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Shipamax vs Traditional OCR

Learn how Shipamax enables you to replace expensive 
and error prone OCR rules and templates with an automated 
solution that will save you time and money. Read more about document processing for logistics in our latest guide.

What makes Shipamax the best document processing 
software for freight forwarders?

Document Processing with Shipamax

Complete end to end rollout in as little as 6 weeks
Receive and process documents in real time
No rules or templates setup required
Setup and maintenance programme included
Avg 14 secs to process document exceptions
Specially designed interface for logistics teams
Machine learning tech trained on 20m logistics docs
Out of the box integration with CargoWise

Document Processing with Traditional OCR

Unpredictable implementation timelines
Slower processing times
Over 40 hours for a single template and rule setup
Ongoing template and rule maintenance by FTE
Hours / days to process document exceptions
Exception validation by email or generic web portal
Manual staff checks for document variability
Costly and time consuming integrations
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Step by step comparison of document processing in logistics

In steps 1 - 7, we outline the typical workflow for manual document processing, which is the status quo for many logistics companies. In the table below, you can then see how each of these steps are replicated using both traditional template-based OCR and Shipamax.

Step 1

Receive documents, download attachments and prepare to begin processing

Step 2

Categorise document and sense check document package complete

Step 3

Read and understand documents

Step 4

Open your TMS or ERP and search for the job 
or console

Step 5

Manually extract data from documents and key into your ERP or TMS

Step 6

If there's a data mis-match, resolve with other departments or externally

Step 7

Final review and post into your TMS/ERP

Traditional Template OCRShipamax

Setup

  • Unpredictable implementation timelines
  • 40+ hours for single template & rule setup
  • FTE assigned to project rollout
  • 6 Weeks implementation 
  • Zero templates or rules setup to go live
  • Only 10 -  15 hours of client time required

Step 1

Receive documents, download attachments and prepare to 
begin processing

Option 1: Set up a web portal for users to drag 
and drop documents into

Option 2: Set up data processing pipeline taking 
emails from server & posting into your OCR

No work: Emails and attachment are automatically sent to the Shipamax processing pipeline which collects all documents for processing & ensures nothing is ever lost

Step 2

Categorise documents and sense 
check document package complete
  • Rules and templates must be set up to try and identify each individual document type your business expects to receive
  • If processing certain documents that need to be processed as a group, you may need to build extra rules to validate whether the documents have all been received and a workflow in case one is missing.

No work: Shipamax uses machine learning models to classify logistics documents inc Bills of Lading, AP Invoices, Commercial Invoices

No work: Shipamax’s purpose-built models detects the relationship between house & master bills and provides a workflow if one is missing

Step 3


Read and understand documents
  • Rules and templates must be set up for each individual document format your business 
expects to receive
  • Appoint a FTE to build a document template 
for each field, document type and vendor
  • Appoint a FTE to create rules for each 
document type, field and vendor

No work: Shipamax uses machine learning models to understand the context of documents. This enables unstructured data to be structured in a way that can be pushed into your TMS or ERP

Step 4

Open your TMS or ERP

Option 1: Manually search ERP for relevant job 
or console

Option 2: Build a custom integration, taking 
key data out of your ERP, allowing a mapping between your ERP data & extracted data to identify the relevant record

No work: Shipamax pulls reference data from your system to identify which records need to 
be updated

Step 5

Manually extract data from documents and key into your ERP or TMS

Option 1: Manually copy & paste the text output from your OCR system into your ERP

Option 2: Build a custom integration to sync 
the data into your ERP

  • Note, OCR will automatically extract data from business documents such as invoices using pre-set templates and rules. Each individual document change will require a new rule and ongoing maintenance is essential

No work: Your documents are mapped to the Shipamax document schema, which allows Shipamax to automatically push the structured data into your TMS or ERP

No work: Shipamax automatically extracts the relevant data from your documents and syncs it with your internal systems via the document schema. Shipamax will receive and process documents in real time, taking <5 seconds if 
there are no exceptions.

Step 6


If there's a data mis-match, resolve with other departments or externally

Option 1: Manually review outputs and send 
via emails to a colleague to validate information is correct

Option 2: Managed in a generic web portal that may be built to manage multiple document types

No work: The Shipamax Exception Manager flags any document exceptions that have been rejected by your TMS/ERP.

No work: Operations and finance teams can easily collaborate on exceptions, without the need for back-and-forth emails.

Step 7

Final review and post into 
your TMS/ERP

Option 1: Manually export data into your TMS 
or ERP system

Option 2: API integration with business system, likely to require time and budget

No work: Post documents into your TMS in one click after any exceptions have been corrected

No work: Integrate with chosen business system 
or RPA through the Shipamax API