Quick Overview
Air freight software helps forwarding teams manage airline rates, customer quotes, shipment references, documents and operational updates. Capabilities vary by platform. Evaluate how each system handles weight-based pricing, service conditions, booking handoffs and shipment exceptions, including which functions require a connected TMS or external provider.
What does air freight software do?
Air freight software organizes the commercial and operational information needed to arrange shipments by air.
A forwarder may use it to review airline or agent rates, prepare an offer, pass accepted shipment details into an operational system and coordinate customer updates.
Different products cover different parts of this process. An airline cargo system, a forwarder’s TMS and a rate-management platform can all support air cargo, but they serve different users and responsibilities.
Start by identifying the work your team needs to complete and which system will maintain each record.
Air freight software requirements at a glance
Use a checklist based on your actual services, cargo types and operational responsibilities.
| Requirement | What to evaluate | What to demonstrate |
|---|---|---|
| Airline and agent rates | Rate sources, service conditions and validity | Compare offers covering the same shipment scope |
| Weight-based pricing | Weight breaks, minimum charges and applicable calculation rules | Price a shipment near a tariff threshold |
| Cargo details | Pieces, dimensions, gross weight and handling requirements | Revise dimensions after the initial enquiry |
| Quote preparation | Inclusions, exclusions, expiry and approval | Issue a revised offer while preserving the earlier version |
| Routing | Direct or connecting services and relevant transport legs | Change an onward connection |
| Shipment references | Booking, master and house references where required | Retrieve related records without duplicating the shipment |
| Documents | Supported documents, revisions and access | Correct a document and identify the current version |
| Milestones | Shipment-event sources and coverage | Investigate an arrival update with incomplete cargo receipt |
| Exceptions | Ownership and follow-up | Assign a missing-document or connection issue |
| Integration | Data exchange with TMS, CRM and accounting systems | Demonstrate a failed update and its recovery |
Confirm whether each requirement is included, provided by a separate module or dependent on an integration.
Manage airline rates with their conditions
An air-freight rate must remain connected to the conditions that make it applicable.
Preserve the origin and destination airports, supplier, service, currency, validity, weight breaks, minimum charges and relevant restrictions. Include routing and commodity conditions where supplied.
Base freight, fuel, security, handling and documentation charges may use different calculation rules. Check each charge’s unit, minimum and inclusion before comparing offers.
Support weight breaks and minimum charges
Software should apply the tariff rules associated with the selected service. Ask the vendor to demonstrate:
- A shipment below a minimum-charge threshold.
- A shipment near a weight-break boundary.
- Different calculation bases for individual charges.
- Revised dimensions or weight after the first quote.
- The treatment of rounding and tariff exceptions.
Where a tariff allows rating at a higher weight break, test how that rule is applied and explained. Do not assume that every supplier uses the same method.
For the underlying calculations, see how air freight pricing works.
Compare air-freight offers on equal terms
The lowest displayed rate per kilogram may not produce the lowest total cost or meet the customer’s timing requirements.
| Comparison point | Question to resolve |
|---|---|
| Service scope | Does the offer cover airport-to-airport transport or additional collection and delivery? |
| Routing | Is the movement direct or dependent on a connection? |
| Charges | Which surcharges and local services are included? |
| Cargo suitability | Do the dimensions, weight and handling requirements meet the service conditions? |
| Validity | Which booking, acceptance or departure conditions apply? |
| Availability | Is the option an indicative offer or a confirmed booking? |
| Timing | Which milestones does the quoted transit estimate describe? |
Keep unavailable information visible. A missing destination charge should not automatically become a zero-cost item.
Explore VelocityOS rate management when evaluating how rates and conditions can be organized for quoting.
Connect the enquiry to the booking handoff
A complete request gives pricing and operations a consistent starting point.
Capture the shipment’s airports or collection and delivery locations, piece count, dimensions, gross weight, cargo description and required timing. Record relevant handling needs and unresolved questions.
Once the customer accepts an offer, pass the agreed details into the operational workflow.
| Stage | Information to preserve | Check before proceeding |
|---|---|---|
| Enquiry review | Cargo, locations, timing and service scope | Are essential details missing? |
| Pricing | Rate source, charge basis and conditions | Is the offer applicable to this shipment? |
| Quote issue | Customer price, exclusions and expiry | Has the offer received the required review? |
| Acceptance | Accepted version and customer instructions | Do the shipment details still match the offer? |
| Booking handoff | Operational requirements and references | What remains subject to carrier confirmation? |
| Execution | Documents, updates and exceptions | Who owns the next action? |
Quote acceptance and carrier booking confirmation are separate events. The workflow should distinguish them clearly.
See freight quote management for the commercial process.
Keep documents and shipment references connected
Air-freight operations can involve multiple related references. Where your business uses master and house air waybills, test how the proposed software preserves those relationships.
Confirm whether the system creates a document, exchanges structured information or simply stores an attachment. These are different capabilities.
For document handling, ask how users:
- Identify the latest version.
- Correct inaccurate information.
- Find related shipment records.
- Share documents with authorized parties.
- Trace a change to its source.
Verify electronic document exchange and partner coverage separately. The ability to store an air waybill PDF does not establish electronic air waybill messaging capability.
Track cargo milestones as well as flight movements
A flight movement alone does not confirm that every piece in a shipment moved with it. Forwarders need shipment-level information where available, especially when cargo travels in parts.
| Update | What to verify | Operational follow-up |
|---|---|---|
| Cargo receipt | Received pieces and recorded weight | Investigate discrepancies before departure |
| Departure | Shipment reference, leg and reported pieces | Check whether the full shipment moved |
| Connection update | Arrival and onward movement information | Confirm the next leg where necessary |
| Arrival | Destination milestone and cargo coverage | Check handling and availability |
| Cargo availability | Which collection conditions have been met | Review remaining release requirements |
| Delivery | Confirmation and supporting record | Close outstanding operational actions |
Separate planned, estimated and actual events. Record the source and update time, and investigate missing information before concluding that cargo has been delayed.
Coverage and update frequency depend on connected providers. For a broader explanation, see freight tracking and exception workflows.
Worked example: handling a revised air shipment
The following example is hypothetical.
A forwarder receives an enquiry for several cartons travelling from Frankfurt to Dubai. After the initial quote, the customer confirms that the packed dimensions have changed.
| Step | Team action | What the software should preserve |
|---|---|---|
| Initial enquiry | Record the supplied cargo details | Original inputs and unresolved questions |
| Revised dimensions | Recheck the applicable pricing and service conditions | Updated measurements and calculation basis |
| Quote revision | Explain changes to the customer | New version and relationship to the original offer |
| Acceptance | Confirm the customer accepted the revised scope | Accepted version and instructions |
| Booking | Complete the operational checks | Carrier confirmation and shipment references |
| Partial movement reported | Verify which pieces departed | Reported piece counts and outstanding cargo |
| Customer update | Explain confirmed progress and next steps | Source information and responsible owner |
This tests more than quote generation. It shows whether the system keeps pricing changes, operational information and customer communication connected.
What can AI assist with?
AI can help extract information from rate files or customer enquiries and prepare structured drafts. It should be evaluated separately from tariff calculations and confirmed operational events.
Check whether the workflow identifies missing fields, preserves source information and allows a person to correct an interpretation before it affects a quote.
Measure total processing time, including review and corrections. Confirm the available capabilities for your implementation rather than assuming that every air-freight task is automated.
For related use cases, explore AI for freight forwarders.
Choose the right integration scope
Decide which system owns customer records, quote versions, bookings, documents and financial information.
A connected setup may retain the TMS as the operational record while another platform supports rates, customer offers and selected visibility workflows.
Confirm identifiers, synchronization direction and failure handling. Review what VelocityOS can sync when defining the proposed connection.
Evaluate the software using your own shipment
Bring a representative enquiry, supplier tariff and shipment record to a demonstration. Include a change in cargo details and an operational exception.
Ask the provider to show the workflow from enquiry through quote revision, booking handoff and shipment update. Record which steps require another system, additional subscription or manual action.
Select software based on demonstrated coverage, user effort and total implementation cost.