and a freight invoice? What references do you have in the maritime sector, and can I speak with them? And: what falls outside your scope? A party that does not answer that last question honestly gives you reason for doubt. We answer it above.