Custom Software for Supply Chain & Logistics
Secure, flexible, and compliant architecture tailored for the unique challenges of the Supply Chain & Logistics sector.
Vivek Mishra — Founder & Lead Architect, ERPStack
Quick Answer
In short: a logistics ERP has to speak EDI X12 204, 990, 214 and 210 and still know what is on the shelf. ERPStack builds custom logistics and supply chain software on GS1 EPCIS 2.0 events, ISF 10+2 timing under 19 CFR 149, 46 CFR 541 demurrage invoicing and 49 CFR 395 ELD hours — one PostgreSQL truth for TMS, WMS and finance.
Why Custom ERP for Supply Chain & Logistics?
Logistics, distribution, and supply chain firms operate in low-margin environments where route optimization and inventory tracking directly impact profitability. Generic software suites charge substantial fees for mobile driver applications and client tracking pages. A custom Logistics ERP builds real-time geolocation mapping, automated dispatcher boards, and secure customer portals. We integrate with major carrier APIs (UPS, FedEx, DHL) and deploy automated inventory alerts. This streamlines dispatch coordination, reduces empty miles by up to 15%, and scales to unlimited warehouse drivers with zero seat licensing fees.
Industry Pain Points
- Nightly EDI X12 batches land the 214 after the load left
- TMS, WMS and the ERP ledger report three different on-hand quantities
- Demurrage invoices past the 30-day clock in 46 CFR 541.7
- ISF 10+2 elements chased by email past the 24-hour cut-off
- UFLPA detention with no supplier lineage to rebut the presumption
- ISO 14083 emissions per leg no SAP or Oracle NetSuite report produces
Engineering Blueprint
Freight moves on EDI, not on an API. A logistics ERP that cannot read an X12 204 Motor Carrier Load Tender, answer with a 990, ingest 214 status and audit a 210 invoice is not a logistics ERP. ERPStack models each transaction set as typed PostgreSQL tables in Drizzle ORM — a 214 becomes a row, not an SFTP file parsed at 02:00.
Why logistics inventory disagrees across TMS, WMS and the ERP
Most logistics buyers have a system-of-record problem, not an inventory problem. The TMS knows what was tendered, the WMS what was picked on a 940 Warehouse Shipping Order and confirmed by a 945, the ERP ledger what was invoiced. ERPStack makes the ERP one append-only movement ledger in PostgreSQL with an Immutable Audit Trail; TMS, WMS and YMS become Apache Kafka producers in an Event-Driven Architecture. Idempotency in API Design is not optional: carriers resend the same 214.
// Drizzle ORM + PostgreSQL — append-only freight movement ledger
export const freightEvent = pgTable('freight_event', {
source: varchar('source', { length: 12 }).notNull(), // 214 | 945 | epcis
bizStep: varchar('biz_step', { length: 48 }).notNull(),
isfElement: integer('isf_element'), // 1-10, per 19 CFR 149.3
co2eGrams: numeric('co2e_grams'), // ISO 14083
});GS1 EPCIS 2.0 events, not a logistics status column
A logistics ERP that overwrites a status column destroys its own evidence. ERPStack captures scans as GS1 EPCIS 2.0 events — the June 2022 release that added JSON-LD and a REST capture-and-query API — so every what, where, when and why is an immutable PostgreSQL row. DCSA Track & Trace standards cover the Singapore and Hong Kong legs, while project44 and FourKites feed the ERP through Webhooks & Event Notifications.
Strangling SAP TM, Blue Yonder and the 3PL spreadsheet
ERPStack rarely rips out a working TMS. We apply the Strangler Fig Migration Pattern to the logistics ledger first: settlement, freight audit and customs evidence move to PostgreSQL behind a Next.js and TypeScript API on AWS, while SAP, Oracle NetSuite, Blue Yonder or Descartes keep executing. The honest displacement target is rarely SAP S/4HANA — it is the 3PL holding rate tables in Excel: Technical Debt with a demurrage bill.
Our Solutions
- EDI X12 204/990/214/210/856 parsed into typed PostgreSQL tables via Drizzle ORM
- GS1 EPCIS 2.0 capture over a REST API, one immutable PostgreSQL row
- One movement ledger of record: TMS, WMS and YMS publish to Apache Kafka
- Freight audit failing a 210 invoice against rate and accessorial tables
- A 46 CFR 541 validator on the 30-day issuance and dispute clocks
- ISO 14083 emissions per leg computed at event time in the logistics ERP
Compliance & Security
Logistics compliance is filings with deadlines in hours; each is a schema decision in the ERP.
ISF 10+2 as ten separately timestamped columns
19 CFR 149.2 puts eight Importer Security Filing elements — seller, buyer, importer of record number, consignee number, manufacturer, ship to party, country of origin and the six-digit HTSUS number — 24 hours before lading, then container stuffing location and consolidator 24 hours before arrival. ERPStack gives each its own PostgreSQL column and timestamp and Zod validator.UFLPA rebuttal is a data-lineage export
The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, Public Law 117-78, has applied a rebuttable presumption since 21 June 2022: goods from the XUAR, or a UFLPA Entity List supplier, are barred under 19 U.S.C. 1307 unless rebutted by clear and convincing evidence. ERPStack keeps that lineage as immutable PostgreSQL rows under RBAC, in WORM storage on AWS.The 30-day demurrage clock in 46 CFR 541
46 CFR 541.7 gives a billing party 30 calendar days from the date a charge was last incurred to issue a demurrage or detention invoice; 46 CFR 541.5 voids the payment obligation when required information is missing. The FMC rule took effect 28 May 2024 (89 FR 14330), then the D.C. Circuit set aside its properly-issued-invoices provision, removed from the CFR on 29 December 2025 — a logistics ERP encodes both.ELD retention and Hours of Service in one schema
49 CFR 395.8 has required an electronic logging device since 18 December 2017 and keeps records of duty status not less than 6 months; 49 CFR 395.3 caps driving at 11 hours in a 14-hour window after 10 hours off duty, and 60 hours in 7 days or 70 in 8. ERPStack fences driver records behind RBAC in PostgreSQL — what a SOC 2 audit asks a logistics operator to evidence.ICS2 and ISO 14083 are live for logistics, not future
Since 1 June 2026 every consignment entering EU territory by any mode needs a valid Entry Summary Declaration in ICS2, or a combined NCTS Phase 6 transit declaration. Shippers separately demand ISO 14083 emissions per leg, operationalised by GLEC Framework v3.2 — a number the logistics ERP produces only if mode and load factor reached PostgreSQL.
Standards we engineer to
- 19 CFR 149 ISF 10+2
- UFLPA rebuttable presumption
- 46 CFR 541 demurrage
- 49 CFR 395 ELD
- EU ICS2 ENS
- ISO 14083 emissions
Get the Blueprint
Download our comprehensive Systems Architecture Blueprint to see how we architect compliant solutions.
Download BlueprintMetrics & Integrations
Illustrative engineering targets for this sector — the SLAs and capacities we design and build toward, not a live service dashboard.
EDI 214 to PostgreSQL
ISF 10+2 Filing Buffer
Demurrage Dispute Clock
EPCIS 2.0 Events / Day
Integration: EDI X12 204/990/214
Integration: GS1 EPCIS 2.0
Integration: Apache Kafka
Integration: CBP ACE / ISF 10+2
Integration: DCSA Track & Trace
Integration: AWS S3 Object Lock
Implementation Process
Transaction-set map
Every X12 204, 990, 214, 210, 856, 940 and 945 in play, with partner qualifiers.
Movement ledger
An append-only PostgreSQL ledger in Drizzle ORM holding the one on-hand quantity.
Customs evidence schema
ISF 10+2 elements with per-element timestamps, the UFLPA lineage export and RBAC.
Freight settlement engine
A 210 rate and accessorial audit, plus a 46 CFR 541 invoice validator.
Visibility layer
DCSA Track and Trace and GS1 EPCIS 2.0 feeds reaching the ERP over Apache Kafka.
Emissions and audit pack
ISO 14083 factors per leg and the SOC 2 evidence export a logistics ERP owes an auditor.
Proven in Supply Chain & Logistics
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Supply chain and production system for artisan manufacturing
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Read Case StudyFrequently Asked Questions
At minimum the X12 204 Motor Carrier Load Tender, the 990 Response to a Load Tender, the 214 Transportation Carrier Shipment Status Message and the 210 Motor Carrier Freight Details and Invoice. Warehousing adds the 940 and 945. ERPStack maps each to typed PostgreSQL tables in Drizzle ORM inside the logistics ERP.
The ERP ledger should win and the other two should stop being systems of record. In logistics the disagreement is structural: the TMS knows what was tendered, the WMS what was picked on the 945, the ERP what was invoiced. ERPStack makes movement one append-only PostgreSQL ledger.
For carrier visibility alone, project44 or FourKites is usually the better buy — nobody should rebuild a carrier integration network. What neither does is settle money. A logistics ERP still needs its own GS1 EPCIS 2.0 event store in PostgreSQL, because demurrage disputes, freight audit and UFLPA tracing are evidence you must own.
Often no. A 3PL running high-volume ocean and parcel on standard processes is already served by SAP or Manhattan Associates, and a rebuild is expensive theatre. Custom ERP wins in logistics when margin lives in exception logic the licence will not model: contract accessorials, multi-principal billing, consignment settlement.
Since 1 June 2026 every consignment entering EU territory by any mode must carry a valid Entry Summary Declaration, filed directly to ICS2 or in a combined transit declaration through NCTS Phase 6 in opt-in countries. For a logistics ERP, ENS elements become first-class PostgreSQL columns at booking.