cieTrade
cieTrade Systems Inc. is a privately held vertical SaaS provider of business management software for the recycling, forest products, and commodity trading industries, serving small recyclers to multinational trading houses worldwide since 1999.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1999
- HeadquartersNorwalk, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What cieTrade does
cieTrade Systems Inc. is a privately held, founder-owned vertical SaaS company headquartered in South Norwalk, Connecticut, founded in 1999 by David Haber (President) and Richard Hamilton, a former controller at a paper and recycling company. The firm develops business management software specifically for the forest products, recycling, and commodity trading industries — verticals underserved by generic ERP and accounting platforms — and serves a customer base ranging from small recycling plants to large multinational trading houses and top exporters worldwide.
The company's core platform is built around a proprietary buy/sell trading form architecture that organizes financials, logistics, documents, and photos for each inbound and outbound load into a single "file folder." cieTrade offers two deployment options — cieTrade.net, a cloud SaaS platform launched in 2016, and a Windows Desktop on-premise product — together with a self-service customer portal (ciePortal), a Booking Notification Portal, and a suite of companion mobile apps covering CRM/reporting (cieMobile), driver dispatch (cieDispatch), inventory scanning (cieLocation), bale tracking (clickBale), and photo management (ciePhoto). The platform integrates in real time with major accounting systems (QuickBooks Desktop and Online, Sage 50/500/Intacct, NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics GP and 365 Business Central, Xero, Zoho Books) and logistics platforms (Freightview TMS, INTTRA, Infor-Nexus), and added Stripe payment processing in May 2025.
Revenue is generated through monthly subscription licenses (starting at $375/month for a 3-user cloud edition and $575/month for the export trading edition), per-seat and add-on module pricing, and professional services billed at $225/hour beyond three included onboarding hours. The company pursues a sales-led direct go-to-market with a "Request Demo" website CTA, supported by active participation in industry trade shows (ISRI, ReMA, PPRC, Scrap Expo, PRSE) and content marketing. Customer verticals span recycling plants, commodity brokers, international trading houses, paper merchants, plastics recycling, scrap metal recycling, waste brokerage, agricultural commodities, and, as of June 2025, dumpster and equipment rental.
cieTrade firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- cieTrade
- Legal name
- CIETRADE SYSTEMS INC.
- Website
- https://cietrade.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1999
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- cieTrade Systems Inc. is a privately held vertical SaaS provider of business management software for the recycling, forest products, and commodity trading industries, serving small recyclers to multinational trading houses worldwide since 1999.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
cieTrade industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Vertical SaaS for Recycling & Commodity Trading
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (513210), Commodity Contracts Intermediation (52316)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Commodity Electronic Trading Platforms (Energy/Metals/Agriculture) (FSAFANAF)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Algorithmic Trading & Execution Platforms (FSAFANAN)
Keywords
Where cieTrade is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Norwalk
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
cieTrade business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- SaaS Subscription (Cloud): Monthly subscription-based pricing for cieTrade.net cloud platform. Includes initial 3 hours of professional services. Scale with additional user licenses.
- SaaS Subscription (Export Trading): Monthly subscription for export trading SaaS at $575/month with no additional hardware requirements.
- Professional Services: Additional professional services beyond included 3 hours billed at $225/hour. Includes document changes, user-defined field configuration, report columns.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | 3-User License for cieTrade.net Cloud Platform |
| Subscription | Monthly | Export Trading Cloud Software |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Professional Services (Additional) |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
cieTrade product offering
Product offeringCore offering
cieTrade develops and sells vertical SaaS and on-premise business management software for commodity traders, recyclers and waste brokers. Its platform is organized around a proprietary buy/sell trading-form model that captures shipping references, transaction values, photos and documents for each inbound and outbound load, with built-in inventory control, gross profit reporting, dispatch, document management, mobile apps and real-time integrations to accounting, ocean shipping, freight and payment systems.
Product overview
cieTrade offers a unified business management platform with two deployment options: cieTrade.net (cloud/SaaS) and cieTrade Windows Desktop (on-premise). The platform is built around a unique buy/sell ticket concept that organizes financials, logistics, documents, and photos for each inbound and outbound load. Core modules include Dispatch & Route Management, Inventory Management, Booking and Container Management, Document Management, Self-Service Portal (ciePortal), Accounting Integration, and a Service Contract Module. Mobile capabilities are provided through five companion apps: cieMobile (CRM/reporting), cieDispatch (driver dispatch), cieLocation (inventory scanning), clickBale (bale tracking), and ciePhoto (photo management for shipments/claims). The platform serves multiple industry verticals including recycling plants, scrap metal, plastics, paper merchants, pulp & paper trading, waste brokerage, commodity brokerage, international trade, agricultural commodities, and dumpster rental.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- cieTrade.net: Cloud-based SaaS business management software platform for commodity traders, scrap brokers, and recycling companies offering subscription-based access from anywhere via browser.
- ciePortal
- cieLocation
- clickBale
- cieDispatch
- cieMobile
- ciePhoto
Products and services
- cieTrade.net Cloud Platform Cloud-based SaaS business management platform for commodity traders, scrap brokers and recycling companies featuring buy/sell ticket concept, gross profit reporting, inventory control, dispatch, document management, self-service portal and real-time accounting integration. Sold as a monthly subscription (3-user license from $375/month).
- cieTrade Windows Desktop On-premise Windows desktop deployment of cieTrade business management software for commodity trading, recycling and paper operations, with similar functionality to the cloud platform for customers preferring self-hosted software.
- cieMobile Mobile CRM app providing on-demand access to account information, financial reports, tickets, shipments and business reports for cieTrade customers from anywhere. Available on Apple App Store and Google Play.
- cieDispatch Mobile app for drivers to view and complete dispatched loads, update job status, capture photos and signatures, and stay in contact with the back office, designed for waste brokerage, hauling and field-service operations.
- cieLocation Mobile inventory scanning app for warehouse staff to check and edit inventory, confirm stock availability, and perform stock and cycle counts in cieTrade deployments.
- clickBale Mobile productivity app for recycling plants and scrap yards to track bale production and available baled inventory directly from the warehouse or yard floor, eliminating paper tally sheets.
- ciePhoto
Quantifiable outcome
- Reduced operational costs by 35-40% for paper trading company (The Paper Tigers)
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use cieTrade
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments9 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
cieTrade technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration16 records
AI capability4 records
Feature9 records
cieTrade partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- StripecorePayment processing integration allowing customer payments to be made fast and easy through automated payment processing.
- FreightviewcoreIntegration partnership with Freightview, a cloud-based TMS platform. cieTrade clients can submit freight requests directly from the platform, eliminating manual re-keying of load details. Confirmed rates are automatically updated in cieTrade with no user intervention.
- Infor-NexuscoreIntegration with Infor-Nexus supply chain platform for global trade. Allows direct submission of Shipping Instructions electronically to steamship lines with confirmations within cieTrade. Also supports Ocean Booking and Booking Confirmations, and e-VGM support.
- INTTRAcoreINTTRA integration for eVGM message submission to wide range of participating carriers directly from cieTrade. Both initial submissions and acknowledgements can be tracked.
- QuickBooks Desktop ProcoreMost widely used accounting integration. Transactions flow directly from cieTrade into QB company files using internal Transaction Manager tool. Supports posting to multiple companies from one cieTrade DB.
- QuickBooks OnlinecoreSeamless real-time integration with QuickBooks Online using same transaction manager tool as QB Desktop. Cloud-to-cloud integration.
- Sage IntacctcoreEnterprise cloud-based ERP platform integration with real-time sync. Works like Sage500 including multi-currency, intercompany, and multi-company consolidation. Uses local .DLL integration.
- NetSuitecoreEnterprise cloud-based ERP platform with real-time integration using local .DLL. Includes multi-currency support. Newer offering with limited client base.
- Microsoft Dynamics GPcoreLong-standing integration for Microsoft Dynamics GP (Great Plains). Uses cieTrade's own API or Microsoft eConnect API. Supports multi-currency transactions.
- Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business CentralcoreCloud-based accounting and financials platform for mid-market companies. cieTrade developing real-time integration as alternative to legacy accounting software.
- SAGE 500coreEnterprise desktop accounting platform widely used by largest clients. Very robust and stable integration with advanced multi-currency and multi-company consolidation.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
cieTrade competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Scrap Dragon: Scrap recycling yard management software for scrap metal recyclers, brokers, and peddlers. Directly competes with cieTrade in the scrap metal and recycling plant vertical with CRM, scale integration, and document automation.
- Profit Rhino: Waste hauler CRM and operations software for the dumpster rental and waste brokerage verticals. Directly overlaps with cieTrade's Waste Brokerage and newly launched Dumpster and Equipment Rental Solution modules.
- Routeware: Software and on-board computing for waste, recycling, and route-based fleets. Comparable in the waste brokerage and dispatch management functional area, though more focused on hauler operations than commodity trading.
- ESI Waste Solutions: Software for waste haulers, transfer stations, and recyclers covering scale integration, ticketing, and reporting. Comparable to cieTrade's recycling plant and waste brokerage offerings with deep operational workflow overlap.
Broad incumbents
- AMCS Group: Enterprise software platform for the recycling and waste management industry, serving haulers, MRFs, and commodity traders globally. Larger, PE-backed incumbent competing against cieTrade in waste brokerage and recycling plant workflows.
Emerging players
- ReMatter: Modern cloud-native operations software for scrap yards and recycling facilities, founded more recently. Overlaps with cieTrade in scrap metal recycling and recycling plant verticals with a newer cloud-first product.
- HaulHub Technologies: Digital platform for waste and recycling operations including dispatch, ticketing, and compliance. Adjacent emerging competitor overlapping with cieTrade's Dispatch & Route Management and waste brokerage functionality.
Regional players
- Waste Management Software (Ritam Technologies): ERP-style software for waste management and recycling operators with dispatch, billing, and recycling modules. Comparable in scope to cieTrade but historically stronger presence with regional haulers rather than commodity traders.
Others
- Cobalt Ray / Dealertrack DMS: Domain-adjacent dealer management and operations software widely used in commodity-adjacent industries. Not a direct competitor but illustrates the broader vertical SaaS landscape cieTrade could be benchmarked against for go-to-market and integration patterns.
- Katana MRP: Cloud-native vertical SaaS in inventory, production, and order management for manufacturers and processors. Useful comparable for cloud-first vertical SaaS unit economics and pricing, even though not in the same end market as cieTrade.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
cieTrade social profiles
Digital presencecieTrade financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
cieTrade leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
cieTrade funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
cieTrade M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about cieTrade
What does cieTrade do?
cieTrade develops and sells vertical SaaS and on-premise business management software for commodity traders, recyclers and waste brokers. Its platform is organized around a proprietary buy/sell trading-form model that captures shipping references, transaction values, photos and documents for each inbound and outbound load, with built-in inventory control, gross profit reporting, dispatch, document management, mobile apps and real-time integrations to accounting, ocean shipping, freight and payment systems.
Is cieTrade a public or private company?
cieTrade is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was cieTrade founded?
cieTrade was founded in 1999. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is cieTrade based?
cieTrade is headquartered in Norwalk, United States, in the North America region.
How does cieTrade make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. SaaS Subscription (Cloud) is the primary driver. The others are saaS Subscription (Export Trading) and professional Services.
Who are cieTrade's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Scrap Dragon, Profit Rhino, Routeware and ESI Waste Solutions. AMCS Group is listed as a broad incumbent. Emerging players are ReMatter and HaulHub Technologies. Waste Management Software (Ritam Technologies) is listed as a regional player. Others are Cobalt Ray / Dealertrack DMS and Katana MRP.
Does cieTrade have an API?
No public API is recorded for cieTrade.
What industry is cieTrade in?
cieTrade's product category is Vertical SaaS for Recycling & Commodity Trading. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAFANAF, Commodity Electronic Trading Platforms (Energy/Metals/Agriculture), with a secondary code of FSAFANAN, Algorithmic Trading & Execution Platforms. Its NAICS code is 513210 and its SIC code is 7372.