What Softship does

Softship GmbH, headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, and founded in 1989, is a specialized enterprise software provider focused exclusively on the international liner shipping industry. The company builds and sells the Softship LIMA Suite — a modular platform comprising four core modules (Softship.Commercial for tariffs, contracts, quotations, booking and documentation; Softship.Equipment for container and equipment tracking, demurrage/detention billing, and repair management; Softship.Operations for vessel scheduling, port call management, and voyage monitoring; and Softship.Finance for voyage profitability, invoicing, and ERP interface). Supporting products include EDI Guard (proprietary electronic data interchange file transfer) and Hosted Solutions (managed cloud hosting). The technology stack is built on Microsoft .NET with Oracle, Informix, Sybase, and SQL Server databases, using EDIFACT, ANSI, and XML standards for integration with terminals, ports, customs, and customer systems. The company holds Microsoft Silver Partner accreditation.

Softship monetizes primarily through multi-year subscription and licensing agreements for its software suite and standalone modules, complemented by recurring maintenance and support contracts, managed hosting fees, and project-based consulting, implementation, and customization services. It sells through an enterprise field-sales motion, supported by operational centres in Hamburg, Manila, and Singapore, and reaches liner carriers (deep-sea, shortsea, feeder, ro-ro), liner agents, NVOCCs, and terminal operators. The company serves 120+ customers across more than 30 countries.

Since becoming part of WiseTech Global (ASX: WTC), Softship operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the publicly listed logistics software group. It had previously been listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange from 2001 until the WiseTech acquisition. Leadership comprises Managing Director Thomas Wolff and General Manager Florian Guhl, with headcount in the 51–100 range.

Name

Softship

Legal name

Softship GmbH

Website

https://softship.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Softship GmbH is a Hamburg-based enterprise software provider, founded in 1989 and now a subsidiary of WiseTech Global, delivering the modular Softship LIMA Suite — covering commercial, equipment, operations, and finance workflows — to 120+ liner shipping carriers, agents, NVOCCs, and terminal operators globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Hamburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Software Licensing: The company provides modular and adaptable software solutions for liner shipping operations. Software is available as comprehensive suites or stand-alone applications for commercial, operations, equipment, and finance functions.
2. Hosted Solutions: Application hosting and server housing services providing professionally managed data centre access without the need for in-house servers, back-up, security or administrative arrangements. Servers and hosted software are maintained 24/7 by Softship's expert team.
3. Professional Services: Consulting services including project management (Prince 2 certified), business analysis, IT consulting, software customization and integration, training, and implementation support.
4. Maintenance and Support Contracts: Comprehensive support and maintenance services with choice of software support and maintenance contracts providing fixed-cost budget coverage. Support available from global support centres in Hamburg and Singapore, potentially 24/7.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Softship develops and licenses the modular Softship LIMA software suite — covering Commercial, Equipment, Operations and Finance processes — exclusively for the international liner shipping sector. The suite is sold to deep-sea, shortsea and feeder container operators, ro-ro carriers, liner agents, NVOCCs and terminal operators, and is complemented by hosted application management, EDI Guard integration software, IT services and Prince 2-based consulting, customization, training and 24/7 maintenance support.

Product overview

Softship provides a modular platform-plus-modules architecture called the Softship LIMA Suite, designed specifically for the liner shipping industry. The core suite comprises four integrated modules: Softship.Commercial (tariffs, contracts, quotations, booking, and documentation management), Softship.Equipment (container and equipment tracking, demurrage/detention billing, and repair management), Softship.Operations (vessel scheduling, port call management, and voyage monitoring), and Softship.Finance (invoicing, tariff management, and accounting interface). Each module can operate independently or as part of the integrated suite, with additional supporting services including EDI Guard for electronic data interchange, hosted solutions for cloud deployment, IT services, consulting, and customer support/training.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Softship.Commercial: Provides complete visibility and management of tariffs, contracts, quotations, contribution margins, booking and documentation for liner shipping carriers.
• Softship.Equipment
• Softship.Operations
• Softship.Finance

Products and services

• Softship.Commercial Core module providing complete visibility and management of tariffs, contracts, quotations, contribution margins, booking and documentation for liner carriers' managing agents and offices.
• Softship.Equipment Core module providing real-time visibility of containers, chassis, trailers and gensets at terminals and depots, with stock-level management and automated demurrage/detention billing.
• Softship.Operations Core module simplifying vessel scheduling and port call management, monitoring voyage progress and simulating scenarios, with automated alerts and bunker planning.
• Softship.Finance Core module controlling operating expenses and revenues, managing voyage profitability, with automated invoice creation, supplier reconciliation and accounting/ERP interfaces.
• Softship LIMA Suite Comprehensive integrated software suite for carriers combining Softship.Commercial, Softship.Equipment, Softship.Operations and Softship.Finance, available as a complete suite or as stand-alone modules.
• EDI Guard EDI software application for file management and automatic transfer of files by email, FTP or point-to-point communications, supporting EDIFACT, ANSI and XML interchange.
• Hosted Solutions Professionally managed data centre service enabling customers to run Softship applications without in-house servers, with 24/7 maintenance and high availability.
• IT Services Softship IT services including custom software development on Microsoft .NET and web technologies, environment optimization, and database support for Oracle, Informix, Sybase and Microsoft SQL Server.
• Consulting Services Professional consulting for shipping lines, agents and NVOCCs covering Prince 2 project management, business analysis for liner shipping processes, and IT consulting for system design and implementation.
• Customer Service and Support Contracts Customization, integration, maintenance and training for Softship software applications, delivered as fixed-cost support contracts from Softship's global support centres.

Quantifiable outcome

• Duplication eliminated, administration reduced, costs contained
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• MicrosoftcoreTechnology or IntegrationSoftship is a Microsoft Silver Partner holding Silver ISV Partner accreditation. The company utilizes Microsoft .NET as a core technology for developing applications and web services. Silver Certified Partners must employ Microsoft certified professionals and have at least one Microsoft competency.
• WiseTech GlobalflagshipOthersSoftship GmbH is part of the WiseTech Global group. WiseTech Global is a leading developer and provider of software solutions to the logistics industry globally, serving more than 12,000 logistics companies across 150 countries. Its flagship product CargoWise One executes more than 50 billion data transactions annually.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• WiseTech Global (CargoWise One): WiseTech Global is both Softship's parent and its most direct peer — CargoWise One offers broadly overlapping commercial, operations, equipment, and finance functionality for ocean carriers and forwarders, making it the primary head-to-head competitor for new logo wins.
• Veson Nautical: Veson Nautical provides voyage management, commercial operations, and freight management software to shipowners, operators, and charterers — directly comparable to Softship's Operations and Finance modules for shipping businesses.
• IMOS (MariApps): IMOS is a maritime ERP and operations platform for shipping companies covering fleet operations, crewing, and commercial management — overlapping with Softship's LIMA Suite for carrier-side operations.
• SpecTec (Lloyd's Register): SpecTec, now part of Lloyd's Register, provides ship management, planned maintenance, and procurement software to shipowners and operators — directly competing in the maritime software suite category where Softship plays.
• Aljex Software: Aljex Software offers transportation management, operations, and accounting software for freight forwarders, NVOCCs, and ocean carriers — overlapping with Softship's Commercial and Finance modules, especially in the NVOCC segment.

Emerging players

• Kestrel Shipping Systems: Kestrel Shipping Systems delivers fleet operations and commercial software to smaller liner operators and feeders, with comparable functionality to Softship.Operations for niche carrier segments.

Broad incumbents

• Descartes Systems Group: Descartes provides broad logistics and trade management software including customs, ocean, and freight forwarding — a wider portfolio competitor whose ocean/freight modules overlap with parts of Softship's LIMA Suite.
• E2open: E2open (which absorbed INTTRA) provides global container shipping visibility, booking, and supply chain collaboration platforms — overlapping with Softship.Commercial, EDI Guard, and booking-related functionality at a much larger scale.
• Infor: Infor's industry-specific ERP suites (including Infor LN for distribution and maritime-adjacent verticals) compete with the Finance and ERP-interface elements of Softship.Finance for larger carriers evaluating full-suite replacements.

Others

• Royal HaskoningDHV Maritime: Royal HaskoningDHV provides maritime advisory, digital, and software services to ports, terminals, and shipping operators — thematically adjacent as an enabler of maritime digitalization though not a direct suite competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/softship
• Facebookfacebook.com/Softship/timeline
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/softship-ag/?originalSubdomain=de

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Softship