CarLo — Transport Management System from Soloplan GmbH

CarLo is a transport-management system (TMS) developed by Soloplan GmbH, established for more than 30 years and headquartered in Kempten im Allgäu in southern Germany. The product addresses freight forwarders, logistics service providers and industrial own-account transport operations, and is regarded in the German-speaking region as one of the best-known TMS solutions for mid-market and internationally-active freight forwarding companies. Soloplan reports an installed base of more than 1,800 customer companies worldwide, with the centre of gravity in the DACH (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) region and subsidiaries in several European countries. Trade media including Verkehrsrundschau, Logistik Heute and Transport-online regularly cover product news, recently focused on the AI extensions around the "CarLo Assistant". CarLo is profiled on erp-software.org in the warehouse management and logistics category as a specialised vertical TMS rather than a horizontal ERP.

Overview

Soloplan has occupied the freight-forwarding-software niche since the early 1990s and has grown from a regional Allgäu-based vendor to a European TMS player with subsidiaries in several countries and an installed base exceeding 1,800 customers. The product is delivered both on-premises and via Soloplan's own cloud, with the on-premises model still dominant in the German Mid-Market customer base. CarLo functionally covers the complete process chain of a freight forwarder: order intake, dispatch and route planning, telematics integration, warehouse and freight-exchange connectivity, invoicing and reporting. The product positioning is sharp — CarLo is not a horizontal ERP with logistics add-ons but a vertical-specific TMS that complements an existing financial ERP. Integration with classical ERP backends such as SAP, Microsoft Dynamics or proAlpha is delivered through open interfaces.

Functional sweet spot

The CarLo functional scope is classically modular and built closely around freight-forwarder business processes. The core is order intake with EDI connectivity, followed by graphical dispatch, route planning, freight invoicing and commission accounting. Additional modules extend the suite for specific transport modes and use cases: CarLo inAIR & SEA covers air and sea freight, CarLo inHUB handles cross-docking and transshipment logistics, CarLo inSTORE provides integrated warehouse management for freight-forwarder warehouses and CarLo inMOTION handles fleet management including workshop and tyre management. CarLo inTOUCH connects drivers via mobile app into the dispatch workflow with status feedback, digital consignment notes, scanning and chat. CarLo inTOUR adds truck-specific route restrictions such as toll, road closures and height limits. The CarLo Assistant is an AI component that supports users with routine tasks and translates text input into system logic. Connections to freight exchanges such as TimoCom, telematics platforms and customs and ELSTER systems are part of standard integrations.

DACH positioning

CarLo is DACH-anchored with strong concentration in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and a meaningful customer base in neighbouring European logistics markets. The localisation is comprehensive: German freight law, German VAT handling on cross-border transport, German GoBD compliance (the principles for proper digital bookkeeping), native DATEV (the German accounting and payroll standard) connectivity and the standard German e-invoicing formats ZUGFeRD and XRechnung. CarLo also supports the regulatory requirements of dangerous-goods transport, customs handling and toll-system integration for the German Maut. The customer base ranges from regional freight forwarders with 20 trucks through to mid-market and upper-mid-market logistics service providers with multi-country fleets. The 30-year track record and 1,800-customer installed base give the product unusual credibility in the German freight-forwarding community.

Pricing and implementation

CarLo pricing is configured per customer rather than published per-user list pricing, reflecting the vertical-specific positioning and the typically complex configuration of freight-forwarding operations. Indicative ranges for a typical Mid-Market freight-forwarder deployment: 80 to 150 euro per user per month for cloud subscription with full module scope, or one-off licence of 2,000 to 4,000 euro per user for on-premises with annual maintenance of 18 to 22 percent. Implementation is typically 4 to 12 months for a 30- to 150-user freight-forwarder deployment, with the critical-path items being EDI integration with shippers and customers, telematics connectivity and the migration of legacy disposition logic. Total cost of ownership over five years for a typical 50-user CarLo deployment sits in the 400,000 to 900,000 euro range.

Selection considerations

CarLo is a strong fit for DACH-anchored mid-market freight forwarders, logistics service providers and industrial own-account transport operations that want a deeply-localised TMS with a long market track record. It is particularly compelling when the 1,800-customer reference base in the same vertical is valued, when integration with TimoCom, telematics platforms and German customs systems is core to the operation, and when the customer wants a single TMS spanning road freight, air-and-sea, warehouse and fleet management. It is less compelling for very small forwarders under 10 trucks (lighter cloud TMS tools fit better), for shippers seeking a horizontal ERP with logistics as an add-on rather than a dedicated TMS, or for global 4PL operations where international platforms such as Transporeon, Project44 or Descartes have more global reach.

Related Topics

• ERP comparison overview
• ERP
• ERP consultants

Vendor homepage of CarLo

Current view of the website https://www.soloplan.de/