Descartes Forwarder Enterprise Suite Reviews & Product Details

What I like best about Descartes Forwarder Enterprise Suite is how it brings so many parts of our workflow into one system. We handle air, ocean, and intermodal shipments, and DFES really helps us stay on top of customs compliance for cross-border moves. It also streamlines our billing and accounting — we can generate invoices directly for clients, service providers, and carriers without juggling multiple systems. On the operations side, I find it especially useful for quoting, rating, booking, and tracking shipments. Having reliable ETA/ETD updates is a huge advantage since accurate tracking is critical in our industry (and a good selling point to prospects!) Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Honestly, there isn’t much I dislike about Descartes Forwarder Enterprise Suite. I always suspect new systems are going to be complex at first glance, but I quickly realized how intuitive it is once you start working with it. Even areas like customizing document templates turned out to be straightforward, and the more I used the system, the more I appreciated how well it’s designed to support daily operations. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I find Descartes Forwarder Enterprise Suite easy to navigate, which enhances my daily workflow in my freight forwarding company. The user-friendly interface facilitates seamless navigation, making complex tasks more manageable and efficient. Additionally, I use the feature that allows me to search for my booking numbers effortlessly, which is an essential part of my job. This specific functionality greatly simplifies the process, allowing me to perform my duties efficiently and effectively. Furthermore, the initial setup of Descartes Forwarder Enterprise Suite was straightforward and hassle-free as it was already installed when I joined the company, which indicates the ease of implementation for new team members. My positive experience is also reflected in my willingness to recommend the software, as I rated it a nine out of ten on the likelihood of recommending it to a friend or colleague. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I experience occasional freezes with Descartes Forwarder Enterprise Suite, which require me to message the help desk. They have to log me out so I can log back in and resume my work, interrupting my workflow. This indicates that the software needs improved stability or performance to prevent these disruptions. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I find Descartes Forwarder Enterprise Suite incredibly valuable for its ability to keep me organized with all my shipments. The software’s dashboard feature, which provides a centralized view of every shipment I've done, is particularly useful as it allows me to manage everything effectively in one place. The speed and efficiency of submitting shipping instructions electronically through Descartes is another aspect I appreciate, as it reduces the reliance on paper, making the process more environmentally friendly and sustainable. These features collectively make my workflow smoother, allowing me to focus on the critical aspects of freight forwarding without being bogged down by logistical hassles. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I experience technical issues with Descartes Forwarder Enterprise Suite occasionally, such as slow runtimes and PDF documents not being copied correctly into the system. The most serious problem occurs with slow AES validation and delays in sending shipping instructions to the steamship lines, which, although rare, cause significant stress when they happen. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What I appreciate most is how easy it is to use. Issues are resolved promptly, and I can accomplish nearly everything I need for my daily work. If there’s something it can’t do, new features can be added quickly. It’s also straightforward to learn. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

It seems like it's dated in my opinion. The layout lacks modernization. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Software automates Denied Party Screening and enables operations and accounting and collections to be linked providing visibility to payment for freight release. It enables a lot of customization and ad hoc reporting. Reports can be automated to run daily etc. and tracking is integrated and provides visibility to customers through online portal. Wildly customizable. Customer support is prompt. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The hardest part of the software is the initial set up. To get basic documents to generate such as a bill of lading or work order or invoice etc. the templates need customization. also many of the tools are a bit unintuitive. I think they are just 1 generation away from a really slick UI that will make life easier for users. In its current state there are great tools but it feels more like database management than us user centric interface. There are some canned reports but the formating as PDF or Excel isn't always usable for further number crunching due to formatting. We have had to make our own custom reports which fortunately one can do. It lacks tracking based automations. We are looking forward to their implementation of tracking based data automation such as vessel sailing and arrival dates being populated from tracking data but this is still not yet possible. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I really like the Descartes Forwarder Enterprise Suite for its ease of use, making it quite valuable to me. It effectively helps me manage shipments by showing when documents need to be submitted and keeps me aware of important deadlines like document cut-off and port cut-off. This functionality is crucial for me as it ensures that my shipments do not roll onto a new vessel. Additionally, the initial setup was easy, which was a plus. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Sometimes, the system is slow and lags. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The platform is very straightforward and user friendly. Menus are not cluttered and are easy to navigate. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Occasionally the software will become unresponsive and I must contact the Support Desk to terminate my session in order to log back in. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I use daily for and have for a number of years, Over all a great experience.

Customer service has been great and also a great turn around time. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I would like an option to have different background for eyes like a black back ground option. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

- The functionality of the System

- The reliability to do what is expected

- The flexibility to adapt it to our needs Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

- The User interface is not the sexiest

- Lack of sexy features to sell internally

- easier integration of Rate data would be cool (using Code - not yet feasible due to custom fields ...)

- cheaper Reporting and visibility functionality would be appreciated (having the data is nice, viewing and reporting it in a proper format would be beneficial Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

all information and data is easily located within Descartes Forwarder Enterprise Suite. Customer support is very helpful and responds to issues in very timely manner. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Frequent delays at times with EDI transmission and or delays with emailing from Descartes. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.