What Kontainers does

Kontainers, operating post-acquisition as "Descartes Kontainers", is a cloud-based enterprise SaaS platform that enables freight forwarders, shipping lines, and other logistics service providers to deliver a branded, customer-facing digital experience for quoting, rating, and booking shipments. The platform consists of two integrated products: the Digital Customer Experience module, which provides on-demand booking, rating, and quoting with self-service shipment management presented under the client's own brand, and the Digital Rate Management module, which automates rating and quoting, factors in capacity and schedule data to upsell higher-margin service options, and connects seamlessly to freight forwarder TMS platforms.

Under the hood the solution is a multi-tenant cloud platform whose value hinges on automation of previously manual pricing and booking workflows, deep TMS interoperability, and white-label/branding controls so that the logistics provider's brand sits in front of the technology. Revenue is generated through recurring SaaS subscriptions sold via an enterprise field-sales motion, with customization and implementation per client; no public pricing is disclosed. The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Descartes Systems Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: DSGX), and is distributed globally through Descartes' enterprise sales channel. Named customers include the global container shipping line Ocean Network Express (ONE) and AMC Transportation. The firm is headquartered in Gateshead, United Kingdom, and operates with 11-50 employees.

Name

Kontainers

Legal name

The Descartes Systems Group, Inc.

Website

https://kontainers.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Kontainers (Descartes Kontainers) is a cloud-based enterprise SaaS platform that enables freight forwarders, shipping lines, and carriers to deliver branded, self-service digital quoting, rating, and booking to their shipper customers, with integrated rate management and TMS connectivity.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Freight Forwarding Software

NAICS

Freight Transportation Arrangement (488510)

SIC

Arrangement Of Transportation Of Freight & Cargo (4731)

akta.pro primary industry

Digital Freight Brokerage / Freight Marketplace Platforms (TLADAMAO)

akta.pro secondary industry

Carrier Sales & Capacity Sourcing Platforms (TLAEAJAD)

Keywords

• Freight forwarding software
• Digital logistics platform
• Freight booking system
• Freight rate management
• Carrier digital experience

Headquarters

HQ city

Gateshead

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. SaaS Platform Subscription: Cloud-based platform provided as a branded digital solution to logistics service providers, suggesting a subscription-based SaaS revenue model where clients pay for access to the quoting, rating, and booking platform

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Kontainers provides a cloud-based SaaS platform that enables freight forwarders, shipping carriers, and logistics service providers to digitize their customer-facing quoting, rating, and booking processes. The platform is delivered as a branded, white-label solution that automates freight rate management (factoring in capacity and schedule data to enable upselling) and offers on-demand digital self-service for end shippers, integrating with freight forwarder TMS systems.

Product overview

Descartes Kontainers is a unified cloud-based digital logistics platform that provides freight forwarders and carriers with two integrated core products: the Digital Customer Experience platform for on-demand booking, rating, and quoting, and the Digital Rate Management solution for automated pricing. Both products work together to help logistics service providers digitize their carrier and forwarder booking processes, enabling customers to self-serve while maximizing margins through automation and upselling.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Descartes Kontainers Digital Customer Experience A cloud-based digital platform that enables logistics service providers and carriers to deliver on-demand, branded quoting, rating, and booking capabilities to their end shipper customers, with self-service shipment management available around the clock.
• Descartes Kontainers Digital Rate Management An automated rating and quoting solution for freight forwarders and carriers that reduces labor and operating costs while maintaining high shipment margins, factoring in real-time capacity and schedule data to recommend service options and seamlessly connecting to freight forwarder TMS platforms.

Quantifiable outcome

• Increased quote-to-book ratio through digitized quoting
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Descartes Systems GroupcoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerDescartes acquired Kontainers and operates it as Descartes Kontainers. The parent company Descartes provides the corporate backing, integration ecosystem, and distribution channel for the Kontainers platform. Kontainers is now integrated into Descartes' suite of broker and forwarder enterprise systems solutions.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• WiseTech Global (CargoWise): CargoWise is the dominant global TMS / freight forwarding software platform serving freight forwarders with end-to-end operational and customer-facing modules. It directly competes with Descartes Kontainers' quoting/rating/booking capabilities, and is the primary TMS that Kontainers integrates alongside.
• Magaya Software: Magaya provides freight forwarding, customs brokerage, and warehouse management software with built-in digital customer engagement and rate automation. It targets the same freight forwarder and NVOCC customer base as Kontainers' Digital Customer Experience platform.
• Turvo: Turvo offers a unified TMS purpose-built for freight brokers, forwarders, and 3PLs with collaborative shipper/carrier portals and automated quoting workflows. Its broker and forwarder digital experience functionality competes head-to-head with Kontainers.
• Aljex Software: Aljex provides freight forwarding and NVOCC TMS with integrated rating, quoting, and EDI workflow tools for the North American freight forwarding market. It targets the same freight forwarder customer segment as Kontainers' Digital Rate Management module.
• INTTRA (E2open): INTTRA, now part of E2open, is the dominant ocean carrier e-booking and shipping instructions platform used by container carriers and their shipper customers. It serves the same shipping-line digital booking category that ONE's Kontainers-powered platform was built to address.
• Freightos: Freightos operates a digital freight marketplace and rate management platform for ocean and air freight with instant quoting and booking capabilities. It overlaps with Kontainers in automating freight quoting, rating, and digital booking for forwarders and shippers.

Broad incumbents

• Descartes Systems Group: Descartes is the corporate parent of Descartes Kontainers and a global logistics technology provider with a broad portfolio spanning TMS, customs, broker systems, and rate management. It overlaps with Kontainers through its own forwarder TMS and broker/forwarder enterprise systems offering.

Emerging players

• Xeneta: Xeneta provides ocean and air freight rate intelligence and benchmarking data that forwarders and shippers use alongside their quoting and rating workflows. It complements Kontainers' Digital Rate Management with market-rate visibility inputs.
• Flexport: Flexport is a digital-first freight forwarder operating its own online quoting, booking, and management platform for ocean and air freight. While it primarily acts as a forwarder rather than selling software, its platform sets the customer-experience benchmark that Kontainers-powered forwarding portals compete against.
• project44: project44 is a supply chain visibility platform providing real-time shipment tracking and freight connectivity APIs for shippers, brokers, and forwarders. It is an emerging player in the freight technology stack that forwarders use alongside quoting and booking tools like Kontainers.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/kontainers
• Facebookfacebook.com/kontainers
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kontainers-uk

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kontainers